Posts by Fr. Justino Cornejo
Asking For the Gift of Faith!
My father was extremely sensitive to the way we asked him a question. He did not like it when we asked him a question that we knew the answer to. He also disliked when we asked a question in an ambiguous way, almost as if trying to test where he stood regarding the matter of…
Read MoreWith the Bridegroom, in the Feast!
Every Friday, during Lent, we fast in the seminary. Following the invitation made by the readings of Ash Wednesday, we make a sign during lunch, and instead of eating a regular meal, we only have bread and water. We eat in silence, while a seminarian reads an account taken from the Sayings of the Fathers…
Read More“Lord, if it is You, Command Me to Come to You!”
One of my family’s favorite activities for the summer was going to the river. We would go to “El Chorro,” which was about a mile and half away from my grandmother’s house. When we arrived, we would have a nice barbeque, play games, and, of course, enjoy the fresh water. I remember that when I…
Read MoreThe “New Wine” of God’s Spirit in Us!
I grew up in what some people would call “a very Catholic” home. My grandparents (especially my grandmother) were very devout Catholics, who raised my mother with a very strong religious character, which she transmitted to my siblings and me. I certainly received a formation in faith from them, but that faith was presented to…
Read MoreOnly in Christ, True Unity is Possible!
I received my formation to the priesthood in the Redemptoris Mater Seminary of Newark, in New Jersey, in the United States. One of the characteristics of this Seminary was its internationality. Men from all over the world, with different cultures and backgrounds, different ages, and educational levels, with different family histories and social status, all…
Read MoreIn Search of Eternal Life!
Remembering Aunt Beby. I grew up in Panama, a small country in Central America. My aunt Gladys, whom we all called “Aunt Beby” lived in Oklahoma. Once or twice a year, she would travel to Panama to visit my grandmother and all of us. When my father said that Aunt Beby was coming, I volunteered…
Read MoreThe Lion Who Made Himself Lamb, to Suffer!
Preparing a retreat for a group of seminarians who were to be instituted as Lectors, I came across a text that struck me immensely. It is a poem attributed to St. Victorinus of Pettau, Bishop of the City of Poetovio (modern day Ptuj, in Slovenia) during the late third century and early fourth century. The…
Read MoreLet us Return to the Lord!
Today we celebrate Ash Wednesday. With today’s liturgy, the universal Church starts, once again, the journey of Lent. I must admit that, growing up, Lent for me was just a season in which we were supposed to give something up (like chocolates, sweets, pastries, or something like that), make sacrifices and penance and abstain from…
Read MoreThe Lord Correct Us Out of Love!
When I was a kid, I received a lot of corrections from my parents, especially from my mother. Evidently, I did not like to be corrected or to be told “no”. I remember that one time (I must have been seven or eight years old), after receiving a strong correction (I do not remember what…
Read MoreWalking in the Light of Christ!
Even if it was arduous, laborious, and even painful, I learnt a lot of lessons for my life during the process of drafting my doctoral thesis. There was a moment in which I was completely stuck, and I did not see any light at the end of the tunnel. I felt that I had no…
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