With 94 years old and seven decades of priesthood behind him, the Catalan priest José Giner, based in Ecuador for seventy years, says he does not feel a teacher, but “disciple.”
“With this age I do not feel teacher at all: I’m still a disciple. I don’t want to be a ‘museum cure’; That is why I effort myself up to date, I read a lot and ask the young people to correct me, ”he said in an interview with ACI Press.
Receive the main news of ACI Press by WhatsApp and Telegram
It is increasingly difficult to see Catholic news on social networks. Subscribe to our free channels today:
Fr. Giner surprises with his vitality: the day begins with a cold shower, does gymnastics, plays ping-pong, sees sports, reads and dedicates time to carpentry, with which religious art elaborates. And most importantly: celebrates the Holy Mass twice a day.
“I am a very normal man, but with something wonderful: Christ, who is the true sun. I am a poor 94 -year -old man, that is my true definition. The essential thing is that I am a priest to eternity And everything else is secondary. I think the goal of life is to work for God and let your good penetrate totally in us, ”he says.
“I think very little about myself, because they always taught me to value and appreciate others. With these values I say: ‘Lord, I contribute very little’, but what matters is what I can give as a priest,” he tells us in the interview.
The priest, a member of Opus Dei and belonging to the Church of San Josemaría, in Guayaquil, also highlights the fraternity he shares with his presbyter brothers. In total, they are between 15 and 20 friends priests, all of the work, which meet frequently to read, touch the guitar, sing and share lunch. As it emphasizes, it is an environment of union and fraternity.
His “health secret”
Fr. Giner surprises with his vitality. Account that every day practices gymnastics. “It is important and doctors always recommend it. In addition,” although it causes you grace, “I have an electric skateboard. Sometimes I use it near my house; people laugh when you see me, and I tell you ‘Chao, Chao’, because I’m very happy,” he shares between laughs.
“I also read a lot. I have my mind very awake and I like to read scientists, important authors and also novelists. I never say ‘I am tired’; on the contrary, I think you have to walk and move. Thanks to that I have a lot of agility: I walk quietly, I move without problems.
However, he assures that the most important thing about his daily life is to celebrate Holy Mass and pray: “I celebrate Mass every day, always. The fundamental thing is that I have tried to have a lot of prayer. I have prayers to stay serene, and God has given me a very contemplative life. I am speaking to the Lord all day.”
The priest assures that, when he raises his gaze to heaven, he asks God: “Give me Lord your light: give it to this neighborhood, to these girls and boys, to all who need it. Give them the fire of the Holy Spirit, because that is what ignites us and gives us life.” And add firmly: “Everything else is passenger, something external”.
San Josemaría Escrivá invited him to the priesthood
Fr. Giner, originally from Badajoz, Spain, arrived in Ecuador 70 years ago and considers it his spiritual home. “Sometimes I travel, but my life is here, in Guayaquil. I have worked in schools such as Torremar, always in contact with young people. That has been a wonderful part of my life, because being with young people gives you a special force.”
His vocation was born in adolescence, when he met Opus Dei. “At age 17 I asked for admission to the work. Later, in Rome, I had the grace to meet San Josemaría Escrivá And I lived with him for three years. He was a true father for me and that helped me complete the delivery of my priestly vocation. ”
It was San Josemaría who personally asked him if he wanted to be a priest, and transmitted that this was “the greatest celebration that a man can live in this world.” For him, that call meant serving God and contributing to make the world a better place.
“Then I came to Ecuador, where I have been serving so many years. I am theologian, I did all my studies, but beyond academic knowledge, The important thing is the wisdom of living faith day by day”, He says.
The priests, “the gold of a country”
For 25 years he was a judicial vicar in Ecuador, an experience that values other presbyters for accompaniment. “That has left me a lot of inner peace, because I want and deeply value my priests brothers. For me, they are ‘The gold of a country ‘. If there are no priests in a country, we are facing an immense catastrophe. ”
What makes him the most when reviewing his life is that in his seventy years of priesthood “there have been many people who have become, many people who have approached God.” “So many souls that I have been able to accompany … and there are wonderful things that, I think, remain between God and one.”
“They call me at any time, even if I am having lunch or eating, and I leave everything to address a confession. Because? Because I think A soul is worth much more than anything we have around. And that gives me great joy, ”he says.
Message to the new generations
In the midst of his reflections, the priest has special words for young people. “I tell young people: be faithful, because God gives them grace.”
“I ask people, and especially priests, to be very faithful, very real, cheerful, happy, spiritual; that they are soaked in the Bible and pedagogy, and that they understand that they are a fundamental pillar in the culture and tradition of a country,” he says.
Father Giner reiterates that if the priests were missing, the world would become “a dark place, almost ice cream.” “That is why I insist: the important thing is to be faithful. That faithfulness is what supports the Church and what illuminates the world”.
“He priesthood is forever: bring joy, divine happiness and, above all, A totally full life… people look for a full life; The priest plays her because it is, in a sense, participation of Christ, of the Holy Spirit, it is a vocation that remains, ”he adds.
A “critical” moment for the Church
Father Giner believes that since 1968 there was a strong moral crisis, symbolized in the slogan of the sorbonne “forbidden to prohibit”. For him, that slogan opened the way to a cultural and spiritual decline that has deepened in recent decades.
“The change has been immense,” he said.
He stressed that, despite the current challenges, he trusts the fidelity of the Church: “God’s hands have not closed his love or his mercy. He continues to illuminate us as golden rays of the sun. ”
“Today we are in a critical moment for the Church, but it is also an opportunity that God gives us to get closer to Him. If there is something that really must be saved in the world, It is the church and peace of God. Everything else is passenger, he leaves the smoke, ”he says with conviction.
On the future, he is confident: “Many feel fear, but I say: why? Every century has had its own fear, but The future is in the hands of God. That gives fantastic sensitivity and a deep peace. ”
When looking back and reflecting on his mission in life, he says: “Seventy years is like seeing the leaves of the tree fall. You cannot stop, because day by day what God wants is being fulfilled.” And concludes with joy: “The important thing, at the end of everything, is to always seek the meaning of life that God has given us”.
Diego López Marina
I was born in 1991. I have a degree in Communication Sciences. Since 2015 I work as a digital journalist. I started my career in the newspaper El Comercio in Peru. In 2016, I began as editor in ACI Press and I perform as a web editor since 2018. From 2024, I write the Newsletter for Social Media. I specialize in Catholic news focused on the defense of life and family, international politics, technology, popular culture and the Vatican.