Esau, soon to be baptized: ‘The Church is more than family’

“I baptize you in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.” These are the words that thousands of catechumens around the world are preparing to hear on Easter night when they are baptized. Throughout Lent, Aleteia is sharing with you the stories of some of these men and women, who are happy to become children of God. Read all of the testimonies here.

The pandemic pushed many people to their limits. Esaú Neira Romero was one of them.

When COVID brought his father to the brink of death, this young Peruvian man, who until then had only looked at God from afar, went to a church. There, he prayed sincerely, and promised to get closer to the Church.

“Desperation brings you to an altar when a relative is in danger of death, and you show that respect, with your heart in your hand,” he explains to Aleteia.

“Thank God he was saved,” he recalls. And little by little the young man resumed his routine: working, earning money, and enjoying his home, 6 miles from the beach in Lima.

“I didn’t keep my promise, but sooner or later God made me keep it,” the young man says.

In December 2023, he decided to go on vacation to a European country. He enjoyed the sun and did some sightseeing. But while visiting various relatives, the days that the law allowed him to spend in the country passed.

Esau wanted to return to Peru, but if he did so he’d have to pay a fine and wouldn’t be able to return for 8 years.

At that moment, a sister invited him to attend a church service. There he met a priest with whom he had a conversation and who invited him to an Emmaus retreat.

“What’s that?” Esau recalls asking the priest. He’d never heard of it in his country.

He learned a bit more about this spiritual retreat and signed up out of curiosity. “The retreat was very impressive. I loved it,” Esau says.

The young man discovered “a Church that was close, friendly, a community of true brothers and sisters, something different from what we experience in the world.”

“I started to get hooked. I’d tell them my problems as I would a brother. They’d give me advice, they’d guide me, and they’d help me,” continues Esau.

“In the Church you receive a brotherly hug without expecting anything in return, as happens in a family,” he explains.

“I think they’re ‘more’ than my family,” he adds. “In a family you feel some friction, sometimes you don’t understand each other, but not with them; it’s a different kind of embrace.”

The priest introduced him to his godfather and the community supported him on his journey towards baptism, which he’s looking forward to “with anticipation.”

In recent months he has been preparing for the sacrament by attending weekly talks, meetings, masses, and even a meeting with the bishop.

So, next April Esau will fulfill his promise to God and will receive the sacrament of Christian initiation together with other catechumens in a European cathedral.

“I was born blessed and I continue to be blessed to this day,” he acknowledges. If I’m doing God’s will, I’ll always meet very kind people. He has always gotten me out of many problems, and I’m grateful.”

“I used to get into fights more, but now I see things more calmly, with patience. I don’t hold any grudges, and I go to Mass,” he explains. “The change has been very big, and I think this is just beginning.”

Read more:Assia, soon to be baptized, is glad for God’s patience

Read more:Thomas, soon to be baptized: “Christ never gave up on me”