Deacon Jesse Paul Martinez

Deacon Jesse Paul Martinez, 26, grew up in Caldwell, with St. Mary Our Lady of Lourdes as his home parish. He is the son of Ernest and Martha, and has a younger brother, Brandon. When he was 5, he first thought about becoming a priest. The idea persisted in his ministries as altar server, lector and within the parish youth group.
“I first approached discernment as an attempt to figure out if this call to the priesthood was genuinely from God or just a pious thought,” Deacon Martinez said. Before his junior year in high school, he confided to his parents, who contacted the diocese. Deacon Martinez met with the vocation director, then Msgr. (now Bishop) Michael Sis, who helped guide him in the discernment process.
Bishop Sis arranged for Deacon Martinez to have spiritual direction, which is the process and discipline of understanding the movement of God in our lives and responding to his promptings.
At the beginning of his senior year in high school, accompanied by his father, Deacon Martinez met with Bishop Sis for what he thought would be another information session. They concluded the meeting by beginning the paperwork for admission to the seminary.
“I walked out of that meeting very excited and shocked that everything was happening so quickly,” Deacon Martinez said.
He received his undergraduate degree from Holy Trinity Seminary in Dallas and studied theology at St. Mary’s Seminary and the Pontifical College Josephinum. For him, seminary life was a time of enriching his knowledge and prayer life, making strong friendships, and the satisfaction of working toward a mission.
Deacon Martinez has found great comfort and joy in the support of his parish. The Caldwell area is especially excited about his upcoming ordination, the first since Father Ed Karasek’s ordination in 1987.
Deacon Martinez looks forward to serving God’s people through celebrating Mass and the sacraments, and the day-to-day life of a priest, saying, “One of my great passions is parish life.”
To those who are wondering whether God is calling them to the priesthood or religious life, he advises not to overthink their concerns and to be open to God’s gentle promptings.
“Trust that God is working in the church and that Christ is the primary agent of your discernment and formation,” Deacon Martinez said.