Fr. Hector Montoya
My name is Hector
Montoya Juarez. I was born in November 1, 1975 in Acambaro
Guanajuato , Mexico, and grew up in a small town called
San Cayetano, which belongs to the municipality of
Acambaro. My dad's name is
Apolonio Montoya and my mom's is Maria Refugio Juarez. I am the eldest of seven
children. I was eighteen years old when I came to the United
States. Once being in the United States, I found a job as a broccoli crop
worker in Greenfield, CA. On my evenings, after I
finished working, I liked to play soccer, spend time with friends, read
magazines, listen to music, and watch TV. This routine continued for about a
year, until I was invited to a charismatic prayer group in Holy
Trinity Church.
As I continued participating in
this Church, little by little I became involved in many different Church
ministries, such as the youth group, bible study, choir, and proclamation of the
Word group. In this prayer group, I began to experience the love of God. It was a great community in which the
priority or main goal was to lead the person to a personal encounter with God. In my case, I did
experience God in my life in a way difficult to describe in words, but mainly it
was through the love, friendship, and understanding of the community, and by my
personal relationship with Jesus and Mary. This experience of God made me change
my way of life. After that experience, my main concern was to build my
relationship with God. I began to be less selfish, becoming more interested in
helping others. In fact, it was in this community that I felt God’s call to the
priesthood.
I began to consider the
possibility of joining the seminary to become a priest when I was about 20 years
old. After discerning for about a year, I said "Yes" to God and went to the
rectory to talk with my pastor about my decision. Subsequently, he connected me
to the diocese of Sacramento, and then, around a
year later, I got accepted as a candidate to the priesthood. In the Diocese of
Sacramento, I got my GED diploma, and two months later I was sent to an
extension of the University of
Davis to
study English, as a second language, which I finished in the spring of 2000. I went to Mount
Angel
seminary in the fall of 2000. There, I began my process of seminary formation
towards priesthood. I graduated from college in 2004, from my theological
studies on 2009, and finally was ordained a priest on May 25, 2009. As a newly
ordained priest, my first assignment was St. John the Baptist Parish in
Chico, CA. And two years later, I was assigned to St. Vincent Ferrer Parish.
When I reflect on what I have
experienced since I responded to God’s call, I see that behind all this
process God has always been present. There have been challenges, achievements,
and ups & downs. However, I think that my process of growth and maturity as
a Christian and as a human being has been very positive. I also acknowledge that
the support and help of my family, friends and others has been essential in the
process of my priestly formation. Right now my only desire is to respond to God’s
call in the best possible way, by being faithful to his call by zealously
loving and serving his people.
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