After his ordination as a priest last Saturday, September 9 at the Cathedral of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, the young man from Arrecife, Alejandro Carmona, gave an interview last Tuesday to Radio Lanzarote-Onda Cero to talk about his Christian vocation, his first contact with God and his upcoming appointments as a new priest.
A professional vocation that "comes from my family," he says. "I have always lived it since I was little," since my parents have "always been believers," he says. "Although according to what they tell me, they became practicing as a result of a depression that my mother had," he confesses.
Although at first, this priest chose another path for his future. "As a teenager I was a bit rebellious and the subject of the church bored me," he admits. When I finished high school, "my plan was to be a French teacher and I went to study French philology in Salamanca," he recalls.
But he soon changed his mind, all because of a trip he made to Madrid to participate in a meeting of the Catholic Charismatic in 2014. "I was invited to a youth meeting, where I discovered a God who loves you deeply and does not judge you," he says.
"I discovered a God who loves you deeply and does not judge you"
It was the moment when "God touched my heart," he reveals. It meant "my particular encounter with Jesus Christ," to the point of "leaving there floating, very happy, as if I were touching the sky," adds the priest.
In addition, in moments of prayer I discovered that among the 400 and 500 young people that we were, "God touched the hearts of some who were suffering bad family experiences, friendships, with studies, etc.," he recalls.
On the way back to Salamanca, "we had a car accident, in which one of my companions died," he says. At that moment, "I lost consciousness and woke up lying on the road," says Carmona.
When he woke up from the accident, "I only had a scar on my head," he reveals. An experience that made him "enter the seminary and get a degree in Theology," he confirms. Every day "I got up and repeated to myself: I want to be a priest," he adds proudly.
Years later, "I was clear that I wanted to do the diocese in Gran Canaria," the now priest wanted to "be in the Canary Islands, his land."
His debut in Lanzarote
With a broad agenda, this priest will be in San Ginés next Saturday, September 16 with his first mass, he says. In addition, next Monday he will officiate another mass in Titerroy, which will take place at "eight in the afternoon", to which he encourages listeners to attend.
Also on Tuesday, September 19 at 7:00 p.m. in Mancha Blanca, "we will thank our patron saint of Los Dolores in another mass," he says as part of his agenda.
He confesses that he is "very happy", a feeling that even his brothers notice. "They tell me: well, if it makes you happy, go ahead." In addition, it is so appreciated that for "my parents I am the happiest of my three brothers," he reveals.
With respect to his close people, such as his friends, they comment that "it causes them a lot of curiosity," he says. Although "they already imagined something, whenever we met I said: we meet, but first I'm going to mass," he lets us see.
"Enjoying everything that the Lord gives you every day", is what drives him to follow his vocation, and also, having the certainty that "I give my life to others", he points out.
"Enjoying everything that the Lord gives you every day and giving my life to others"
It should be noted that this priest recently remarks in a funny way, that he has arrived from the "honeymoon of my marriage with God." He also wants to give advice to young people who want to dedicate themselves to God: "If any young person is listening to us, and feels that little thing, let him listen to the voice of God," he concludes.
