St. Josemaría Escrivá knew that God was calling him to the diocesan priesthood, so he attended minor seminary as a day student in 1918. In 1920, he attended major seminary in Saragossa. St. Josemaría loved to pray at the chapel and the shrine of Our Lady of the Pillar. But seminary life was not easy – he was made fun of by other seminarians for bathing so often, calling him a “little gentleman”, and that he didn’t smell like a man. Despite all the teasing, he believed that if one cannot praise another, it is best to keep silent. And he later always spoke highly of the virtues of his fellow seminarians, many of whom were martyred in the Spanish Civil War. Once, some girls tried to get his attention, and rumours spread, but he brought the matter to his superior. Before he was ordained a priest, his father died and, lacking the money to bury him, a relative, Fr. Daniel, lent him money. After he became a priest and Fr. Daniel too died, St. Josemaría would pray for him at every Mass.
Spiritual Talk – Fr Ho talks about St Josemaria Escrivá (4)
