My Vocation Story–Fr Luis Alfonso Segura, MSC

Pope Francis insisted that we must never tire of seeking God because He never tires of us. The story of my vocation occurred in an unusual context. One night when I was seventeen years old, I was talking to Father Román Jaramillo, a diocesan priest of the Diocese of Tumaco, to which my town belonged. He asked me, “Lucho, would you like to be a priest?” I stared at him while thinking a resounding ‘no, wondering if the priest had gone crazy. The idea of being a priest had never crossed my mind before, as I had never considered a life of celibacy. I wanted to get married and have children. I finally told him no, but he insisted, ‘Think about it’. I decided not to think about it for a while. However, the idea eventually returned to me, and through one of life’s strange coincidences, in December 1988, I met Father Joseph Fath and four religious Missionaries of the Sacred Heart. This was a sign from Jesus confirming His call to me because they invited me to begin a process of discernment to be a Missionary of the Sacred Heart. In July 1989, I traveled to Bogotá, Colombia to visit the seminary of the Missionaries of the Sacred Heart, and in January 1990 I entered to their seminary formation program.

During that conversation on that day, Father Roman lit a small flame within my heart that grew into a great flame which continues to motivate my life and ministry until today. Two important ideas emerged from that conversation. First, we should never be afraid to invite people to follow Jesus as priests or religious, because we never know when the Lord will touch someone’s heart. In this sense, we must always cast our net tirelessly (Jn 21:6). Secondly, I was seduced by the love of God, as the prophet Jeremiah says: ‘You seduced me, O Lord, and I let myself go’ (Jeremiah 20:7).

There is a Bible passage that has always inspired my life and vocation. I like it very much because it highlights the idea that our vocation is a gift that comes from God and entrusted to us despite our fragility. “But we carry this treasure in earthen vessels, so that it may be seen that this extraordinary power comes from God and not from us”. (2 Cor 4:7).

Thirty-four years ago, I joined the MSC, and during all this time it has been the Holy Spirit who has guided, strengthened and encouraged me in my vocation. It was the same Spirit that ignited my love for Jesus and made me want to be His missionary, going from place to place and sharing his gospel. Our Lady of the Sacred Heart has always protected me, like a mother guiding her child on the right path. I believe she always leads me to what is fundamental: the love of Jesus, which is the driving force of my ministry. I am happy to be a Missionary of the Sacred Heart because it has given me the opportunity to share God’s love with many people, to offer hope to those in need and evangelize in many regions of Colombia as well in other countries. I´m sure that Jesus has touched many lives through my ministry and I am grateful to him for calling me to his service as an MSC.

My Timeline:

• January, 1990 – entered the formation program of the USA Province of the Missionaries of the Sacred Heart in
  Colombia
• August, 1993 to July 1994 – Novitiate in Santiago, Dominican Republic
• September 8, 1994 – professed my first vows, in Bogotá
• November 13, 1999 – ordained to the priesthood in the Church of Our Lady of the Sacred Heart in Jamundi, Valle, Colombia – Archbishop Isaias Duarte Cancino, Archbishop of Cali was the ordaining bishop
• From 1998 through 2022, I’ve had various assignments and served as Formation Director.
• Presently, I am Pastor of Our Lady of Solitude and Our Lady of Guadalupe in Palm Springs (CA).

Fr Luis Alfonso Segura, MSC