My Vocation Story:

Fra. Juan José Alfaro, OAR

Augustinian Recollect friars join religious procession through the streets of Alfaro, Spain, home town of St. Ezekiel Moreno, on his birthday, April 9. Fra. Juan José Alfaro is on the far right.

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ: I am sending my fraternal greeting to all of you, wherever you are. Regards to all in St. Augustine. May the God of peace and love be with you!

My name is Juan José Alfaro and I want to share with you the story of my vocational call and my experience in the religious life as an Augustinian Recollect friar. I was born in Arandas, Jalisco, Mexico. I am 34 years old and I am presently live in “Las Rozas,” a house of formation (seminary) of the Augustinian Recollects in Madrid, Spain.

My religious vocation began within my family. I come from a very religious family; they taught me how to love God and how to be a good Christian, especially my mother. I have three brothers and six sisters; I am the second youngest in my family. I lost my dad in 1994. My mother is still living in Mexico; she is 74 years old.

There are three moments in my life in which I believe that God called me. The first time was when I was 14 years old and was living in my home town of Arandas. There was a religious community, the Missionaries of St. Francis Xavier, that had a seminary there. I attended several of their vocational retreats, but in the end decided not to enter the community. I wasn’t sure about saying “Yes” to God for the rest of my life and so did not embrace this call.

The second time was when I was 22. Since the age of 18, I had been working with my older brother in the United States. I was living in South Gate, California, and joined the Youth for Christ at our the local parish. One day a friend of mine invited me to a vocational retreat sponsored by the Augustinian Recollects in the Watts area of Los Angeles. The year was 1993. I accepted, and we went together to the retreat. After attending several of these retreats, I once again decided against a vocation to the religious life. I knew that God was calling me, but I was still afraid to say “Yes” to Him and permanently commit myself to as a consecrated religious.

God, however, is very patient. He called me a third time. I believe now that He really wanted me to be a follower of His Son, Jesus Christ, through the guidance of St. Augustine and his mother Monica.

I was at home one night reflecting on my life—my past, present, and what I wanted to do with my life in the future. I was going through a difficult time since I was breaking up with a girlfriend. I was not satisfied with what I had done to that point in my life. It seemed to have no meaning; I needed something more but didn’t know what it was. That same night after attending Perpetual Adoration at St. Ann Church in Santa Ana, I asked the Lord to help me find my real vocation. There were tears in my eyes. I spent several hours with Him and then I went home.

When I got home a noticed some papers, one of them with information about the seminary of the Augustinian Recollects in Oxnard. I decided to give them a call; Fr. José Luis Martinez, the vocation director, answered the phone. We discussed my situation, and he invited me to go to talk to him in person. I went to see him the following week. We spent a lot of time talking about my life, and finally, with his help, I felt I could say “Yes” to God. It was with real joy that I made my decision to enter the Augustinian Recollects in order to try to serve God in a more serious way. I entered the community on January 3, 2002 in Oxnard. I spent two and a half years there as a postulant (candidate), made my novitiate in Monteagudo, Spain in 2004-05, and finally made my simple profession of vows on August 20, 2005 at Our Lady of Lourdes Parish in Mexico City. My superiors sent me again to Spain to study philosophy and continue my formation as an Augustinian Recollect.

I live with a diverse group of religious from all over the world; religious who share the same dream and love of God that I do. My companions are from China, Costa Rica Honduras, Brazil, Mexico and Spain. I have had the opportunity to learn a lot of new things here, for example, other languages, like Chinese: Ni hao ma? which means “How are You?” and Dan yuan wo men hen kuai jian mian! which means “Hope to see you soon!” Adopting to this new way of life has been a wonderful experience. My goal is a challenging one: to constantly grow in my religious life by the pursuit of perfect charity through the evangelical counsels, observing my vows of chastity, poverty, and obedience with joy. This has only been possible thanks to the grace of our Divine Master, Jesus Christ, and the support of my brother religious who made that same vows that I did.

Indeed, this experience has been the most gratifying of all my life: Following Christ and striving to imitate Him more closely along with my brothers, each of us in his own way; helping the Order and the Church in their necessities; leaving our possessions and family for God and receiving in return many religious families, in the families of our companions. I believe that together we are building up the Body of Christ (Eph. 4:12), which is the treasure we now hold in common. We have been called by God to seek our personal holiness in community and faithfully to respond to that call. We try to live more closely to Christ and His Body, which is the Church, through the Rule and teachings of our founder, St. Augustine.

We share the common life, adapting ourselves in accord with our individual temperaments, striving to live in fraternity and respect, and putting our talents in common in imitation of Christ and St. Augustine. We go out once a month to visit the various sights of Spain—museums, cathedrals, historical churches, and many more interesting places—that help us grow in our love for God and our knowledge of history and culture. We dedicate our lives to God’s service. I have learned that this is a special consecration, which is deeply rooted in our baptism. This service of God ought to inspire in us the exercise of the virtues, especially the humility of Christ (Phil. 2:7). We are to seek God, above all in contemplation, the God who has first loved us (1 Jn. 4:10).

As Augustinian Recollects we celebrate everything together: the Mass, daily prayers, the holy rosary, and common meditation. We nourish our spiritual life from the richest sources. Our religious community works to live according to all the teachings of St. Augustine guided by our Constitutions and the Way of Life, written by Fr. Luis de Leon in 1589. Our common life is fashioned on the model of the early Church, where the believers were united in one heart and one soul (Acts 4: 32-35). My religious community is a true family for me. Furthermore our unity has one purpose, to be a visible pledge that Christ will return (Jn. 13:35). I love wearing my religious habit because it is an outward mark of my consecration to God.

My current studies are in the area of arts and science with a major in philosophy, preparing me to eventually earn a degree in theology, which is required for the priesthood. My academic studies must blend with the two other aspects of my formation as an Augustinian Recollect: my life in community and my spiritual life.

In concluding, I would like to invite all those who share my desire to service God to consider a vocation to the religious life: whether in our Order of Augustinian Recollects or in another of your own choosing. Come join us, you too can contribute very much to the glory of God, to the salvation of your own soul and that of countless others. I invite parents to nurture the vocations of their children by instilling Christian virtue in their hearts. And when one sees that a member of the family wants to serve God, to direct him in the right way. God will reward you. The religious life is a wonderful vocation; it is a great gift of God to men and women to serve His Son, Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

May the Virgin Mary, our Mother of Consolation, St. Joseph, her husband, and our Father St. Augustine, whose life is a model for us, increase our devotion for Christ in an effective way, and may they defend us from all evil forever!

May God bless you,

Fra. Juan José Alfaro, OAR

Professed students from "Las Rozas" in Madrid, Spain, gather to attend workshop on St. Augustine entitled "Fourty Years after the Second Vatican Council." Fra. Juan José (center-left) stands next to Fr. Marciano Santervas, prior of the community.

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