A diverse group of men of great faith — including both Angelenos and foreign born, ranging from 30 years of age to 50-something — make up the seven men who will be ordained priests this year for the Archdiocese of Los Angeles.
Archbishop José Gomez will ordain Juan Martín Barajas, José Castañeda, Joseph Choi, Ronald Lee Clark, Martin Gonzalez, Timothy Robert Grumbach and Robert Waldeck McGowan the morning of June 3 at the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels. They all completed their theological formation at St. John’s Seminary in Camarillo and served as transitional deacons at parishes across the archdiocese.
Tickets are required for admission to the ordination, but the Mass will be streamed live starting at 9 a.m. via archla.org/live. The following are brief profiles of the seven new archdiocesan priests, who will begin their first tenures as associate pastors this summer.
Name: Juan Martín Barajas Silva
Age: 52
Hometown: Born and raised in Mexico City; current home in South Gate
Parents: Elena Silva Valencia (deceased) and Luis Barajas Muñoz.
Home parish: St. Helen, South Gate
First Mass: St. Helen, June 4 at
3 p.m.
First parish assignment: Announcement pending
What do you most look forward to about becoming a priest?
As a priest I see myself doing the will of the Lord, fulfilling the plan that he has prepared for me, serving the Church and serving my sisters and brothers wherever they are.
What is your advice for men discerning the priesthood?
That they completely [abandon themselves to] the hands of the Lord, that they trust in the plan that God has prepared for his Church and for each of his sons and daughters. May they not tire of praying to the Lord and asking for the intercession of Our Lady of Guadalupe and the Holy Spirit. That they fully love their vocation and that they trust in their formators.
Name: José Castañeda
Age: 43
Hometown: Guadalupe Victoria, Nayarit, Mexico
Parents: Juan Castañeda and Aurora Toscano
Home parish: Our Lady of Perpetual Help, Los Nietos
First Mass: St. Joseph, Carpinteria, June 4 at 10 a.m., and Our Lady of Perpetual Help, Los Nietos, June 11 at 9:30 a.m.
First parish assignment: St. Joseph, Carpinteria
What do you most look forward to about becoming a priest?
To please God in all that he entrusts to me, to serve his pilgrim Church and to work toward the salvation of souls.
What is your advice for men discerning the priesthood?
I would advise them to entrust themselves into the hands of God, to have God as the center of their lives, to emulate and model themselves after Christ the eternal high priest and to never tire of praying, because without prayer we are nothing.
Name: Joseph Choi
Age: 26
Hometown: Los Angeles
Parents: Hyangsook Lee (mother)
Home parish: Christ the King, Los Angeles
First Mass: Christ the King, June 4 at 10:30 a.m.
First parish assignment: Our Lady of the Assumption, Ventura
What do you most look forward to about becoming a priest?
I’m looking forward to journeying with and ministering to the people of God, helping each other to become closer to Christ.
What is your advice for men discerning the priesthood?
Take time to listen to where God is talking to you each day, and don’t be afraid to develop and nurture your relationship with God.
Name: Ronald Lee Clark
Age: 56
Hometown: Azusa, CA
Parents: Paul W. Clark and Carol S. Mathews
Home parish: Immaculate Conception, Monrovia
First Mass: Immaculate Conception, June 4 at 5 p.m.
First assignment: Our Lady of the Assumption, Claremont
What do you most look forward to about becoming a priest?
As an individual who lost sight of Christ during my early years I am overwhelmed by the love and mercy granted to me by our Lord. I most look forward to allowing God to work through me, that I may be an instrument of that same love and mercy for others.
What is your advice to men discerning the priesthood?
To those discerning the priesthood I say, be patient and pray. Listen to God as he calls in the silence. Spend time before the Blessed Sacrament and open your heart as the Lord leads you closer to himself. Lastly, seek the counsel of a good spiritual director.
Name: Martin Gonzalez
Age: 30
Hometown: La Mirada
Parents: Martin and Pilar Gonzalez
Home parish: St. Paul of the Cross, La Mirada
First Mass: St. Paul of the Cross, June 4 at 4 p.m.
First parish assignment: Immaculate Conception, Monrovia
What do you most look forward to about becoming a priest?
I look forward to celebrating the Mass and the sacraments with God’s people. We study at a seminary, but we truly become a priest at our ordination and by exercising our priesthood with God’s people.
What is your advice for men discerning the priesthood?
My advice for men discerning the priesthood is to trust in the Lord. God only wants what is best for them. God will never violate their free will and, at the same time, God is always inviting men to serve and officiate at his table. Also, the Church discerns with them by praying for them and letting the Holy Spirit guide them to where they are called.
Name: Timothy Robert Grumbach
Age: 32
Hometown: Pacific Palisades
Parents: Curtis and Deborah Grumbach
Home parish: St. Monica, Santa Monica
First Mass: St. Monica, June 4 at 9:30 a.m.
First parish assignment: St. Augustine, Culver City
What do you most look forward to about becoming a priest?
I’m most looking forward to the encounter of confession. There is only so much that the seminary can teach us and only so much that they can prepare us for. I’m looking forward to learning how to be more loving and forgiving in my priesthood by walking with people in some of those moments when it seems that God has been furthest away. It can be one of those moments we go looking for where God was waiting for us the whole time.
What is your advice for men discerning the priesthood?
To do your best to keep this in mind: love is not always easy, but it’s by far the best way to live. And that means being unimpressive sometimes, not always trying to appear impressive and successful. It can be tempting to pretend to be someone else all the way through seminary to impress our teachers and formators. But that doesn’t really help us grow in love and to live like Jesus. It’s too difficult to grow in holiness and in love if we don’t know who we are behind the walls we put up to protect ourselves. Don’t be afraid to learn from the mistakes we make.
Name: Robert Waldeck McGowa
Age: 35
Hometown: Redondo Beach
Parents: Brian and Michele McGowa
Home parish: Holy Innocents, Long Beach
First Mass: Holy Innocents, June 4 at 4 p.m.
First parish assignment: St. Gertrude, Bell Gardens
What do you look forward to about becoming a priest?
I hope to be an instrument of God’s infinite love, compassion and divine mercy through celebrating the sacraments, especially celebrating the Mass and the sacrament of reconciliation.
What is your advice for men discerning the priesthood?
I would encourage them to continue growing in faith and devotion to the Lord Jesus in his Real Presence in the Holy Eucharist, and to continue growing in filial devotion to Our Lady, our Mother Mary, who always leads us to Jesus. Also, I would encourage them to be active in service and works of mercy in some way. I would encourage them to keep trusting, because sometimes in God’s providence discovering … our particular vocation can take a long time. But, in the process of seeking his will, he is always leading us and, in the midst of the sometimes bewildering moments of discernment, he is helping us to grow more and more in faith and trust in him.
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