A piece of news to share

[Santi]

Hello all,

I wrote about this on the GK and GM boards a week or so ago, until Collector pointed out that I'll have a bigger chance to reach all the people I want to reach by posting here.

In the past months I made a big life decision, prepared and grown during the many months I have not shown myself around: I entered seminary, to become a Catholic priest.
It is not a choice I can explain rationally to non-believers - for the believers among you, I can add that it is not even a choice I made, but rather an answer to a vocation I had been hearing clearly in my heart for some years now, an encounter with a person (a Person, actually ), which led to the decision to give all my life to this Person as an answer for all he gave me and keeps giving me.

Like all the big life decision, mine implies some choices, too: I decided to renounce a further career at the university, I quit music studies at the conservatory, quit acting and choir singing and renounced also to part of my personal freedom to seclude myself into seminary for the next six or seven years.
All my existence is now basically projected into this direction, with the obvious difficulties I experience day by day, but at the same time with a great sense of fulfillment. As for my online presence, you all know that the last years had been marked by the rise of Facebook and other social networks. With my choice causing me to cut a lot of relationships and friendships I had built in my "secular" existence, I decided to invest the little online time I have in upkeeping those relationships through Facebook, rather than spend it here on the boards. I still remember many of you fondly, and always will.

One thing I have to say is that I owe this to GK. I was raised as a Catholic, but lost faith during adolescence. And then, in my late teens back in 2002, I played GK3, fell in love with it, and got totally intrigued by its religious overtones and its amazing back story. I dug deep into all the esotheric stuff for some years, way before the Da Vinci Code surfaced, and ended up, after some time, with rejecting that kind of theses as rationally not believable. Which caused me to take back into consideration what I had previously rejected - Catholic faith; since then it has been seven or eight years of slow, sometimes painful, but definitely more mature rebuilding of my being Christian. And at some point, the vocational issue I am pursuing now emerged, too.

A big embrace to you all, especially to those I have known from the WebX Sierra boards.

[Tawmis]

Congrats on the choice, and the path you take. If it makes YOU happy, that's what should really matter.

[DeadPoolX]

I can't say it's a path I'd choose (beyond being Jewish), but like Tawmis said, if it makes you happy, go for it.

[Rudy]

I agree with Tawm and DPX. I don't believe in God (any god), but I am a strong believer that a person should pursue his/her desires in life and that people should respect other people's choices. You're still good old Santi to me and I wish you all the best on your new path .

[Rath Darkblade]

Like Rudy, I cannot say I believe in any god. However, I fully believe that if (to paraphrase from the Declaration of Independence) all people are created equal, and from that equality springs the right to the pursuit of happiness and fulfillment. Therefore it follows that, although I do not believe in any god, if it makes you feel happy and fulfilled, then who am I to tell you what you should or should not do?

Santi, I wish you all the best on your new calling, where-ever it may take you. I hope it allows you to be at peace with your own beliefs and with those of the ones you care for best.

[AndreaDraco]

As I already told you, like many others here, I'm an atheist, but I respect your choice, Santi, since I'm sure you gave it a lot of thought and are sure about it. I wish you all the best.

[El Ravager]

Hey Santi, I'm really happy for you that you've found some direction for your life and that you feel like you have a clear purpose. I hope your future in the ministry will give you lots of opportunities to bring comfort to many, many hurting people, both spiritual comfort as well as physical.

Also, I'm not a Catholic but I know that over here in the Protestant end of the Christianity pool, both Seminary as well as fulltime ministry can be extremely difficult and is never perceived as a cakewalk, so I wish you the best of luck and a measure of endurance beyond what is the norm as you endeavor to travel this thorny and uphill yet ultimately rewarding path.

[JasefWisener]

I'm really glad that you've seemingly found a purpose for your life. I may be Protestant, but I understand what you're talking about. I wish you the best of luck in this.