I’ve always wanted to make the most of life. It’s the sixth year of competition in Mini. It’s a small Mini, but I don’t think there’s much left of a Mini, this is a very serious racing machine…
I’ve always been an energetic guy. For various reasons, around the age of 20, I was studying in Porto when my grandfather passed away. That made me question many things in life: "Where are we going? What is this?" I bought a boat from a friend, and it’s curious that he was the one who first took me to a center of the Work. It turns out that this friend, that summer, died in a car accident. It was thanks to him that I went to knock on the center’s door. I went because I had great affection for this friend, and he had told me: "Look, you can go there to study, there are great people..." And indeed I went, I liked it a lot, I started a Catholic doctrine course, which was impactful.
My girlfriend helped me discover the beauty that faith has, but I started to discover in times of prayer a very special joy of the soul when it comes to God.
Fátima is right next door, but for 20 years, it hadn’t said much to me… I had a lot of prejudices about believers. I saw them as boring rule-followers who weren’t free, who had that faith and those practices out of fear. In fact, I saw all of that in a reductive and wrong way. I went there, and it really moved me. I went with disbelief, with no expectations. And seeing all those people around an image and an atmosphere of great peace, it moved me. "What is it that moves all these people?"
At that moment I had a girlfriend. It was a very interesting relationship, we were very close. She was the one who helped me discover the beauty that faith has, but I started to discover in times of prayer a very special joy of the soul when it comes to God. And I began to see how this loving affection for another person wasn’t an obstacle, but it was superfluous, meaning that I wouldn’t need it for this happiness that I was discovering, that was taking shape in me.
I asked for admission as a numerary of Opus Dei. And then, when I took that step, I thought: "Wow, this is the life!" It’s spectacular! All of life takes on a brilliant shine, in everything...! The way of being with others, the way of working... I’m a mechanical engineer, specialized in building maintenance. The way of doing the duties of each day, everything has a meaning, I see God’s plan for me in everything, which I hadn’t glimpsed before.
I’ve been in a residence for 16 years, it’s great to be with young people, helping them grow and mature, preserving each person’s personality, helping them be better students and better friends, better sons and daughters. That’s what the formation I receive in the Work has taught me. It’s such a beautiful message, that transforms so many lives, even those who don’t discover their vocation in Opus Dei. And that’s my life, that’s what I try to do.