I had many kinds of exotic pets as a kid and was always fascinated by the mysteries of nature. I was equally drawn to the ungraspable mystery of God.
Though I grew up Catholic, I didn’t know much about my faith or have a deep prayer life. In college, I studied biological anthropology and encountered ideas that I thought were inconsistent with belief in God. Faith became doubt; I tried praying and going to Mass, but the mystery of God I was once drawn to seemed an illusion.
By God’s providence, I found myself at Holy Thursday Mass a few months later. The moment I saw the priest washing the people’s feet, I became overwhelmed with God’s love for me. He spoke to my unbelieving heart, placing in it a call that enveloped my being with a new purpose: to join that priest in leading others to an encounter with God. I was ordained in 2019 and now use my pets — even my boa constrictor! — to bring others, especially children, to a greater appreciation of God’s creation and the mystery of his love.
Father Carlos Orozco
Archdiocese of Seattle
Msgr. Ailbe M. McGrath Council 8437
Seattle








