Jared

invited me to come with her, so I joined her and went to Mass a few times a week. Then, I attended a summer camp at a diocesan seminary for high school men discerning their vocation in the Diocese of Arlington, Virginia.

The camp was called Quo Vadis. This camp revitalized my spiritual life. I learned that God had an amazing plan for my life, and I wanted to follow it. At this point in my life, I first became open to the call to diocesan priesthood and religious life because I spent time with priests, seminarians, and religious men. I learned about important topics of the faith while praying the Divine Office, Mass, and the rosary with other men, priests, and religious each day. I began to know God’s love for me, and I spent more time praying the rosary and the Divine Office. Also, I sat alone in our parish church to pray alone silently more often. At this camp, I spent time with a group of friends who wanted the best for me and were a good influence by their company and examples of striving for holiness.

After this amazing experience, I knew I had to change my life and put God at the center. I began to make good confessions frequently and started accompanying my mom every day to Mass, and I received Holy Communion often before going to school in the morning. I developed a great love for Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament and went to my parish’s adoration chapel after Mass with my mother. I began to treasure the gift of the priesthood and the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. Furthermore, I yearned to have an intimate relationship with Jesus and His Holy Mother and spent much of my spare time reading Scripture, spiritual books on the priesthood, monastic life, the rosary, and other topics concerning mental prayer. My mother and I grew closer together and to Jesus by praying the rosary, Mass, and Divine Office together often and we were learning about the Holy Catholic faith together. We both became involved in the Legion of Mary at our parish and in apostolic works of evangelization in the local community.

Since I was 16 years old, I have been thinking about and learning about the religious life and praying about it before God. This strong desire for a contemplative religious life has abided for seven years since I was 16 years old. I tasted the sweetness of time spent devoted to God in silence and I wanted to become a saint by following the Lord’s evangelical counsels. At this point in my life, my prayer life consisted of praying 10 decades of the rosary, praying daily Mass and receiving Holy Communion often, praying at least 30 minutes of silent mental prayer or lectio divina, reading spiritual books for 20 minutes, and praying Lauds, Vespers, and Compline. I was able to pray in this way because I had gradually worked up to it and I did not feel burdened or wearied by God’s grace.

After graduation, I visited the Carthusian monastery I was discerning with for one month in June 2025. After this visit, they made the decision through prayer and reflection to accept me with open arms into their community. I waited a few months to think about whether to accept their invitation to begin postulancy. To allow for time to pray and reflect on this momentous decision, I made a pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela in July immediately after the one month visit to the monastery. Finally, after much prayer and consideration, I accepted their invitation in late August 2025.

I continued my studies of French and began planning a run across the United States to raise money for a local pregnancy center, which I finished on June 12th, 2026, on the Solemnity of the Sacred Heart of Jesus. Looking back, I am truly grateful for all the ways God has been working in my life up to this moment, step by step. Through prayer, discernment, spiritual direction, and several years of consideration and experience, I have found that God has placed a desire on my heart to serve Him and the Church in accord with the evangelical counsels of poverty, chastity, and obedience.