How does a small to take a phrase about vocation seriously and convert it, years later, What's going on? by the mind of a young girl studying in schools Regnum Christi to decide to consecrate herself to God? The story of María Esther Muñoz has a very clear starting point: a simple gesture before Our Lady and a family where faith was naturally present.
Maria Esther Muñoz was born in Aguascalientes, Mexico, and from the beginning his environment was key: his love for his family, his parents and his siblings. He has a sister who works in the Colegio Mano Amiga from Aguascalientes and a brother who is a priest. with the Legionnaires of Christ, José Fernando Muñoz, L.C. This family context meant that talking about vocation, Church and service was not something strange, but something daily.
A scene that marked his vocation
The origin of his vocational restlessness is well defined in his memory. When he was eight years old, he met his priest uncle, Fr. Emilio Diaz Torre, L.C. He was praying before Our Lady of the Blessed Virgin Mary. Pietà and she knelt down beside him. Then he said to her: «place your vocation in Our Lady's hands». There - she says - it all began. It was not an abstract idea, but a concrete scene: a little girl, a priest from her family, an image of the Virgin and a phrase that became a guide.
His time at school Regnum Christi allowed that seed not to remain a memory. She was part of MAC (Mejores Amigas de Cristo) and of the ECYD. She was especially fond of the missions. During that period she met the young women of the Student Center, whose joy and love for Jesus impressed her. This experience led her to consider the possibility of a consecrated life.
He spent two years in the then Monterrey Student Center and, upon graduating from high school, he decided to take the step of to consecrate herself to God. She recalls that she did not take this step in an improvised way, but after a process in which she gradually perceived that God was calling her to consecrate herself to Him. Maria Ester says that halfway through her second year, she experienced God's call to «quench her thirst» and that this led her to live with a «missionary heart», open to go wherever she needed to go. This availability would henceforth mark her path.
Since then, her vocation has remained linked to that first invitation from her uncle and to her trust in Our Lady. It was not an isolated moment in her childhood, but a decision that matured and that she has been consciously renewing.
Discern with the Holy Spiritwhen peace leads the way
Maria Ester recognizes that to get to where she is today as a consecrated woman she had to go through a process of discernment. For her, being attentive to the Holy Spirit is fundamental: «to be his instrument, to know what to do, not to do or not to do. It is not just a matter of choosing once, but of remaining available.
He also admits that not all moments are the same. «There are moments that are easier to discern and other moments that require more in-depth discernment,» she explains. But in the midst of all the options there is one element that, for her, is decisive: peace. That peace - says - is the one that confirms that «it's this way», even if the road brings challenges, fears or, as she puts it simply, «the cold in the belly» when starting a new mission.
She was not alone in this process. She had many moments of prayer and accompaniment with her directors, her spiritual director and other people close to her. Prayer was, and continues to be, the space where she listens to Jesus« invitation to »cast her nets« and to look to Him, with the certainty that »He will bear fruit". This gaze on Christ allows him to keep his discernment as a living experience, not as a decision closed in the past.
Maria Ester defines herself as someone who seeks to trust: when God asks for something, even if it costs, she trusts that He will continue to take care of what she was taking care of. This attitude gives her serenity when she has to give up or change her mission. And when the path is not so clear, she returns to prayer and dialogue with the people who know her and accompany her, to confirm whether it is the right time or the right place.
The mission in schools: accompanying presence
An important part of her consecrated life has been her work in schools. For her, to work there «is to bring a consecrated woman of the Regnum Christi. He does not live it as an administrative or academic function, but as a daily presence. His goal is to »bring the light of Jesus to the people I meet«: parents, students, teachers or school staff.
His way of accompanying can be summed up in three words: «listen, pray and accompany». It means being available to a mother seeking guidance, to a student with doubts, to a teacher who wants to improve his teaching or to someone who simply needs to be listened to. This is how he makes his consecration concrete: by being there for families, children and young people.
Part of his mission is also to encourage students to learn to listen to God and discern what he may be asking of them for their lives. How does he do this? «Through prayer and an encounter with Jesus in the Eucharist,» he answers. And with a simple but direct question: «What would Jesus do in my place?». This question does not seek a formula, but rather to open up an interior space to make a meaningful decision.
Moreover, he invites them not to be afraid to ask Jesus «what he wants from their lives». It is not a matter of offering them ready-made answers, but of accompanying them in dialogue with God and helping them to discover that each person has his or her own path. This is particularly relevant in school environments where young people are also deciding their future.
Small gestures, fruits that transform
Among the experiences that have marked her the most, there are two that show the strength of simple faith. She recalls the case of a girl in sixth grade whose mother actively participated in a church group called Shalom, which is very present in Brazil. The girl lived her own search process and participated in the activities of that group, in addition to being involved in the ECYD. Through prayer and her faith experience, she found a way to grow in her relationship with Jesus and decided to do it together with her friends, in an environment where she could joyfully live her faith.
Another experience he shares is that of a kindergartner who one day asked his father what catechesis was. The father explained and confessed that he had not made his first communion because of a personal situation. That simple question led him to reflect and begin adult catechesis to receive Confirmation and First Communion. His son's spontaneous concern opened a process of faith in the whole family.
These two stories reflect why Maria Ester values so much the apostolates for children, adolescents and young adults, and why she has participated in NET Club, FORZZA, ECYD and Mission Youth. In these spaces he has seen how children and young people, when accompanied in discernment, are able to grow in their faith and even inspire their families.
At the Everest of Curitiba, continueuó with the same disposition with which it beganA vocation placed in Our Lady's hands, a life open to the missions entrusted to him and a way of accompanying that is direct and centered on Jesus. His journey allows us to get to know closely an experience of consecration that is expressed above all in closeness and daily work.
A little more about María Esther
His education was closely linked to the Regnum Christi. He studied at the Summits International School and then in the then Student Center of the Consecrated Women of Regnum Christi at Monterrey. Later on, already on the path of consecrated life, her formation took place in the Rhode Island centers. (United States) and Monterrey (Mexico). All this journey shaped in her an apostolic and missionary outlook.
Over time, her service became itinerant and took her to different cities and countries. In Mexico she collaborated pastorally in the ECYD of Torreon and Piedras Negras, in addition to working in the Cumbres International School Saltillo. Later on, her path took her to Venezuela, where she was part of the team of the Andes Caracas Institute. He then continued in Brazil, first in the Colegio Everest Brasilia and then in the College Everest Curitiba. In each of these places, it has also supported the apostolates of the NET Club, FORZZA, ECYD and Mission Youth. His work has consisted of accompanying processes and generating spaces where children, adolescents and families can come closer to Christ.
