On November 13, the Solemnity of All Saints of the Order, the Order of Augustinian Recollects is premiering “What if God is calling me?”, a documentary that gathers the testimonies of five young men seeking to discover what God wants for their lives. The result of more than six months of work and collaboration between four religious provinces, this audiovisual production presents vocation, doubts, and community life from a close, sincere, and deeply human perspective.
What happens when a young person begins to wonder if God is calling them? How do you explain to a family that you are thinking of leaving everything behind? What does it feel like to arrive at a monastery, far from home, to share life with people who were strangers until then?
These are some of the questions that run through “What if God is calling me?”, the new documentary from the Order of Augustinian Recollects, which premieres today, November 13, 2026, coinciding with the celebration of All Saints of the Order and the anniversary of the birth of Saint Augustine.
Over 52 minutes, five young men share their concerns, their fears, family farewells, and the discoveries that have marked their vocational path. Their testimonies show that a religious vocation does not necessarily begin with a certainty, but often with a question that transforms the way one looks at one’s own life.
Five young men, five stories, and one question: What if God is calling me?
David Lo Russo, Daniel Velázquez, Ricardo Cárdenas, Tomás Ibarra, and Eduardo Palassi are the protagonists of this production. Their stories begin in very different circumstances: the loss of a loved one, a period of uncertainty, the questions left by the pandemic, or the feeling that, even when nothing seems to be missing, life needs a deeper meaning.
The documentary follows their experiences from their first stirrings of interest to the decision to begin a path of discernment with the Augustinian Recollects.
“There comes a point where you have to decide,” David Lo Russo admits when recalling the first steps of his vocation.
But taking that step does not mean that fears disappear. The protagonists speak naturally about the difficulties of communicating their decision to their families, the nostalgia for friends, and the questions that arise when they must start a new life far from home.
Far from idealizing the experience, “What if God is calling me?” shows the deeply human dimension of vocational discernment, where faith coexists with doubts and where every decision needs time, freedom, and accompaniment.
Community life, the heart of the Augustinian Recollect vocation
The documentary was filmed at the Noviciado Nuestra Señora del Camino in Monteagudo (Navarra, Spain) and at the Desierto de la Candelaria in Ráquira (Boyacá, Colombia), two places linked to the history and formation of the Augustinian Recollects.
Through their testimonies, the young men show what daily life is like in the novitiate: prayer, study, work, sports, shared responsibilities, and moments of fellowship.
The spirituality of Saint Augustine occupies a central place in their experiences. Seeking God is not an individual adventure, but a path shared with other brothers.
“Community is everything. It gives you a lot of stability, a lot of strength. It really sustains you; you feel accompanied,” explains David Lo Russo.
However, living together also presents challenges. Learning to listen, accepting cultural differences, engaging in dialogue, and recognizing one’s own limitations are part of a process of personal and spiritual growth.
In this sense, the documentary presents religious life as an experience in which the search for God takes place in everyday life, alongside one’s brothers, based on the Augustinian ideal of living as “one soul and one heart.”
More than six months of work and four provinces united in an audiovisual project
More than six months of work, creativity, and collaboration between different communities and religious provinces have brought “What if God is calling me?” to life, a new audiovisual initiative by the Order of Augustinian Recollects to bring religious vocation closer to young people through contemporary language.
The production is also a concrete expression of synodality and communion within the Order. Its realization was made possible thanks to the collaboration of the provinces of Saint Nicholas of Tolentine, Our Lady of Candelaria, Saint Thomas of Villanova, and Saint Ezekiel Moreno, together with the communities and houses of formation that opened their doors to share the lives of their young men.
This joint effort has allowed for the development of an institutional production that transcends geographical and provincial borders to present a reality shared by the entire Order: the accompaniment of those who are discovering their vocation.
Direction, script, and production were handled by Friar Alfonso J. Dávila Lomelí, OAR, from the Order’s Communications Office. The documentary features narration by Guillem Coca, under the direction of Lucía Rodríguez, with editing and music by Gema Rodríguez, a collaborator from the Province of Saint Nicholas of Tolentine. Generative art was created by Iván Sánchez, while photography, lighting, and direct sound were handled by the Communications Office of the Order of Augustinian Recollects.
The work combines personal interviews, images of monastic life, and audiovisual resources to build a narrative that allows viewers to get closer to the concerns, dreams, and experiences of its protagonists.
A documentary that invites us to listen to God’s call
The premiere of “What if God is calling me?” on the feast of All Saints of the Order takes on a special meaning. On the day when the Augustinian Recollect Family remembers so many men and women who responded to God’s call, the documentary turns its gaze toward those who today are beginning to wonder how to give their own lives.
The protagonists also speak of their dreams: working with young people, serving in the missions, accompanying communities, dedicating themselves to education, or deepening their study of Saint Augustine’s thought. However, they all agree on the importance of maintaining an attitude of availability toward whatever God shows them.
In the final minutes, David Lo Russo offers advice to those who feel a certain calling:
“You have to learn to trust.”
Eduardo Palassi summarizes his experience with words that express the meaning of the entire production:
“I don’t know everything; I don’t have the answers. I have more doubts every time. But I am certain that God is always with me.”
“What if God is calling me?” is not just a documentary about five young men who wish to be Augustinian Recollects. It is an invitation to wonder about the meaning of one’s own life, to listen without fear, and to discover that God continues to call in different ways.
The Order of Augustinian Recollects invites all those who identify with these concerns to watch the documentary and share their questions through inquietar.com.
Because perhaps the most important question is not what these young men have left behind to enter the monastery, but what they have begun to find since they decided to take the first step.
What if God is calling you?
