WALKING IN THE LIGHT OF THE LORD | KAIROS GLOBAL | APRIL 2018

Author: Fr. Ditto Devassy

Intro: Fr Ditto Devassy, one among the first two Jesus Youth priests ordained in December 2016, talks about his faith journey and God’s faithfulness.

Fr. Ditto, for the sake of all our readers, could you please briefly tell us about yourself?

I am Fr. Ditto Devassy and I hail from Potta in Trichur District, Kerala. My family consists of my parents and two younger brothers. I belong to a middle-class family, where my parents had to struggle a lot to provide a good education for us. Yet through all the struggles, my home was my nursery of values and my parents were the best teachers who cultivated the spiritual and moral foundations of my life. Their complete reliance on God, simple and prayerful life, and hard work made me choose good and be good always in life.

You were one of the two Jesus youth priests ordained in December 2016. I am sure it would have been a momentous occasion for you. Now that you look back on that day and moment, can you please tell us what was going through your mind during that time?

It was always my dream to become a priest, which I had been nurturing from my fourth grade. It was to my class teacher that I shared this dream for the first time, when she asked a question about what I wanted to be in future. Whenever I participated in Holy Mass during that time, at the time of consecration I used to make a small prayer along with the priest, “O God, if it is your will, let me also be blessed to lift your body and blood and offer my life for you as a priest”. This prayer came true on December 29, 2016. It was a much-awaited moment – one that was the culmination of almost 18 years of waiting. The emotions of joy and gratitude which filled my mind during those days is far too immeasurable to contain or articulate in words or on paper. I am indebted to many for this blessing in my life. I know how weak and fragile I am, but God prepared many Jesus Youth’s to raise me as a Priest on His Altar. That’s what I am today – a priest for Jesus. I was so overjoyed and was convinced even more of the fact that “No earthly force can change your destiny if it is God’s will”! If God had this plan about me – to mould me as His priest – then no one could change it. My life experience proves that. As Jeremiah 29:11 says, “For I know the plans for you, declares the Lord, “Plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future”. Whenever I went through tough times, or moments of deep isolation, this scripture promise always gave me the strength to face even the worst situations of life.

If I could ask you to think back a bit, can you please describe your first Jesus Youth experience and can you please tell us how has the movement been part of your life from then on?

My involvement with the movement began in the Middle East. After my graduation, I got a job in a resort in one of the Middle Eastern countries. However, my company was almost 120Kms away from the main city. I came to know about the Jesus Youth Prayer group in the nearest city. God arranged people to take me there for Mass and prayer meetings. Later on, I was invited to attend formation programs and other one-day programs organized by Jesus Youth. As days and months passed, I became a regular member for most programs. The love and care I experienced from JY families brought in me a “back-at-home” feeling and it inspired me to get more involved with JY ministries. The prayer, fellowship and mutual concern and support were key factors that attracted me in the movement. The prayer sessions were really spirit filled and touching. I started to experience changes in my personal life. The labour camp visits on each Friday brought me a fresh desire and conviction to reach out to people who have not yet experienced Jesus in their life. 

Do you remember when it was that you began to seriously ponder whether God might be calling you to a vocation of priesthood? Can you also please tell us about how the movement has helped you in your process of discernment?

As I began getting involved with various Jesus Youth ministries, slowly I was entrusted with more and more responsibilities, both regionally as well as nationally. For me, this turned out to be an excellent opportunity to reach out to many people, to interact with them and above all, to share the Gospel with them and bring them to Christ. This was a beautiful phase of life, wherein both prayer and mission were progressing simultaneously. And I began to experience boundless joy every time I went for mission – a profound sense of satisfaction, which I had never experienced. Far more than my money or possessions had ever given me. The high salary and other facilities provided by my job paled to nothingness in comparison with the joy I experienced when I shared my Jesus with others. I felt so much content in life. The fire that I once had in my heart to become a missionary for Jesus, regained its strength and zeal. Once again, I started to think about spending my life for Jesus. While I was working, I hardly got a full day to spare and do Jesus’ work. Yet, even within those constraints, God still made use of me for His greater glory. When I became available for His mission, He took me to places beyond my wildest imagination, and entrusted such tasks that I never thought I could accomplish! If God could use my limited availability to accomplish so much within such a short time, I began to seriously wonder how much more he would do, if I were to give my entire life to His care. This question kept coming back to me again and again, which led me to consider once more the possibility of joining priesthood. The solid support from Jesus Youth in the Middle East as well as the senior leaders of the movement helped me to discern properly by spending sufficient time with the Lord in front of the Blessed Sacrament. It is with the able guidance of CC Joseph, Manoj Sunny and Fr. Bitaju that I eventually came to the decision to become a priest. After four years of life in the Middle East, I finally resigned my job and came back to India. 

Very inspiring, Father. Once back in India, what was your motivation to choose to be a Jesus Youth priest?

It is through the movement of Jesus Youth that I got a renewed life in Christ. Through JY, I began experiencing my Jesus in a profoundly personal way. Jesus Youth gave my Jesus back to me! And so, I decided to dedicate the rest of my life with my Jesus in the movement.

Praise God! Fr Ditto, We thank you for your decision and commitment. Now that you are a priest, what are some of the things that you are working on and what are some of your future dreams?

As Jesus told disciples to “Go and proclaim the Gospel to the entire world”, my dream is to reach out to the whole world and declare that Jesus is the one and only saviour. This is my dream and the one thing that I desire. Even if you get only a minute to talk about Jesus, do it for His greater glory. Because remember – you may not get a second chance with the same person to tell him about Jesus.

There are lot of young readers who presently might be going through a process of discernment or who might be having the first thoughts of a religious vocation in their heart while reading this. As someone who has taken this journey, what would be your advice for those young people?

Be with the Lord and listen to him each and every moment. Do not be in a hurry as He has His own plans. If you are humble enough to mould yourself according to His plan, then God will surely raise you up one day. Please, always be open to the promptings of the Holy Spirit. I remember how I used to spend hours in front of Blessed Sacrament to discern my call and to know the will of God. There must be a deep love towards the Blessed Sacrament in the heart of the person who wishes to discern his call for a religious or priestly life.

Well, that was indeed a journey of Faith, Fr Ditto. It was such an inspiration to listen to how God led you through thick and thin. We pray that God may use you for even greater things and that much more blessings may be showered on Jesus Youth through you. We assure you of all our love and even more prayers.