We Are Meant to Live for Others

Antonino Castellano is a fifth year seminarian at the Theological College in the Diocese of Pittsburgh. His diaconate ordination is scheduled for October 3rd, 2026.

Long before he began to serve the Church, Antonino remembers feeling caught in the middle. “I was sort of in between being an immature and selfish high school student and a responsible and faithful adult.” His decision to join the mission trip with Move a Mountain would be a catalyst for him to not only mature, but to become a man for others.

“It would be the first time I traveled outside the country, and the first time I had ever worked with persons with disabilities,” Antonino shares. While he wanted to help, he remembers hesitation, especially during mealtime at Sophie’s place. “I was afraid to make a mistake. Some of the residents would bite the spoon, spit up the food, or refuse to eat.”

Yet the familial atmosphere of Mustard Seed, met Antonino’s fear with understanding. “The Aunties, the caregiver at Sophie’s Place, taught me how to be with the residents, and just kept encouraging me through the process.” Through the presence of the Aunties, Antonino witnessed the personal love they had for each child.

Soon, he felt caught in the middle yet again. But this time, he found himself caught in an encounter with Christ. “They would treat them like their own kids, and they knew the unique personalities of each one. I was amazed at the love and care they had. What a blessed opportunity to be in the middle of that; of mutual joy of encountering Christ in one another.”

This encounter with Christ remains with Antonino today, and is an experience he credits with helping him to grow in awareness of himself and others. “I can honestly say, my first trip to Mustard Seed was a turning point in my life.” The conversion of his heart was not a sudden event or dramatic incident, it came through simplicity. “It was the simple and loving witness of the residents that challenged me to become a man for others. We can often think that happens is in acquiring or receiving things, but the mission trip reminded me that we are meant to live for others, and that happiness lies in giving ourselves away.”

This is what Antonino reminds himself of daily as he prepares for the priesthood. “The mission of Mustard Seed helps me enter into various kinds of ministry today. Throughout seminary I have been assigned to various types of ministries including serving the poor, nursing homes, hospitals, and working in schools. While all these assignments require different work and skills, at the end of the day, we are serving people in need. I am challenged to encounter people and be with them in their poverty, no matter what that might look like. Mustard Seed was the first place where I was taught to do that.”

“My faith is really characterized by what my grandparents used to tell me before I left their house every Sunday: ‘Do good things with these hands.’ I want to do good with my own hands, but on a deeper level I am preparing to give these hands over to Christ, for them to be not my own hands, but Christ’s.” How are we using the gifts God has given us to live for others? How can we let our hands become Christ’s hands?

God’s Greatest Evangelizers

Sharyl Stommes, Gift of Mary Missionary

My heart was so eager to go to Jamaica and love on and serve these beautiful souls. To share the generous love of God and make it known to them that they are beloved.  However, the residents at Mustard Seed Community ended up being the givers of God’s grace and I the receiver - they were the evangelizers! 

When we showed up to Jacob’s Ladder we were all greeted by the residents with massive hugs, handshakes, smiles and laughs that put any other celebration to shame.  The joy was exuberant.  I was received with so much excitement you would have thought I was the greatest thing since sliced bread.  And it was the same for everyone else in the room, no one was excluded.  What came to the forefront of my mind were my faults and a lot of mistakes that I felt guilty of.  But to them love has no conditions.  Their reception of me was an experience of God’s unconditional love - my faults and mistakes were nonexistent to them, only pure joy that I was there.  

At Sophie’s Place, the residents were the closest imitation of Christ in the Eucharist I have ever witnessed: they rest there, vulnerable and dependent on others, with an obvious need of just being looked upon with love and longing.  In their silence, stillness, and dependence they showed me the face of Jesus.  Our Lord in the Eucharist also just rests in the tabernacle, dependent on others to lift him to his monstrance where there is a need of being looked upon with love and longing.  When I went up to Brandon, or TonyAnn, or Michaela and said their names, acknowledging them and that I was there with them, there came a big smile and obvious joy.  They showed me the glory of God in suffering - the joy that is available because of the loving presence of one who loves you.  They are not alone, He is there!  I am not alone, He is here!  

These beautiful souls at Mustard Seed Community have allowed me to receive the presence of Christ in a manner and depth that is unmatched. Thank you Lord!!

February 19, 2026