Congratulations to Father Gabriel Camacho!

 Gabriel Camacho was a seminarian in Guam RMS and a son of Guam.  He was recently ordained a priest on May 29th by Cardinal Joseph Tobin in the Cathedral Basiica of the Sacred Heart in Newark.  Congratulations to Father Gabriel Camacho!  According to the article: 

 

Gabriel Celis Camacho

Age: 31
Birthplace: Tamuning, Guam
Home parish: St. Columba’s Church, Newark; Dulce Nombre de Maria Cathedral Basilica, Hagåtña, Guam
Education: Bachelor of Sacred Theology (Lateran University); M.A. in Systematic Theology from Seton Hall University

Growing up in Guam, Father Camacho did all the things that were expected of him. He studied hard, got a good job, a car, and a social life. Yet, something was still missing.

“The Church came to find me and offered me an alternative, which I fought against for many years,” he explained. “Seminary life and becoming a priest was never appealing to me. ‘What a sad and boring life,’ I would say. But as I was entering my sophomore year of college, this part of my Life was the clearest definition of a ‘sad and boring Life.’ It was necessary for me to hit rock bottom to submit to entering into a seminary. My best decision yet.”

Father Camacho entered the seminary in 2009 and was immediately struck by the various backgrounds of his fellow seminarians who came from all different parts of the world. With this diversity came different personalities and cultures.

“Since the very first day, I saw the seminary as a kind of Zoo, with all sorts of animals living together,” he said. “There are five different ways to play soccer, 13 different opinions about which country has the best food, but only one way to eat pasta.”

Father Camacho said the challenges were the fondest memories: “To put a bunch of men, from different backgrounds, under one roof. Only God can do that! To witness disagreements and arguments on one day, and then see them smiling and laughing together the next? Only God can do that!”

When asked why he wanted to become a priest, Father Camacho responded, “Why not be a priest? If this is how God wishes to bring happiness into my life, Amen! So be it!”

These are challenging times, he said, but that is precisely the point.

“Everyone is looking to be secure, to be safe, but more than anything, we are all, including myself, just looking to find happiness, to find a sense of satisfaction. Happiness can only be found in doing what God has planned out in our lives. That is based on personal experience. He is our Father, and He only wants what is best for all of us. Why on earth would I depart from this awesome adventure? I say, ‘Lord, let us move forward.'”