HELOTES • Parishioners at Our Lady of Guadalupe Church welcomed their new parochial vicar, Father Jesús Camacho, last month after his recent ordination by Archbishop José H. Gomez on May 20 on the grounds of Incarnate Word Church in the border town of Frontera, Coahuila, México.
    Concelebrants at the ordination were Father Arturo Cepeda, STD, vocation director, Father Jim Tucker, SS, both from the Archdiocese of San Antonio, and Father Enrique Rios, pastor of Incarnate Word Church. Assisting at the liturgy was Deacon Oscar Siordia from the Diocese of Brownsville.
    Among those present at the joyous and grace-filled celebration in Father Camacho’s home town were his proud parents, Sergio Camacho Flores and María de la Luz Gonzalez, family and friends from Monclova and Frontera as well as friends from St. John Berchmans Church in San Antonio, where he served his internship.
    In his homily, Archbishop Gomez reminded Camacho and the congregation that the priesthood is a gift from God and asked for the grace of God to open everyone’s minds, hearts and souls to hear and answer God’s call.

    He told Camacho in order to be a successful priest, he must emulate Christ, who is the good shepherd who came to serve and not to be served and that it should be done with humility and love for the people of God.

    Following the homily, Camacho declared his intention to serve the people of God as a priest. He promised respect and obedience to the archbishop and his successors and asked the congregation for their prayers.

    As Camacho stood before the congregation, Father Cepeda presented Camacho to Archbishop Gomez for ordination and testified his readiness to serve as a priest.

    The principal sacramental sign in a priest’s ordination is the imposition of the hands. Archbishop Gomez placed his hands on Camacho’s head and recited the prayer of ordination implying the giving of authority and delegation to perform priestly duties, which includes celebrating the Eucharist and other sacraments.

    Today’s Catholic visited with the archdiocese’s newest priest to introduce him to our readers.
Camacho has a great devotion to Our Lady of Guadalupe as does his mother and gives her credit for her fervent and constant prayers and devotion to Our Lady of Guadalupe that he have a “faithful following of the Lord.” As a teenager, Camacho attended several retreats in Our Lady of Guadalupe Church in Monclova. He was raised in a home with strong spiritual values, where faith and belief in God was the bedrock of their lives.

    After initially enrolling in a seminary in 1982 after his high school graduation, he decided to take time to further discern his call to the priesthood. During that eight year period, he worked as a social worker in Santiago Apóstol Church, worked as an accountant for a bank, and as a newspaper reporter for La Voz, all in Monclova. In 2001, now more confident he had a call from God, Camacho came to San Antonio that summer to visit the vocation director at Assumption Seminary. With an open heart, mind and spirit, he entered the Assumption Seminary in January 2002.

    In 2004, he spent his intern year supervised by Father Carlos Velázquez at St. John Berchmans Parish and completed his clinical pastoral education requirement at Covenant Hospital in Lubbock.

    Camacho was ordained to the transitional diaconate by Archbishop Gomez at San Fernando Cathedral on December 3, 2005 and served there until May 2006. He also completed his studies at Oblate School of Theology in 2006 with a master’s degree in Divinity.

   Father Camacho has a deep profound faith in God nourished by a sustained life of prayer. For three years he has sponsored four youngsters and assists them financially for their academic studies. Camacho said the call to being a priest is a gift from God to serve him and his people.

    He is ecstatic as he shared, “I am grateful for the blessing of being a priest and for my new assignment at Our Lady of Guadalupe Church. I look forward to helping others develop a closer relationship with God.”

    One of his hopes in his new ministry at the parish is to develop a scholarship fund for the less fortunate so they may have better opportunities and be better able to overcome adversities.

    Do you feel called for a vocation to the priesthood or know of someone who may have a special calling to the priesthood? If interested call the Vocation Office at (210) 735-0553 or visit the Web site at www.savocations.org.