A Providential Pivot: Jun Maranan's Vocation Story

Jun Maranan, in his white Novice habit.

Five years ago, Jun Maranan could not have imagined himself here.

He had spent more than two decades building a successful career in healthcare. He was an occupational therapist, researcher, consultant, educator, administrator, and counselling manager. His work was meaningful. He was helping people. He had built a secure and successful life.

“If you would have asked if I was interested in entering a religious community, I would have told you, no, you're out of your mind," he says.

On August 1, 2026, Jun will make his First Profession of Vows as an Augustinian, promising to live poverty, chastity and obedience in the Augustinian way of life. After completing his year as a novice, he will officially become an Augustinian friar.

For Jun, the path to religious life was not about finding a missing piece of a puzzle or filling a hole. It was about recognizing that even a good life can leave room for a greater calling - and then having the courage to choose it.

Jun was born in the Philippines, one of eight children in a deeply Catholic family. Faith was woven into the rhythms of his everyday life. His parents made Sunday Mass a priority, and his mother had a simple way of explaining why: "God is only asking for at least one hour per week!"

Jun attended Catholic schools, first studying with Dominican sisters and later with the De La Salle Brothers. His family had a strong devotion to Our Mother of Perpetual Help, and when they immigrated to Canada in the mid-1990s, Sunday Mass remained part of their family life.

As a young man, Jun’s faith helped shape the direction of his career. A high school philosophy assignment asked him to consider his purpose in life. His answer centered on service to others, a conviction that eventually led him into healthcare.

But as the years passed, Jun drifted from the regular practice of his faith.

“There was a time when I wasn't really a practicing Catholic,” he said. “I would just go to a mass with my family during Christmas or Easter.”

In his 40s, Jun began asking questions about faith and spirituality again. A turning point came when, after years away from the sacrament, he went to Confession in 2018 during a weekend Ignatian retreat. Afterwards, he started going to Mass more frequently.

Then, in 2022, Jun’s life was shaken by two losses in quick succession. His father died in February. Two months later, his eldest brother died.

This experience of loss and grief caused Jun to look closely at his own life.

“I started asking again those existential questions, right? Like, is this it in terms of my journey?”

On paper, Jun had every reason to be satisfied. His career was successful. His work served others. His life was full. But something was missing.

“It was really Christ, you know, being Christ centered. That was the part that was missing for me at that point.”

In December 2022, he completed a full examination of conscience and his entire life. After mustering up the courage to go to confession, he felt like Christ had extended His loving arms to embrace him and welcome Jun back home.

"It was a glorious day," Jun said. "I experienced metanoia."

Jun began immersing himself in the faith, reading Catholic books, listening to podcasts and watching videos. He became interested in Benedictine spirituality, particularly the beauty of communal prayer and the Liturgy of the Hours.

Slowly, a question that once would have seemed impossible began to emerge: Was God calling him to religious life?

Jun began asking for help in discernment, particularly through the intercession of St. Thérèse of Lisieux. He prayed novenas and asked specific questions about his vocation. Through experiences he understood as signs of her intercession, he found the confidence to explore religious life more seriously.

His first instinct was to look at the Benedictines. He attended a silent retreat at a monastery and was drawn to the monks’ life of prayer.

The rural setting was another matter.

“I was like, um, I'm not sure farm work would suit me,” he said. “You know, growing up in a city, I was a city boy.”

But during that retreat, Jun found a copy of VISION magazine, which led him to an online vocation-matching tool. He created a profile and answered a series of questions. The result surprised him: he was a 100% match with the Augustinians.

Jun was already familiar with the Order’s history in the Philippines, but he had never seriously considered becoming an Augustinian. He prayed about the result before finally sending his profile.

Soon, a phone conversation led to an in-person meeting with Fr. Tom McCarthy, O.S.A., at the Toronto airport, and then to an invitation to visit the Augustinian community in Chicago.

At St. Augustine Friary, something clicked.

“I really felt the presence of the Holy Spirit,” Jun said.

What struck him most was the life of the community: men from different backgrounds praying together, listening to one another, sharing meals and genuinely caring for each other.

“To me, that sense of community was really palpable when I visited that particular community,” he said. “I can see how the brothers cared about each other, you know, how they have supported each other.”

For a man raised alongside seven siblings, the sense of fraternity felt familiar. So did the story of St. Augustine himself.

“Also what spoke to me about the order was also the life of St. Augustine, right? Again, having that restless heart. And again, his journey towards the faith, it wasn't clear cut as well."

Jun had found a community that resonated with both his own story and the life he wanted to live. But recognizing a vocation and choosing it are not the same thing.

For Jun, entering formation meant walking away from a career he had spent more than 20 years building. It meant leaving behind professional success, financial security, and work he genuinely loved.

He did not make that choice because his old life was empty or meaningless.

“The life that I was living at that time, it was good. But it was not the best life that God had intended for me to live.”

That distinction became central to Jun’s vocation. He had spent years building a life of service. Now, he believed Christ was asking him to serve in a different way.

Each stage required another decision: applying to the pre-novitiate, entering the novitiate and now preparing to profess vows.

And with each choice, Jun found greater peace.

“I think for me, the fruits of those decisions have been peace.”

As August 1 approaches, Jun is not trying to predict every detail of the life ahead of him. His focus is on remaining attentive to God and continuing to choose, each day, the life to which he has been called. For his First Profession, Jun is asking God for two things: love and grace.