Moved by Mary to Enter the Legionaries of Christ

Br. Rodrigo Fernández de Castro, LC, who recently made his final vows with the Legionaries of Christ, spoke of how he felt the call to join. He tells his story:

It was Holy Saturday, April 11, 2009. I was in the novitiate in Monterrey on a vocational retreat [in the USA, we call these Test Your Call retreats]. In my heart there were doubts about whether or not to go to the candidacy, whether to continue my university degree or take the plunge of entering the novitiate. I felt that God was asking me for something more, but I did not understand what that “something else” was: more prayer? More apostolate? Or even, the total dedication of my life? That morning I approached the Grotto of Our Lady and entered into an internal dialogue with Mary, asking her in more or less similar words:

“Mother, perhaps Jesus has already told me clearly what he wants from me, whether to enter the novitiate or not, but I do not understand him. I ask you to listen to him for me and, like a mother who is cutting up the food so that her son can eat it, you will gradually tell me what Jesus wants for me.”

Hours passed. I did not expect such a quick response, because I had heard that the things of God have a different rhythm than the things of the world. But then, at night, at the Easter Vigil Mass, the unexpected happened: in my heart I felt the voice of God answering my doubts and clarifying the way for me. Jesus, the light of the world (cf. John 8:12), came to my heart and illuminated it with his clarity, inviting me to follow him in this vocation, to give him my life completely.

Then I remembered what I had asked Mary hours before. She had not failed me! Mary had come to Jesus and had interceded for me, just as she interceded for the bride and groom at the wedding in Cana. If at that time she had said to Jesus, “they have no wine.” (John 2: 3) this time I had told him “I have no light” and then He had given me his clarifying light.

Every time I go by a grotto of Mary in any of our houses I remember: Mary is my mother. And as a good mother, she cares about me, that I am well, that I am happy, that I am on the right track. She is a close mother, who listens to her children, who takes upon herself their worries, difficulties and anguishes, and presents them to Jesus, not resting until she obtains from him a grace, a blessing.

Since entering ECYD or Regnum Christi we have been told about love for Mary. This month would be a good time to renew it. If it is dying off, like the embers in a fireplace, let’s put some straw in and the fire will light again. If it is already burning, let’s throw more logs on, so that the light and heat that come from us reach other souls. How many people are in need of that tenderness, closeness and mediation of Mary! Let us approach each day, before going to sleep, to ask her for the wine that our life needs: peace, serenity, greater dedication, an apostle’s heart, and, in our last hours, a good death.

Originally from the Spanish language Regnum Christi site. Read the original there or listen to it on Soundcloud.