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?