Information service of the Pontifical Mission Societies since 1927
by Fabio Beretta
Port Moresby (Fides News Agency) – "What does God want from me?". There is joy and many expectations among the young seminarians of Papua New Guinea: in a few days' time they will meet Pope Francis. And while the final preparations for this meeting are eagerly underway, one question continues to echo in their minds: “What does God want from me?”.
A question to which it is difficult to find an immediate answer. But in the Major Seminary community dedicated to the "Holy Spirit", founded in Port Moresby in March 1963 and relocated a few years later to Bomana (twelve kilometres from the capital), this question also serves as a compass.
"Entering the seminary was not exactly what I was thinking about when I completed my course of study – says seminarian Mathew Gona, of the Archdiocese of Rabaul, to Fides News Agency –. I aimed to become a teacher or a business manager. ” All it took was one meeting to upset all his plans: "Getting to know Fr. Michael P. Cornelius Gaga brought a big change to my life. I was struck by his way of life, his personality, his character. That meeting made me reflect and ask ‘What does God want from me?’. Up to that moment, in fact, I was asking myself the wrong question: ‘What do I want?’".
Mathew begins to seriously reflect on his path: “I made the choice of entering the seminary, which is the exact opposite of what I had wanted to do. I talked about it with my parents who immediately supported and encouraged me on this path".
For seminarian Jeffrey Ossom, from the Diocese of Madang, there is also a meeting underpinning the choice to join the priesthood: "I experienced parish activities, I attended youth groups. I admired my parish priest, it is he who inspired me: seeing how he lives his vocation, his presence among the people, always ready to offer help and advice, the words in his homilies... This gave rise to the desire to one day be a priest like him, close to the people".
Talking to the seminarians, one realizes that this question, "What does God want from me?", comes like a bolt out of the blue in the most unthinkable moments: "I was in school in 2011 when I decided to join the ‘Vocation Club’ of my institute – Jacob Tumun, of the Diocese of Mt. Hagen –. I decided to take the exam for admission into the seminary before finishing my studies and on the day of my graduation the news arrived: exam passed. But I entered the minor seminary the following year: I prayed every day asking God, ‘What do you want from me?’ because despite the good grades, no one would hire me. ‘What does God want from me?’. In the end I understood that He had another project, and in 2014 I entered the minor seminary in Kap".
Jeffrey's, Mathew's and Jacob's stories are similar in many ways, despite each of them coming from different parts of the country: if each of them is asked "Who transmitted faith to you?", the answer that comes in unison is: "Mom and Dad". "The first prayers I remember learning from them – says Mathew – were the sign of the cross, the Hail Mary and a prayer to be recited before going to sleep in Pidgin, which is my mother tongue". "My mother had me baptized – Jacob recalls – but my faith matured thanks to my grandparents and catechists".
In their lives, however, the role of missionaries has also been central: "Thanks to them I have found my way of reasoning", emphasizes Jeffrey. For Jacob, too, missionaries played a significant role in his formation: “I was baptized by one of them, I received First Communion from a Polish missionary. The school I attended was also run by missionaries". “I grew up in a parish which was cared for by missionaries, my parish priest was a German missionary. If I look back – says Mathew – it was he who laid a solid foundation for my faith and my calling. If I am who I am today, it is thanks to missionaries like Father Meinard, who has done an enormous and tireless job in building my Catholic faith. "
A faith that now, with the Apostolic Journey, will be confirmed by the Pope: "From the meeting with the Pope I expect the confirmation of faith but also the desire to be always united with Jesus. "I want to follow him in this life as a priest," Mathew continues. It will be a moment of grace for me as I deepen my life by continuing to ask myself, ‘What does God want from me?’”
The same expectations are also in Jeffrey's heart: “It will be like a father putting his hand on his son's shoulder when he's in trouble saying, ‘I'm here, you can do it.’ The visit of a Pope after almost thirty years is a great joy and a great blessing for us. In his words and gestures we will find new lifeblood to move forward".
For Jacob, however, Pope Francis's two days in Papua New Guinea will be the beginning "of new and numerous changes, both spiritual and moral, in the country. Or at least that is what I hope, just as I hope that Blessed ToRot can soon be canonized so as to strengthen the faith of our people. "
After the joy of the meeting and the celebration, it will be necessary to return to studying at our desks: Matthew is fascinated by liturgy, Jeffry by biblical exegesis, and Jacob by the sacramental. The real challenge will begin when they will be ordained as priests: “I want to dedicate my life to being near the poor, orphans, widows and those who live far away to bring them the beauty of the proclamation of the Gospel,” says Mathew.
Jeffry also wants to "get his hands dirty" to be present "among the people and be their companion on their journey of faith, thus imitating my parish priest who inspired my calling". Jacob, on the other hand, dreams of being a healer of souls: "I want to be, making an effort a confessor, forgive sins and become a formator in the seminary in my Archdiocese".
(Fides News Agency 22/8/2024)
