Priestly vocation found by way of parish youth group participation
July 29, 2019 at 12:37 p.m.
Rev. Mr. Neiser Cardenas was born on Dec. 24, 1983, in Magangue, Bolivar, Colombia, to Emil Cardenas and Rubby Barros. He has two brothers, Carlos and Freddy Cardenas.
Rev. Mr. Cardenas attended Escuela Mixta San Pablo, Colegio La Candelaria, Bolivar, and Misioneros del Espiritu Santo, a seminary in La Ceja, Antioquia, Colombia, where he studied philosophy and religion before beginning studies in Immaculate Conception Seminary at Seton Hall University, South Orange, in 2009.
He is recently graduated with a bachelor’s degree in sacred theology and a master of divinity degree from St. Mary Seminary and University, Baltimore.
When reflecting on the first time he considered the priesthood, he said he was enlightened when he joined a parish youth group right after graduating from high school.
“During those meetings, I realized that there was something fun about getting together and praying with God,” he said. “I really didn’t know I had a vocation right after I finished high school.”
He said that, in particular, the seminarians he talked with inspired him to consider following in their footsteps. Just two years later, he did just that.
After five years of formation there, Rev. Mr. Cardenas met a priest who helped him to come to the United States to continue his formation process.
“I decided to do it because I thought it was a good time to think more about being ordained,” he said. “Coming to the United States was a perfect moment of completion.”
His call to serve as a Catholic priest drove him to complete his theological formation, and to learn the English language.
And it is the nature of his calling that makes Rev. Mr. Cardenas believe that God truly has a special plan for him, and one that involves serving the Church.
“It means a lot for me because I think it is not my own decision. I think it is something that God planted in me, and it took over 10 years (for fulfillment),” he said.
Rev. Mr. Cardenas said that his decade of religious formation helped him to grow in his faith enough to be confident in his vocation and his purpose.
“I felt I was not ready before,” he said. “I think that time was the best way for me to be in the position that I am in now.”
Rev. Mr. Cardenas spent his year as a transitional deacon in Sacred Heart Parish, Trenton, and said the experience gave him a very real understanding of the importance of the ministry.
“It gave me the sense of what it is like to be a minister in the Church,” he said. “I think it is really hard to be a priest without having a very good experience as a deacon.”
He said the year provided him with the ability to be ordained a priest.
Msgr. Eugene Rebeck, pastor of
St. Catharine Parish, Holmdel, will serve as vesting priest when Rev. Mr. Cardenas is ordained to the priesthood. Rev. Cardenas spent a year in St. Catharine Parish as a seminarian in 2010. Other parish assignments where he served as a seminarian included Sacred Heart, Trenton, and St. Barnabas, Bayville.
Following his ordination to the priesthood by Bishop David M. O’Connell, C.M., on June 9 in St. Mary of the Assumption Cathedral, Trenton, Rev. Mr. Cardenas has been assigned as parochial vicar of St. Rose Parish, Belmar, where he hopes to serve the congregation and share his gifts and faith with parishioners.
While he will be involved in many of the parish ministries, Rev. Mr. Cardenas is especially looking forward to serving as a chaplain for St. Rose High School and working with the students. It was at that age that he first recognized his vocation, and he hopes to have the same impact on some of the students he will work with.
“I want to share with them, to be a Christian with them, to be a friend for them…and in some way that is going to show them a good side of the priesthood,” he said. “The rest is going to work by itself if that happens.”
He said he hopes to bring a sense of kindness and compassion to everyone he meets, and to express solidarity with those who, like him, are immigrants working to understand another culture.
“It is easy for me, because that is the background I have been going through,” he said.
His advice for a man considering the priesthood was simple.
“It is something you need to figure out,” he said. “You cannot let the fire blow out inside of you, because it is never going to go away. It is always going to be there.”
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Rev. Mr. Neiser Cardenas was born on Dec. 24, 1983, in Magangue, Bolivar, Colombia, to Emil Cardenas and Rubby Barros. He has two brothers, Carlos and Freddy Cardenas.
Rev. Mr. Cardenas attended Escuela Mixta San Pablo, Colegio La Candelaria, Bolivar, and Misioneros del Espiritu Santo, a seminary in La Ceja, Antioquia, Colombia, where he studied philosophy and religion before beginning studies in Immaculate Conception Seminary at Seton Hall University, South Orange, in 2009.
He is recently graduated with a bachelor’s degree in sacred theology and a master of divinity degree from St. Mary Seminary and University, Baltimore.
When reflecting on the first time he considered the priesthood, he said he was enlightened when he joined a parish youth group right after graduating from high school.
“During those meetings, I realized that there was something fun about getting together and praying with God,” he said. “I really didn’t know I had a vocation right after I finished high school.”
He said that, in particular, the seminarians he talked with inspired him to consider following in their footsteps. Just two years later, he did just that.
After five years of formation there, Rev. Mr. Cardenas met a priest who helped him to come to the United States to continue his formation process.
“I decided to do it because I thought it was a good time to think more about being ordained,” he said. “Coming to the United States was a perfect moment of completion.”
His call to serve as a Catholic priest drove him to complete his theological formation, and to learn the English language.
And it is the nature of his calling that makes Rev. Mr. Cardenas believe that God truly has a special plan for him, and one that involves serving the Church.
“It means a lot for me because I think it is not my own decision. I think it is something that God planted in me, and it took over 10 years (for fulfillment),” he said.
Rev. Mr. Cardenas said that his decade of religious formation helped him to grow in his faith enough to be confident in his vocation and his purpose.
“I felt I was not ready before,” he said. “I think that time was the best way for me to be in the position that I am in now.”
Rev. Mr. Cardenas spent his year as a transitional deacon in Sacred Heart Parish, Trenton, and said the experience gave him a very real understanding of the importance of the ministry.
“It gave me the sense of what it is like to be a minister in the Church,” he said. “I think it is really hard to be a priest without having a very good experience as a deacon.”
He said the year provided him with the ability to be ordained a priest.
Msgr. Eugene Rebeck, pastor of
St. Catharine Parish, Holmdel, will serve as vesting priest when Rev. Mr. Cardenas is ordained to the priesthood. Rev. Cardenas spent a year in St. Catharine Parish as a seminarian in 2010. Other parish assignments where he served as a seminarian included Sacred Heart, Trenton, and St. Barnabas, Bayville.
Following his ordination to the priesthood by Bishop David M. O’Connell, C.M., on June 9 in St. Mary of the Assumption Cathedral, Trenton, Rev. Mr. Cardenas has been assigned as parochial vicar of St. Rose Parish, Belmar, where he hopes to serve the congregation and share his gifts and faith with parishioners.
While he will be involved in many of the parish ministries, Rev. Mr. Cardenas is especially looking forward to serving as a chaplain for St. Rose High School and working with the students. It was at that age that he first recognized his vocation, and he hopes to have the same impact on some of the students he will work with.
“I want to share with them, to be a Christian with them, to be a friend for them…and in some way that is going to show them a good side of the priesthood,” he said. “The rest is going to work by itself if that happens.”
He said he hopes to bring a sense of kindness and compassion to everyone he meets, and to express solidarity with those who, like him, are immigrants working to understand another culture.
“It is easy for me, because that is the background I have been going through,” he said.
His advice for a man considering the priesthood was simple.
“It is something you need to figure out,” he said. “You cannot let the fire blow out inside of you, because it is never going to go away. It is always going to be there.”
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