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September 10, 2023Fr. Alan Soto Hopkins was ordained this summer. Though a new priest he has learned many things about our Catholic community. At the age of 26, Fr. Alan is one of the youngest priests in the country. He's a native of Nogales, AZ. Let us remember to pray for Fr. Alan and his brothers serving the Diocese of Tucson. Fr. Alan offers the following reflection.
As I write these words, I have been a priest for about three months. One of the things I have learned about our Catholic community, is how the Divine Providence works through and in the community, not only our local community in our diocese, but in the community of the Universal Church as well.
By Divine Providence I mean the action of God which guides all things. God acting in and through the community is something that I certainly experienced before becoming a priest, but in these months, however, I would say it has become more manifest and apparent.
One example is the goodness that God can show in unexpected ways. During my first month as a priest, I had the blessing of traveling to Rome. One day as I was praying in St. Peter’s Basilica, this person who I had never met before approached me and gifted me a ticket for a tour of the excavation site beneath St. Peter’s. I had been wanting to be able to do this tour, and the fact that a few days later someone would just approach me and “coincidentally” give me this gift I say is Divine Providence at work!
Another example is those moments and opportunities that while doing ministry in the diocese people have shared with me experiences and thoughts that are very personal, and that I am sure they would have not shared before me being a priest. These experiences are both of their blessings, but at the same time moments of great trials that they have experienced or are experiencing.
Again, in a unique way this is the hand of God acting in and through the community. God presents these moments to be a shepherd to the people of God in both the joys and struggles of their Christian journey. The trust that people place in someone because of the ministerial priesthood that they share in I have seen as a blessing. I seek to learn from our Blessed Mother to keep these things and reflect on them in my heart.
As the Divine Providence continues to present itself in and through the community, sometimes in unexpected ways, I continue to ask for your prayers, and I commend myself to God as I continue to learn how to be a priest, especially in the words of St. Padre Pio, “My past, O Lord, to your mercy, my present to Your love, my future to Your Providence.” Amen