By Seminarian Dennis Raj
It was an ordinary Sunday, and I was eight years old. I still remember the first time I touched the cassock during my catechism class when my teacher brought us to the sacristy. There, I saw a long and soft cassock. I quickly asked my teacher, “Can I wear it?” Suddenly to my surprise, a loud voice replied, “It would not fit you!” and everyone burst into laughter but not me. When I turned around it was the Parish Priest Rev Fr Clement Pereira. He had come in to prepare for the evening Mass. Looking at my rather sad and perplexed face, he asked me, “Why do you want to wear it?” I replied hesitantly, “Just to try Father”. He then said, “If you wear it without understanding the meaning, it would just be another cloth in your eyes”. A question rang in my mind, “What is so great about the cassock?” At that moment, I never thought of becoming a priest, but it evoked a strange feeling, which I could not express in word. When I was 11, out of the blue, I told my parents that I wanted to become a priest, but they did not take it seriously, thinking I was just joking.
After completing my primary education, it was a new beginning for my secondary school life, and it changed my focus. However, my involvement in various ministries in the Church remained. In 2006, after my PMR examination, my focus shifted to other things, just like every other teenager. During this time, I faced many challenges and obstacles, but somehow the grace of God saved me. After, I finished my tertiary studies, I started working. Still, I always felt something was missing, and so I began to search for it. I joined the Police Voluntary Reserve (PVR) in 2013. It was a great experience and exposure for me. In that short period of time, I was able to see and understand the reality of people’s mentality in cultural destruction, injustice, discrimination, bribery, selfishness, and other aspects of the ugly side of human life. Caught in between these two lifestyles, I was confused, disturbed, and always felt that there was a void. Until I met Fr Robert Daniel who helped me to overcome the challenges and shared with me the knowledge on Church teachings. He became my spiritual guide.
In 2016, I was employed in the Diocese of Penang as a Migrant Relations Officer for the Perak Deanery. In my first year, I struggled to cope since I had zero knowledge about this ministry. On that day, I visited the Blessed Sacrament. That was the time the Word of God came to me: “Whom shall I send?” It struck me deeply and confused me. Nevertheless, with God’s grace, in the years which followed, I was able to break all obstacles. I discovered my call to serve the Lord with passion for the migrants. It always helped me to focus, and I felt God’s presence in this ministry more strongly.
Then again, even in the presence of God’s grace and mercy, I still felt there was a gap and a sense of dissatisfaction. So, I began to search for the answer through prayer and my parish priest’s guidance. Frequent visits to the Blessed Sacrament helped to clear my mind, and I strongly felt God calling me to serve in his vineyard. Then I decided to answer him: “Here I am, Lord” and joined the seminary. That is how I arrived in College General and began my journey as a seminarian.
