“When I think of a priest, I think of a father”

The Lord spoke to Deacon John Herrera in the silence of prayer. It was Spring Break 2012, and Herrera had joined a group of students from Saint Thomas More in Norman on a mission trip to Biloxi, Miss.
 
“During our trip, I was drawn to silent prayer in the chapel for extended periods of time. In the midst of the silence, I was very close to the tabernacle and our Lord told me he wanted me to be his priest.”
 
The possibility of becoming a priest had been there since he was age 14, rescinding and resurfacing, due to his devotion to Saint Francis of Assisi and his corresponding desire to serve the Lord. His pastor as Saint Joseph in Norman, Father Ed Menasco, fostered his vocation.
 
“Father Ed was very kind and helped me to discern this calling, even prior to receiving the call in prayer in a more direct way,” Herrera said.
 
Before the mission trip, Herrera’s direction had been uncertain. He received an associate degree from Oklahoma City Community College the previous year, but he was unsure what to do next. He took time off school to work and moved in with friends from Saint Thomas More.
 
His mom, Laura Herrera, recalled the conversation she had with her son about his vocation.
 
“He said, mom, I don’t want you to freak out or get excited; this is not a done deal, but I am considering the priesthood. I’m just considering it,” she said. “I was thrilled and his dad was very proud.”
 
“When he was young, he was very close to the Lord. I don’t remember him doing something or acting like he wanted to be a priest, but he was always very pious and very respectful. He would always dress very well for Mass. It was always very special to him.”
 
As he was growing up, Herrera’s relationship with the Lord was fostered in a variety of ways. As a homeschooler, his mom would take him to Mass during the week.
 
“We had an old Baltimore catechism from my grandmother’s house, and he read all through it,” she said. “That really helped him own it.”
 
The beauty of God’s creation also nurtured Herrera’s relationship with God.
 
“When we would go to the lake, we would get up right before the sun comes up. The day would dawn and it would wake up all the beauty. It was incredible. For John, it was a spiritual experience, really enjoying God and his creation,” Laura Herrera said.
 
Herrera’s closeness to the Lord paved his way to listen to the Lord’s call as a young man. In addition to Father Menasco, Father Jim Goins, pastor of Saint Thomas More, was instrumental in Herrera’s decision to enter the seminary.
 
“Father Jim gave me the gentle shove I needed when I seriously considered withdrawing the summer prior to my departure for seminary in 2012.”
 
Herrera’s discernment continued in seminary where he is grateful for quiet time.
 
“Seminary has really been, for me, an experience of being set apart, away from the noise of the world. I am grateful to have spent my time in seminary with some of the best men I have or will ever encounter,” Herrera said.
 
During this time away, Herrera experienced the guidance of a father through the priests at the seminary. Among them were the vice rector of Conception Seminary College, Rev. Ralph O’Donnell, and Rev. Denis Robinson, the rector of Saint Meinrad Seminary and School of Theology.
 
“Both of these men helped me through difficult moments in my life and revealed the love of God who is a father.”
 
For Herrera, whose own father died after a struggle with alcohol in 2016, fatherhood is central to the priesthood.
 
“When I think of a priest, I think of a father,” Herrera said. “The image of the priest as father is the most important to me. I am excited to receive graces in the sacrament of ordination that will aid me in being a spiritual father to others, especially the fatherless.”

Anamaria Scaperlanda Biddick is a freelance writer for the Sooner Catholic.