It was June 12th, 2015, the Solemnity of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, the feast of my home parish in Colombia. The expected day had finally arrived and the joy and happiness, as well as the nervousness, had overtaken everyone in the house. The Mass of the Ordination was scheduled for 11am, but everybody was ready for the event by 6am that morning! My family was all dressed for the occasion as if it were the event of the century and, indeed, it was for all of us.

In the center of the house my brother, Carlos Ramos, was totally dressed in a black suit and for his first time, he dressed in the clerical collar. It is not permitted for a seminarian to wear a clerical collar during the time of formation prior to ordination. In certain parts of Colombia, the collar is reserved for deacons and priests.

Carlos had a big smile on his face that expressed how happy he was. The time had arrived for all of us to go to the church. At the church when the clock indicated 11am, everyone stood up to the sound of drums from our African heritage and to sing praises to God. During the ceremony Carlos could not hide his happiness, I was also filled of that same happiness and shared the same feelings for him. While I heard him responding to the questions, and saw him lying in the floor during the litany and kneeling in front of his bishop for the laying of the hands, in every one of those moments, I looked forward and visualized myself in him.

As if it was a day dream, I could see my own upcoming ordination reflected in his celebration. I lived in advance, with my brother, that with God’s help, it will be in my future for my diaconate ordination. At the end of the Mass after everyone had congratulated my brother, our family received God’s blessing from him. I have been to many ordinations and all of them had filled me with joy. But to witness my own brother’s ordination, reaffirmed once more to me that my vocational choice of serving God in his Church through the ministerial priesthood is the right path for me.