By Agnes Chai
Gilbert James is the second son of Sabah soil to embrace the way of life of St Francis in the Capuchin Order, the first being Fr Valentine Gompok of Tambunan in 2003.
Vocational discernment often begins with listening to God, gaining clarity and taking the next best step closest to the call. For Gilbert, it was no different. In his discernment journey, he explored several Religious Orders/Society, as well as the diocesan priesthood.
But as God would have it, he discovered that to be a son of St Francis of Assisi was the way for him to best answer God’s call to the priestly vocation – to live among a band of brothers in simplicity of life and radical poverty, and being deeply in love with God.