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Contents © 2000
by Jim Holman.
All rights reserved.

"I Had To Stop Running"

When the prophet Jonah sat in the belly of the fish, he realized he could no longer run from God. Like Jonah, Shane Gomes once tried to avoid his vocation, but today his demeanor betrays no sign of reluctance. Gomes, a clinical psychologist, has applied to join the Legionnaires of Christ and is anxious to enter their seminary in Cheshire, Connecticut.

Gomes would like to enter the order immediately but is waiting to pay off student loans. "Most religious orders want men who enter to be debt-free. I've accrued a huge debt--over one hundred thousand dollars after six years of graduate school." Currently employed at UCSD, he has no idea how long it will take him to retire his debt. "I'm looking for benefactors -- people who would sponsor me -- and I'm working full time."

Gomes first felt the call in college at UC Davis: "I was in church praying. I pushed it to the back of my head. I always thought I was going to get married, have kids, be a psychologist. I entered the California School of Professional Psychology in San Diego, which requires students to go to counseling. I looked for a solid Catholic psychologist but couldn't find one in San Diego--they're very rare--so I went to a Protestant. After three months, he said, 'Shane, have you ever thought about becoming a Catholic priest?' Later I found out that he had worked at a Catholic seminary, screening the men entering the seminary, and he saw the same patterns in me. He is (now) in the process of becoming Catholic. Two days later I went to the Mission Young Adult group. The guest speaker, Father Ed Hopkins from the Legionnaires of Christ, spoke on vocations. I remember sitting in the back and laughing the entire time, thinking, 'God, you have a sense of humor'. I spoke to Father Hopkins and later visited their seminary.

"I've visited several times. I like their charisms and the fact that they're an apostolic order -- but most importantly, they're Eucharistic-centered, they love the Blessed Virgin Mary and they're obedient to the Pope. They have five major apostolates: school and parish teaching, parish work, missionary work, counseling, and helping families work with children." Gomes sees an opportunity to use his clinical skills in counseling troubled families.

A native of Cerritos, Gomes was born to parents from Bombay, India. His family traces its religious roots to Portuguese missionaries in Goa. He has an older brother, Troy, and a younger sister, Charlene. His childhood hobbies included tennis, swimming, and piano -- which he still plays. "We went to CCD at our local parish, Holy Family. Once I was confirmed, I stopped attending classes but still went to Mass every Sunday. We went to confession once a month, we prayed the rosary every day as a family. We were raised 'culturally Catholic', but we weren't taught why we did certain things. I knew you had to go to mass on Sunday, but I was never told that it was the sacrifice that Jesus offered. I knew that praying the rosary was a good thing, but I didn't understand that Our Lady was our mother.

"At UC Davis, I attended what I thought was a non-denominational group, Intervarsity Christian Fellowship. Later, I realized it was completely Protestant. I also attended the Newman Center at UC Davis. I thought about leaving the church because I thought the Protestant way was the correct way.

"Then, at the Mission Young Adult Group in San Diego, my views changed as I began to educate myself. Matt Pinto and others in the group really encouraged me to read. Matt would hand me cassettes and books and pamphlets, and I devoured them. Karl Keating's book, What Catholics Really Believe, made the biggest difference. He goes through misconceptions and uses scriptural references to defend what Catholics believe. His other book, Catholicism and Fundamentalism, was icing on the cake. The Catechism also laId a foundation, and I'm still reading the saints: St. Teresa of Avila and St. John of the Cross especially-- I love the Carmelites.

"A deep prayer life is essential in choosing a religious vocation, especially time before the Blessed Sacrament and daily mass and the rosary. I can't imagine having a religious vocation without having a devotion to Our Lady. Having a spiritual director has made a huge difference as well."

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