Angelus News | July 31-August 7, 2020 | Vol. 5 No. 21

Justin Oh
Age: 31
Hometown: Cerritos
Home parish: St. Raphael Korean Catholic Center,
Norwalk
Parish assignment: St. Gertrude Church, Bell Gardens
“Of course, my first reaction was, ‘No way,’ actually with
some inappropriate words,” Oh said. “I said ‘No, God. I think
you and [the] Blessed Mother, I think you’re just tripping.”
He still attended daily Mass and remained involved in youth
ministry, but would not listen to God’s call. This lasted for
five years, years he admitted, he knew, “deep down inside,”
he wasn’t living the life that was meant for him, the life he
encouraged others to pursue.
“I would work with a lot of kids and talk to them about
God’s love or God’s will for us and the purpose of our lives,
and I would always encourage them to stay open to the will
of God because he’s the one who made us and who probably
knows best,” he said.
“And yet [in my life] I was saying, ‘Well, God, that’s great
that you’re calling me to this, but I think I know what’s best
for me,’ placing my own will above the will of the Lord.”
But, as we know, when it comes to life’s journey, the Lord
can be as relentless as the person in the passenger seat telling
the driver they really need to pull over and ask for directions.
For Oh, the map was laid out by a priest who helped him
discern, and turn that no into a yes.
Today, he can’t wait to get started.
“The role of the priest is to help sanctify the people, to help
them grow in holiness and sanctify the world,” he said. “I
want to be a bridge to holiness and help them grow in their
relationship with Christ. I’m most excited for that, to really
journey with these people. I look forward to going there.”
VICTOR ALEMÁN
“The role of the priest is to help
sanctify the people, to help them
grow in holiness.”
While Justin Oh, like so many other new priests,
looks forward to celebrating Mass, offering the
sacrament of reconciliation and the other daily
duties of a priest, what really excites him is the “journey” he
will take with his parishioners.
“I look forward to when I’m doing the baptism for a couple
and it’s a couple that I married,” he said. “You know, and I’m
there for their kid’s first Communion and I accompany them
on this journey, the whole process.”
Although Oh sees his own journey to the priesthood as
“rather ordinary,” nothing “dramatic, like St. Paul,” it has had
its share of unexpected turns, delays and, yes, drama.
Born to South Korean immigrants, raised in Cerritos, Oh’s
Catholic life was typical, if a bit delayed: baptized at the age
of 5, first Communion while in high school, confirmation
while in college. It was during college that he heard God’s
call to become a priest, a call he heard “clear as day” the day
after completing a 54-day novena.
At first, it was a call he rejected completely.
Justin Oh (right) golfing with Father Brian and Father Daniel.
SUBMITTED PHOTO
16 • ANGELUS • July 31-August 7, 2020