Ashton Francisco Wong, another son of Guam was ordained a transitional deacon on May 23, 2021 at the Cathedral Basilica of the Sacred Heart in Newark. You can find the information here. Ashton will be ordain a priest in 2022.
Ashton Francisco Wong
Home Parish
Holy Family in Nutley
What inspired you to discern the priesthood?
Before the seminary, I lived my best life: as a teenager on Guam, I was a successful scholar-athlete; this culminated in a basketball scholarship to Dallas University. I enjoyed all the benefits of being a popular high school athlete: attention from girls, going to parties, and living the ‘good’ life. Although I had everything I wanted – success in academics and athletics, an abundance of friends and admirers, and a secure career path – I felt empty and unsatisfied.
Through the Neocatechumenal Way, I encountered the love of God actually and concretely in my life. I was looking for life from people and things that couldn’t give me life. I found authentic fulfillment in my encounter with Jesus Christ, especially through the Eucharist.
On World Youth Day, I witnessed many priests who were happy with their vocation. They were happier than I was, even though I had sports, fame, friends, and girls. I wanted to know why they were happy, and I wasn’t. So, I decided to respond to God’s call. So far, he hasn’t given me a reason to leave the seminary. The best years of my life have been this time in the seminary.
What inspired me to discern the priesthood was God’s persistent interest in me even though I was not interested in him. He won me over with his faithfulness and generosity, undeserving as I am.
What saints have influenced your discernment the most and why?
The saint that has influenced my discernment the most has been St. John Paul the Great. He was a talented man who loved sports and had every reason to hate God (World War II was not nice to him). In his suffering, he didn’t reject God but sought him out.
He was an awesome Pope whom the Lord used to renew the Church. Although he was very talented at many things (academics, theater, sports) and could have made a career in any of these things, he responded to God’s call to the priesthood. What made him attractive was not his talent, good looks, or personal brilliance, but his relationship with the Lord manifested in his priesthood and papacy. I guess he’s great because he allowed the Lord to work greatly in his life.
His life is a huge help for me because the allurements of the world are tempting. Although John Paul II had more reason to pursue worldly success, he didn’t. His life reassures me that God wants to give me the best, that he wants to give me a life that the world can’t possibly give me.
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