By James Fisher
God has given me so many blessings, and I cherish the gift He gave me of having a vocation to religious life.
When I was a baby, my Russian mother, in order that I would have a chance for a better life, gave me up for adoption. I imagine that it was very hard for my mother to give up her baby, but adoption was the best choice she made for me. For nine months, I remained in an orphanage with about 100 children (newborn to 5 years old) who were cared for by seven workers.
In March 2003, I was adopted by Eugene and Brenda Fisher of Washington, La., along with my adopted brother, Stephen, two months older than I, from the same orphanage.
Our new family consisted of two parents, two older brothers who were biological children of our adopted parents, and the additions, Stephen and me. From preschool on, Stephen and I were homeschooled by my mom. Homeschooling was hard for me since I had speech and language problems. But as I grew older, I received speech therapy and improved in my studies. 
When I received my first Communion, I was so in love with Jesus that I asked Him to come into my heart, and I was so happy that I decided to give my life to Jesus just like St. Thérèse of Lisieux. After my first Communion, as my family and I were walking to our car, little snowflakes were coming down on a beautiful, partly cloudy day. It reminded me so much of St. Thérèse when she asked Jesus, her Spouse, to let it snow when she entered the monastery.
When I visited the Shrine of the Most Blessed Sacrament in Hanceville, Ala., I knew I had a calling to serve God; but I still felt unsure. It was not until I saw the Knights of the Holy Eucharist there at the Shrine that I was almost certain God was calling me. I was so attracted to their works of service as I saw them give tours and serve at the altar.
After my family and I visited the Shrine several more times over the years, my family and I decided to look up the Knights online. My mom jokingly said that because I wanted to enter so badly and she was tired of homeschooling, she would see if they could take me when I was 12. Of course, the Knights sent an email response saying I was too young, but that didn’t stop me. On my own, I decided to act as a friar and walk around the house praying the rosary.
When I was 12 years old, I started serving at the altar at my parish, Our Lady Queen of All Saints, in Ville Platte, La. I loved to serve at my parish church because I liked to help others serve, especially by showing the new altar servers how to serve better. I loved to be near Our Lord and meditate on the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass.
Years later, when I had crushes on girls, I discovered that most of these girls just used my affections, and I felt hurt. In His Mercy, God was calling me to serve Him, but I ignored His call. Feeling very miserable, I decided to start listening to Him again; and I began to feel an immense love which helped me decide not to run away from Him again.
When I was confirmed, I decided to be Jesus’ Knight. After I went to a couple of Quo Vadis retreats held by seminarians in my diocese for young men to discern if they were called to the priesthood, I decided to speak with the vocation director, Father Blake Dubroc, and the director of seminarians, Father Patrick Broussard. Sadly, I was not allowed to apply to the seminary because they wanted me to have a year of experience in the world.
At first, I was frustrated because I thought that going to seminary was what God really wanted me to do. But God had another plan: He wanted me to look at the Knights again! After I contacted Brother David, I went on a 10-day retreat with the Knights in Lincoln. I was so happy and full of joy because everything they did—work, prayer, Mass, confessions, and the fellowship of their brotherhood—inspired me to love Christ more. Following the Little Way of St. Thérèse of Lisieux also helped me to love Christ and the Church with a deeper love and affection to serve His people.
In my stay here as a postulant, I have learned how to live joyfully in the community. That is what attracted me to the Knights when I visited them. St. Clare wrote about “the mirror.” She made the analogy of seeing Christ in different parts of a mirror. For example, the border of the mirror represents His poverty; the surface of the mirror, His holy humility; and the depth of the mirror, Christ’s charity when He suffered and died on the cross. Through this analogy I learned that I can imitate Jesus through the evangelical counsels as He did.
Thanks to my biological and adoptive parents, I was given the opportunity to have a better and holy life. I am very blessed by God who has given me so much; yet I have given Him so little. I hope to continue in this blessing-filled life with the Knights of the Holy Eucharist for the rest of my life!
