Hernandez said he first heard a call to the priesthood at a friend's ordination Mass. At the time, he was 19 years old.
"During the celebration of the ordination…I felt something burning inside and that thing stayed with me. I was truly amazed that there are those who are capable of leaving everything to give themselves to God," he said.
"I didn't understand what was in the hearts of these people that were leaving everything and answering 'Here I am Lord, your will be done'," he recalled.
Although the experience was powerful, Hernandez did not initially consider pursuing the same path for himself. At the time, he had a girlfriend and was studying electrical engineering.
"I didn't want to leave everything for something I would have no control over," he said.
But a few years later, Hernandez could not shake the feeling "that there was something more I was missing, something greater."
One day during Mass at his local parish, the priest asked if someone could assist as an altar server. Although Hernandez was above the typical age of altar servers, he volunteered.
"I saw that it was my opportunity to be close to everything that so much drew my attention a few years prior," he said. "To be so close to the altar, the consecration, the Lord...All that stirred up in me what I had experienced at the ordination of my friend."
From then on, he became more deeply involved in the parish – teaching catechism, organizing retreats, and joining the pastor in visits to the sick.
"I became impassioned with the priestly life, with being close to God in order to help people…it was a great joy," he said.
"It wasn't a commitment or a burden, it was something that came from within and made me very happy."
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It has now been seven years since Hernandez decided to become a priest. He is currently taking his final course of Ecclesiastical Studies at the University of Navarre in Spain. Looking back at the past seven years – and ahead to a priestly vocation – he has no regrets.
"I don't know how the Lord does it, but every year surprises me more, and always with something better," he said. "If I had not responded to his call, I wouldn't be as happy as I am now."
This article was originally published by our sister agency, ACI Prensa. It has been translated and adapted by CNA.