From chef to contemplative Carmelite monk and now psychologist

How does the vocation of a monk come together with the profession of a chef and psychology? Brother Juan Diego del Niño Jesús, a Colombian monk of the 21st century, does so in the midst of his apostolate for the consolation of souls

It is rare to see in psychoanalysis classes, in the midst of academic discussions about Freud’s theories, a monk in habit and sandals. It is more frequent to meet religious in faculties of philosophy or theology.

If it is also a cloistered monk, the situation is even more curious. That was the reality of the brother Juan Diego of the Child Jesus During his psychology studies at the Luis Amigo University of Colombia.

As he told his story to Aleteia, This 21st century monk claimed that he had never believed in psychologybut he felt that something was missing in his apostolate to strengthen the spiritual accompaniment, and the vocation of consolation and welcome of souls that characterizes his community, the Contemplative Brothers of Carmel.

Juan Diego of the Child Jesus

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From the monastic enclosure to the classrooms

«I made perpetual vows as a monk because I did not feel the call to the priesthood, and as part of my mission I accompany those who come to our monastery, with their spiritual needs. However, he knew that he wanted to do it in a different way. It was then that the Lord gave me the light to integrate spirituality and psychology », he said.

He had that clarity when he was in the Monastery of Santa Teresa de Ávila (Spain), after asking on his knees for enlightenment for his vocation: «Leaving there we met a priest who asked us ‘Are they visiting the most humane saint?’ Indeed, it was very human and that’s when I knew I wanted to be a ‘human monk’, that’s when psychology came to mind.”

With the support of his prior and the community, he found the best option, a virtual university in which he only had to attend face-to-face classes on Saturdays. Those days he traded the prayer, silence and solitude of his monastery for subway rides, the noise of the students, as well as some ridicule and criticism.

During his career he shared with several atheists, with others who told him they were at odds with the Church, but most respected and loved him. That great retro of joining the rhythm that his companions lived ended up being for the consecrated a gain on a personal level and of his faith.

COLOMBIA
Juan Diego of the Child Jesus and his psychology studies

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A call within the call

Brother Juan Diego del Niño Jesús has just graduated after five years of “fruitful sacrifice” that marked his life. «Psychology in my religious vocation becomes a call within the call, as Mother Teresa of Calcutta used to say. With it I can favor personal processes so that they have an encounter with the Lord from the healing of their lives. A person with good mental health is going to be more willing to find God.”

There are many anecdotes that he keeps from his time in the Luis Amigo University, like when he approached the psychoanalysis of Freud, who had a very atheistic position, and it turned out to be one of the subjects he liked the most. However, the complex issues and the attitudes of some teachers who were harsh with him never affected him.

“I always thought I was there to fulfill God’s dream, because He wants the hospitals for the soul of my community to have more consolation tools.”

What this step in his life represents is constantly demonstrated, as when he listened to a 35-year-old man who wanted to give himself to God in a different way but when he spoke of his father he cried inconsolably. “I knew that there was a great pain in his soul and he had to heal it before moving forward in his relationship with God. Once he identified and healed the unfinished business in his relationship with his father, he was able to radically embrace his faith.”

COLOMBIA
Juan Diego of the Child Jesus and study companions

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passion for cooking

Brother Juan Diego of the Child Jesus is chef by profession, inherited the passion for cooking from his grandmother and aunt, whom he helped with Christmas dinners, and that led him to study gastronomy. He thought he had a clear future until he interned at a hotel run by the Discalced Carmelites. «I got to know the life of that community up close and I felt the call of God, I knew that I wanted to live an eternal novitiate»told Aleteia.

That was how eight and a half years ago –despite how difficult it was at first for his mother because he was single and very pampered– he entered the Contemplative Brothers of Carmel, a cloistered monastic congregation that was born in Colombia at that time. This means that they are not totally isolated and have welcome spaces; they do it especially on Sundays when dozens of people attend mass and buy lunches and products that they make there for their sustenance. There, the contribution of brother Juan, as a chef, is essential.

COLOMBIA
Juan Diego of the Child Jesus in the kitchen

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They also have some rooms for offer hospitality to those who wish to make individual spiritual retreats.

With the knowledge acquired at the university, Brother Juan Diego will strengthen the help provided by his community and achieve more spiritual fruits, because he knows that he studied a career for the service of souls.

MASTERCHEF

From chef to contemplative Carmelite monk and now psychologist