Daniel’s body was weakened by chemotherapy. Leukemia had entered his life at the young age of 15 — two years later, he still didn’t know what to do with so much suffering. He was sustained only by the love and care of his parents.
Even still, it was in the midst of this great suffering that God reminded him of a desire that had marked him since childhood: the desire to be a priest.
“After the first two years of suffering, one day I heard a quiet voice in my heart, the voice of Jesus that said to me, ‘You are suffering now, and you will suffer all your life. Follow me in the priesthood and I will suffer with you,” recalled Daniel Rivas, now a seminarian for the Archdiocese of Denver at St. John Vianney Seminary in Denver.
“That was what I needed to hear,” Rivas continued. “It was so clear; there was no doubt that this was my vocation.”
This was not the first time that Daniel thought about the priesthood. From his childhood, the idea of a vocation had already captivated him. Though he was born in Denver, he used to spend his summers in his father’s birthplace, Zacatecas, Mexico.
When he was 10, during a summer Mass, he wondered why all the priests he had seen were older; there were no young priests. Realizing the need for younger priests stirred up a desire in him to serve the Church.
Rivas recalled a key moment in his childhood when he shared this desire with his uncle in Mexico. “I want to be a priest,” he told his uncle. His uncle was ecstatic to hear the news and congratulated him. The word spread and soon his whole family knew that Daniel wanted to be a priest.
“My uncle’s reaction and that of my family sowed the seed of that desire. I think that the family’s reaction is very important,” Rivas shared. “It was then when I said: ‘This is something good, something that brings joy to others.”
Even though the seed of a vocation was present, Daniel’s faith only became truly deep and personal after he was diagnosed with leukemia.
“The suffering opened my heart. For that reason, I say that it was a gift to have suffered that much,” Rivas said. “At that time, my faith was not yet my own but only what my parents had taught me. I saw that my parents prayed and practiced the faith. They were part of the Christian Family Movement in Denver; they were formed there and I, too, was formed through that ministry. But during my time of suffering, I experienced the love of God concretely through my parents, who cared for me with such love and patience.”
After hearing Jesus’ call while suffering such infirmity, Rivas still had to fight through two more years of intense treatments before recovering.
“At 18, after four years of chemotherapy, I applied to the seminary,” Rivas recalled with a smile.
Now, in his seventh year as a seminarian, Rivas is grateful for the way in which God has continually confirmed his vocation. By sharing his story, he wants to encourage young people and families to not be afraid.
In this time of shortage of priests, Rivas believes that there are two important things that Catholics should consider.
Firstly, he asks parents to respond in faith if one of their sons wants to enter the seminary.
“If God is calling your son to the priesthood, that is where he will find real happiness, because the Lord has called him to that,” Rivas said. “How are we to know the purpose of one’s life better than God? There are many misunderstandings about priestly life: that they are alone and sad. But I have found more happiness here than in any other place. Parents, have faith: the Lord gives us everything to be truly happy.”
Secondly, Rivas considers it of utmost importance that all the faithful contribute to the formation of priests, both financially and through prayer.
“I am very grateful that my parents were able to say: ‘Don’t think of the cost. We want you to decide freely.’ That gave me the freedom and the peace to enter seminary,” Rivas shared. “But it’s very sad to hear that many young men who have the desire never pursue it because of the cost.”
That is precisely why it is important for Catholics to unite and contribute to the formation of future priests. Only in this way will we make it possible for young people who want to discern their vocation in one of our two seminaries, St. John Vianney and Redemptoris Mater, to do so without letting cost be an impediment.
“Finally, I would tell young people that following God is a step of faith. If you feel that desire, take that step of faith. The Lord will give you much more than you think possible. Do not be afraid. He wants you to take this step of faith,” concluded Rivas.
To support the formation of seminarians like Daniel, who will be our future priests, please visit archden.org/futurepriests.
