D4, Called to Service

I was privileged to be born and raised in a very faithful Catholic family. My folks not only taught us the faith but lived it and modeled it as well. I have fond memories of lively discussions about many issues around the dinner table. No topic was off limits. At times, those discussions included life issues such as sexuality, marriage, contraception and abortion.

After a solid Catholic education, which included Catholic college, I was lead to a vocation of service in Medicine. I specialized in Family Medicine which has allowed me for more than forty years to care for patients of all ages; literally from womb to tomb. In many ways, I have sought to be God’s vessel in a most secular world.

The journey has not always been easy. Standing up for truth and life, as God intended, is often met with resistance and, at times, hostility. As a medical student at UC Davis, a fellow classmate and I arranged a prolife verses prochoice debate. The atmosphere was emotionally charged and the vitriol that spewed from several future doctors was both shocking and revealing. It was made very clear to me that “prochoice” really translated to “antilife”. Later, during clinical rotations, I was assigned to Planned Parenthood in Sacramento for my gynecological training. Proactively, I met with the director of the clinic and shared my Catholic views regarding family planning and sexuality issues. I told her I could discuss all birth control methods with patients, including, of course, Natural Family Planning, covering risks and benefits. After all, I argued, informed consent was paramount. She agreed and so I began my rotation. One week later, I was asked to leave and not to return (so much for tolerance and full disclosure). As a resident physician, I was met with challenges from coworkers on life issues. Fortunately, God always provided for my faithfulness. When I began my private practice in Colusa I was once again met with resistance, this time from a member at the local county health department who tried to shut me down. That battle was ultimately won to God’s glory and, ironically, I now serve as the county health officer.

During my medical training, I was called to a second vocation of service. This time to be joined in Holy Matrimony to the love of my life and bride, Gloria. We were called to a ministry of service to each other and, as a team, to those around us. Gloria has been my faithful companion throughout the entirety of my medical career and we have met all the above challenges together. In the process, my ministry of husband was expanded to father, as two beautiful daughters were added to our family.

Although the obstacles and attacks against my prolife, natural family planning stance have been real, they are far overshadowed by the unimaginable fruits that Our Lord has brought over the years. I have been privileged to assist couples battling infertility to conceive successfully using NFP techniques that respect God’s perfect design of our sexuality. With NFP, other innumerable couples have respectfully postponed conception for grave reasons. As a family physician, I have been honored to deliver thousands of babies, each a witness to the miracle of life. And what an honor it has been to deliver babies born to parents I delivered years prior!

Nearly seven years ago, I answered my third vocation of service as I was ordained Deacon of the Catholic Church. This has added a new, spiritual dimension to my interaction with patients and parishioners. I have given counseling and spiritual direction to many couples in the context their practicing NFP. I have prayed with and blessed many seeking pregnancy or mourning the loss of an unborn child. I have celebrated with many, and cried with many as well. For many years, Gloria and I have been involved with our parish’s Marriage Preparation program. What a joy to experience young couples’ excitement and, in the process, to share with them the beautiful gift of NFP and the Church’s teaching on married love and sexuality. We also teach our OCIA program where we are diligent to cover these topics in the section on sacraments.

As a deacon, I am awed as I participate in God’s saving plan in spiritual service and in administering the sacraments to many of these folks. It is always emotional when I baptize infants born to couples we have mentored and some I have cared for as patients. Some patients which I delivered are now bringing their own children to the fountain of life. Couples who have gone through OCIA and some who have gone through marriage prep, now stand before God and man as I am honored to witness their marriages. What has to “take the cake” is a baby I delivered to a couple in our parish, took care of him as a baby, child and young adult, until he moved away to college. Since his return to Colusa, Gloria and I have been blessed to witness to and mentor him as he has become very active in his Catholic faith and now discerns a vocation to the priesthood. He will be entering seminary for our Sacramento Diocese in the very near future. He is being called to fatherhood for the family of God.

In summary, the Good Lord has blessed me with a triple vocation of service: Medicine, Married and Family Life, and the Deaconate. This has given me the unique opportunity to serve God’s people on the spiritual, emotional and physical levels. This is a true call to care for my brothers and sisters in an integrated fashion. This is why I titled this article D4, Called to Service. When I was ordained, my brothers nicknamed me “D3” for Deacon, Doctor, Delgado. My two daughters have more clearly coined me “D4”: Deacon, Doctor, Dad, Delgado.

May God be praised in the service and fidelity you all provide in the NFP arena.