Given to God

Angelo Ragosta and Maria Giuseppina met when they were teenagers. For 9 years they were in a happy relationship and planned a life together. Then their plans changed radically.  “We were planning on getting married, but God was going to change the cards a little — just a little,” says Angelo Ragosta — who has now been a priest for 10 years. He recalls that his fiancée made the decision to separate. Angelo writes, “God made her understand he wanted her for himself.” The girl entered a cloistered order and took the name Maria Giuseppina of Incarnate Love. Fr. Angelo recalls that at the time her decision was very difficult for him, and for a long time he couldn’t understand. He continued his life working as an industrial electrician, but in his heart he became more and more restless. He was getting a salary, he went out with friends, but he wasn’t where he wanted to be. “I had everything, and yet I was not happy,” he used to say. He then prayed harder than ever asking God “What do you want from me?” He opened the Bible his confirmation sponsor had given him and read Jeremiah 1:4-5: ‘Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, and before you were born I consecrated you.’ That’s when he started to discern that his vocation was the priesthood. Angelo entered the seminary and after seven years received the sacrament of Holy Orders on April 21, 2013.  It has already been 10 years since his ordination. Despite the separation and the choice of a different path in life, Angelo and Maria still keep in touch. Whenever he’s in Naples, Fr. Angelo visits the Maria Giuseppina at her cloistered convent.  “Today, whenever I’m back in Naples, I go to her convent and we meet,” Fr. Ragosta added.