"God wants you to find the vocation He has made you for, so let Him bring you to it."
BR. ANDRÉS MARÍA TRUJILLO, OP
TAKE A MOMENT TO
MEET BR. ANDRÉS MARÍA!
What's your favorite prayer?
The rosary, by far.
What's your favorite thing you've read during your studies?
The One and the Many by Fr. W. Norris Clarke, SJ. It is a very simple and approachable introduction to the metaphysics of St. Thomas Aquinas, and I would highly recommend it to anyone looking to understand St. Thomas' philosophical understanding of reality.
What's your favorite memory from your experience of formation?
In the summer after my first year, I went to Puerto Rico to learn Spanish. In the middle of the summer, I had this realization that I was 2,500 miles away from my family home in rural New Mexico, and I was now on a tropical island in the Caribbean. In the midst of this realization, I was feeling very content and at peace. It was then that I knew that the work of the Order could send me anywhere in the world. I realized that as long as I had a Dominican life rooted in prayer, study, community life, and preaching, I would be fine wherever the Order needed me to go.
If you had a warning label, what would your's say?
Засекречено: КГБ (Classified: KGB)
I double-majored in International Relations and the Russian language in undergrad. Because of this, it’s been a running joke in the Studium that I’m really just a Russian secret agent who infiltrated the Dominicans and ended up finding his vocation!
TIPS FROM BR. ANDRÉS MARÍA:
What's a tip you have for young men discerning priesthood/religious life?
Get a spiritual director. We cannot discern our vocations alone, or in a vacuum. The growth in self-knowledge that comes from discernment will help you come to a more full realization of who you are and, by extension, what your vocation is.
Any words of encouragement?
Don't be afraid. Everything really is going to be okay. I know discernment sometimes feels like something we have to get right or we are going to miss our road to Heaven, when really discernment should be a grace-filled time to grow in self-knowledge and grow closer to the Lord through intentional prayer. God wants you to find the vocation he has made you for, so let Him bring you to it.