OK, picture this … we receive an invitation to the priestly ordination of a young man who we worked with during our sojourn in Denver. He was on his two years of parish work and was assigned to our parish, St. James. His mentor was Father Felix … our pastor. Agustin was assigned as acting DRE … I was doing FHC prep while dh was running RCIA. We fed this young man … prayed with this young man … brought this young man into our family.

Could we make time to head up into the “belly of the beast”, braving Saturday traffic to get to the NE side of Washington and attend? Heck yeah … even though it meant leaving our house at 7:00 a.m. for a 10:00 a.m. Mass. Even the kids didn’t fuss — that’s how much Agustin means to our family.

It was a GREAT honor to drive up the 2+ hours to the National Shrine … THE nation’s Catholic church … for the ordination of Agustin and four other men to the priesthood. Dh and I cried when he received the chasuble and stole from our former pastor … we sang and clapped and rejoiced on the crypt-level of the Shrine … standing in a crush of people … waiting for the blessings from this new priest. We were in the Our Lady of Good Counsel chapel … a chapel with a quote from St. Augustine, Agustin’s patron, emblazoned on the marble wall.

We were so very happy to be blessed, as a family, by this newest priest of the Archdiocese of Washington! A native of Quito, Ecuador, Agustin today promised his life and vocation in obedience to Cardinal Archbishop Wuerl of Washington, D.C.

What an amazingly tough time for a young man to say “YES” to God’s call .. to be a priest in the order of Melchizedek … to be willing to forego wife and children to answer the call. We don’t yet know where Father Agustin is based, but rest assured, we’ll be checking in on him … praying for him daily … and thanking God that He brought this young man into our lives … and kept him in our lives!

We will pray for Fr. Agustin and the other four men who promised today to lead the celibate life of a Catholic priest, to put others ALWAYS first, to minister and give of self like no other.

God bless you, Father Agustin Lopez-Espinosa … may you be a good and faithful servant to Him who loves us so completely, even unto death!