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Meet Seminarian and Spiritual Writer Roberto Rafo

Meet Seminarian and Spiritual Writer Roberto Rafo

Last updated on: July 31, 2026 at 6:58 am by Mark Wilson

Meet Seminarian and Spiritual Writer Roberto Rafo 2026-07-31T06:58:40-05:00 Mark Wilson

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

When I was reading over Seminarian Roberto’s answers to my interview questi0ns, I felt like I was on a retreat in a monastery. His answers were calm, spiritual and reflective. He really radiates a quiet atmosphere of writing where contemplation in silence of the mysteries of God is rather encouraged. You’re a about to meet a writer whose spiritual formation as a priest is underway. Enter the silence as you

1. Tell something interesting about yourself.

Before the Lord laid a heavy hand upon my shoulder to pull me toward His altar, I spent my daily life in the highly secular world of financial technology. I operated a Forex algorithmic trading desk and worked as an automated systems consultant. God took a man who spent his days staring at digital market charts and algorithms and transformed him into a soul who now finds his only true calculation inside the silence of the Tabernacle.

The tabernacle at St Raphael’s Cathedral in Dubuque, Iowa, placed on the old high altar of the cathedral (cf. General Instruction of the Roman Missal, 315, a) Jesster79~commonswiki

2. What makes a good Catholic writer?

A good Catholic writer is not someone who merely possesses a clever vocabulary or a sharp intellect. A good Catholic writer must first be a person of profound, deep humility. He must write on his knees. If an author does not spend time absorbing the wounds of Christ in prayer, his words will be nothing but sounding brass and clanging cymbals. He must be entirely transparent so that the reader does not see the writer, but only sees Jesus.

3. What do you like about being a Catholic/Christian Writer?

I love the beautiful privilege of using the written word to anchor restless hearts in the unshakeable peace of Jesus Christ. In a world full of digital noise, anxiety, and constant motion, being able to point a soul toward the quiet mercy of the Confessional and the majesty of the Holy Eucharist through a simple essay is a grace I am completely unworthy to carry.

Radomil – Own work

4. What is the Main focus of your particular Writing or what do you like to write about?

My work focuses primarily on the intersection of classical Thomistic metaphysics, liturgical history, and scripture explanation. I seek to show how the ancient, deep intellectual traditions of the Church are not dead academic concepts but living realities that can heal the psychological and spiritual brokenness of the modern human person.

5. How does your Catholic Faith influence your writing?

My faith does not merely influence my writing. It is the very air my soul breathes while the pen is moving. Every sentence I construct is submitted to the infallible Magisterium of Holy Mother Church. I do not write to express my own private opinions. I write to echo the eternal truth that has been handed down to us through the saints and the sacraments.

6. What’s your favorite article/Post/book/story you have written?

My favorite piece is a recent theological essay that I submitted to John Paul Meenan, the Editor-in-Chief of Catholic Insight, on July 20, 2026. It represents a deeply personal synthesis of my transition out of the secular corporate world and into the hidden, beautiful preparation for diocesan priesthood.

7. What is your favorite topic/subject to write about?

The infinite, incomprehensible depth of Divine Mercy, and the role of the Blessed Virgin Mary as our protectress in spiritual warfare. I love to write about how Christ hides Himself inside our very human weaknesses and wounds so that His grace can be made perfect in our smallness.

8. Favorite scripture verse.

Gospel of John, Chapter 15, Verse 16: “You did not choose Me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit and that your fruit should abide.” It reminds me every day that the priesthood is not an ambition I chose for myself, but a sovereign call from the Master.

9. What Are you currently working on?

I am currently deep in the trenches of an academic framework. I am tracking through Philosophy 101, Theology 101, and a Catechism course.

Kaisching – Own work – The statue The Thinker by Auguste Rodin is a symbol of philosophical thought.

10. Name a favorite saint or Catholic or some other figure who inspires you in your life.

Saint Michael the Archangel is my constant defender in the terrors of the night, and Saint Pio of Pietrelcina is the spiritual father who teaches me how to carry the cross of discernment. His famous maxim—Pray, hope, and don’t worry—is the guardrail of my entire life.

Bumper Magnet on Catholic Bard’s Car

11. Who is your favorite Living Writer?

Dr. Scott Hahn. His ability to take the immense, complex depths of biblical theology and present them in a way that makes the layperson fall desperately in love with the Mass and the Covenant is a constant inspiration for my own studies.

12. If you could have lunch with any deceased writer who would it be, what would you eat and what would you talk about?

I would sit down with Saint Thomas Aquinas. We would eat a very simple plate of plain bread and bitter herbs, because a doctor of the Church cares nothing for luxury. I would ask him to explain to me the exact moment his intellect fell silent when he looked at the crucifix near the end of his life, and he realized that everything he had written was but straw compared to the beauty of the living God.

13. Name a favorite movie/tv show or music you find worth sharing with others.

The solemn, ancient beauty of Gregorian Chant. It is the only music that completely quiets the nervous system and pulls the human intellect out of the secular world directly into the timeless courtyard of heaven.

14. Can you see one of your books being made into a movie or tv series? Who would you want to star or direct?

I do not write books for the screens or the theaters of this world. But if the story of a soul’s rescue from the chaotic floor of Forex trading to the quiet pews of a Catholic church could ever help a young man discern his own calling, I would want it directed by anyone who understands how to film the absolute silence of a soul kneeling alone in front of a golden Tabernacle.

Catholic Bard: The movie Into Great Silence c0mes to mind with this question.

Into Great Silence is an odyssey, or perhaps a pilgrimage, into a world of such silence: the Grande Chartreuse monastery in the French Alps, head monastery of the Carthusian order, where Gröning received unprecedented permission to shoot in 2002.

Gröning stayed with the Carthusians for about half a year, observing in both senses of that word their rigorous way of life, from their discipline of silence to their grueling routine of prayer, work and sleep. Working alone, using only available light, he shot for approximately three hours a day, eventually amassing over 120 hours of material.

The formal rigor of the finished 164-minute film, mirroring the ascetic strictness of the monks themselves, offers none of the didactic or expositional context associated with typical documentaries. No voiceover narration expounds the history of the monastery buildings or the Carthusian order. No captions clarify or introduce us to the events or rituals we see.
Into Great Silence (2005) – Decent Films

15. Favorite Historical event.

The Institution of the Most Holy Eucharist at the Last Supper in the Upper Room. Every single Mass said by every priest throughout history flows directly from that one, eternal moment where God hid Himself under the appearance of bread and wine out of pure love for us.

This interview was published on July 31 , 2026

The day these other Historical Trivia events happened.

432 – Election of pope Sixtus III following the death of pope Celestine I four days prior.

1009 – Pope Sergius IV becomes the 142nd pope, succeeding Pope John XVIII.

1556 – Ignatius of Loyola, Spanish priest and theologian, founded the Society of Jesus dies. (born 1491)

16. What else do you want people to know about anything?

If you are struggling in the dark, if you are carrying an addiction or a heavy cross that makes you feel dirty and separated from God, do not listen to the devil’s arithmetic. Christ does not love you because you are perfect; He loves you because you are His. Turn back to Him this very moment, go to Confession, and let His mercy pick you up.

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