“The Lord’s Call Became Uncomfortably Loud!”

by Karla Alvarez, Director of Multicultural Ministry

THOSE ARE MY BROTHER’S WORDS WHEN ASKED ABOUT HOW HE HEARD THE LORD’S CALL TO THE PRIESTHOOD.

Yes! My brother is a seminarian! There are five children in the Alvarez-Gutierrez house, four girls and one boy and Pedro is starting his fourth year at the House of Formation in Little Rock, Arkansas. There are not enough words to explain the pride and joy we feel as a family knowing Pedro has chosen to follow the Lord through the life of a priest.

Allow me to introduce my brother to you. Pedro is a wonderful brother, friend, uncle, and man. He is very intelligent, he taught himself how to play the drums and guitar, he can cook, sing, ride a motorcycle, fish, hunt, and so much more. He loves Star Wars, and will talk to you all day about how you should like it too.

Pedro is also one of the best listeners that I know. He will listen to your heart and have deep and meaningful conversations with you; you forget that he is only 22. He’s a simple man with a beautiful heart.

He attended an all-boys Catholic school in Little Rock, and it was in his junior year where he mentions that the Lord’s call became uncomfortably loud during the signing ceremony of one of the students who had chosen to attend seminary after high school. After the student signed, the bishop gave a speech about being open to listening to the voice of God and how they should be aware and allow themselves to be used by our Lord. “I remember I was shaken to the bone, just like in Mass, I felt the little ‘jump’ and I knew it was not good”. Pedro says that after that event, he felt a struggle in his heart with himself, God, and Satan. He recalls wondering what his purpose in life was and after realizing that God had placed that question in his mind, he could not avoid questioning how much of himself was he willing to submit to the Lord. He started to engage in pursuing a deeper relationship with God where honesty became a key component. Looking back, Pedro mentions that he could see how the Lord was calling him to the priesthood from a young age, but admits that he was not ready to abandon himself into the Lord’s loving arms. It was not until he was a freshman in college when he answered that call. “When I said ‘yes’, I was undergoing what seemed the most painful time in my life and I was currently experiencing desolation and a desert season. I finally gave in after a lot of pain and a lot of fighting. This needed to happen for me to dwell in the peace that came after I accepted to follow the Lord in the most intimate way possible, by becoming a priest. Pedro is one of more than nine seminarians that have come from the Christ the King parish in Little Rock, Arkansas, where Bishop Malone was the pastor for 19 years.

Although Pedro forgets his sisters’ birthdays and roots for the Buffalo Bills, he is a man after God’s heart. He is very loved and cherished by many and his family loves him, especially his two nephews and niece. I know that he will be an excellent priest because he is already an excellent man. Please keep my brother, Pedro Alvarez, in your prayers and I hope you get to meet him one day soon.

Ad maiorem Dei gloriam, For the greater glory of God,