Conversion Day by Day
NTC/Juan Guajardo
HE IS: Father Rosalino Aguirre Bahena, CORC, parochial vicar of Holy Name of Jesus Parish in Fort Worth.
HUMBLE AND HAPPY: Father Aguirre grew up one of 11 siblings in the town of Zacatepec de Hidalgo in Morelos, Mexico, in a modest household. “We weren’t rich, but thanks to God, we lacked nothing.”
His devout grandmother fostered his faith. During summers, she invited traveling priests from the U.S. to their house to share a meal and learn Spanish. On Sundays, she led the family to Mass.
LED, NOT CALLED: Every time she prayed the Rosary, his grandmother would ask the Blessed Virgin that one of her grandchildren discern to be a priest.
“But it wasn’t me she was praying for, it was my older brother,” Fr. Aguirre recalled with a laugh.
AN UNEXPECTED CHOICE: Before entering seminary, Fr. Aguirre studied to be a physical education teacher. After attending a parish Holy Week retreat, he was invited to discern at the seminary of the Laborers of the Kingdom of Christ (CORC).
Many hear a call, “but I never heard it. For me, it was more like the parting of the Red Sea, with the Lord clearing away all doubts.”
ORDAINED: July 14, 2013, in the Basilica of Guadalupe in Mexico.
EVERY DAY COUNTS: “The Lord always calls me to keep going. Sometimes, I tell people, you think I don’t also want to sleep in on Sundays? But He calls us to celebrate Mass or to go to confession.”
SEASONED PERSPECTIVE: Before arriving at Holy Name of Jesus in late 2023, he served in parishes in the Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico, and Mexico and taught in seminary.
“All of my assignments have been very different. I learned you must adopt a different mindset to go from poverty in the Dominican Republic to poverty in the mountains of Mexico. With the threat of the drug cartels and cardboard houses with floors of dirt — it’s a very extreme level of poverty.”
PRAY FOR ALL: Although he has found purpose as a Laborer of the Kingdom of Christ, Fr. Aguirre discerns his vocation every day. “I also struggle with my own worries, which I continue to surrender to God. … Yes, we may pray for the conversion of those who kill, deal with war and drugs, but we must also pray for our own conversion because it’s just as important.”
LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR: “Jesus, when speaking of the commandments, reminds us that you shall love God above all things and your neighbor as yourself. But if I don’t love myself, if I don’t receive God’s forgiveness, if I don’t approach the sacraments, how can I love others? How can I forgive others? That is the reality.”
HOBBIES: Singing, like his grandmother loved to do. Cooking paellas, baking chocolate cakes, making Jell-O, and playing sports.
REPENT WITH HONESTY: Come to the confessional with respect and an honest heart. Make time for it in your schedule and arrive on time.
“Everything takes work. For example, you aren’t simply given a car, you must buy it. You purposefully choose to save for it and achieve good credit. It’s the same in the school of God. You need to have a purpose and a genuine desire to grow.”
WISE WORDS: As a rule, he avoids all talk on politics and soccer. When it inevitably does come up, he advises: “Kneel and pray the Rosary for their conversion.” Those who instead give into their anger “lose grace and resolve nothing.”