Antonio Guzman

College III
Conception Seminary

My name is Antonio Guzman. My parents are Maria Lopez De Guzman and Antonio Guzman Torres. I have three younger siblings, Maria, Rocio, and Jose. I am originally from Guadalajara, Mexico from the small town of Zapotlanejo. I came to the United States at the age of five. My parents settled in Schuyler, Nebraska because my dad though it would be an ideal place to raise a family.

I am from the Divine Mercy Parish in Schuyler. The Divine Mercy Parish has been a great support to me as I began my walk with Christ.

Since my freshmen year I began to experience God in a new way through Confirmations classes and Life Teen. I was able to fully dive into Gods love and see his companionate hand in my daily life. Through the strong support the Divine Mercy Parish gives the Life Teen program, I continued to grow in my faith.

My call to priesthood was rather one big eye-opening struggle. My love and passion about learning about God intensified my thirst to pursue his path. But my inner selfishness didn’t allow me to accept it. I battled this call all through high school until I finally let go and let God. One of my main objectives to pursuing this call was to be able to reach out to today’s youth. I see so much need and thirst for God and I wanted to be a small tool in God’s hand to be able to spread his word and love.

When I entered Conception Seminary I was expecting to see all the seminarians constantly praying, not having any fun, and just studying their bibles. But as time progressed I experienced seminary life as a fun and interactive place of formation. We do spend time in prayer and studying scripture but we also go out and play wallyball, have socials and just have fun. Seminary life is like one big brotherhood. You are able to grow deeper into your relationship with God with the help of others.

For those men that are discerning a call to priesthood, I strongly encourage you to give it a try. If there is one thing I have learned from my walk with God is don’t keep Him waiting because He will never stop calling you by name. Don’t live your life as one big “what if” just do it. You will never know if you don’t try and if you are going for it, put full throttle into it don’t hold back.