Where will the new priests come from? Our homes, our parishes. Over the last couple of months I have encountered God's undeniable working in the young of our parish. When I say young I am talking about 7-10 year-olds. Now the cynic may write off anything a 7 year-old says as being the dreamy talk of children. I remember being 7 myself. At one point I wanted to be a truck driver just like my uncle.. I would sit on my bed with my improvised walkee-talkie and invisible steering wheel. However, the two strong desires that drove me at that age were to be a soccer player and a priest. Not one or the other, but both. Because I have already blogged earlier about this I'll spare you the details again but it is important to note that God speaks to us through our desires, talents, and passions even in our childhood. Naturally theses desires need to be discerned but never dismissed.
Recently I heard the confession of a young boy. While he was confessing it crossed my mind to ask him to be open to a vocation to the priesthood. It had nothing to do with his confession, it just entered my mind as clearly as could be. As he finished he confession he got up to leave and then sat down right away and I said "can I ask you something?" I responded "You want to ask me about the priesthood, don't you". He was stunned and said "how did you know?"
God speaks to us, within us, but also through one another. Let's listen carefully.
One of my nephews is incredible conscious of God, loves to read about Him, asks great questions and has a sense of how close God is to him. His joy at receiving the Sacrament of Reconciliation and First Communion was divine. Like many children he was worried he would say or do something wrong but more than anything he was excited. I went with him and his parents to his first reconciliation/confession. He wanted to make sure we got there really early. When his dad asked him were he wanted to sit he lead us to the front pew, right in front. As you might imagine there weren't many families positioning for the front pews. We sat alone for quite some time until the pews and the whole church filled up. When it was time for confession he jumped up and was first in line.
The day before Easter my nephew asked his dad if they could go to the sunrise service at 6am for Easter! His dad told him that if he woke up and got ready in time they would go. My brother was a bit surprised when his son woke him up and said "let's go dad". And so they went. He also likes reading a kid's Mass missal, Magnifikid, on the way to Church. He looks over the prayers and readings and lets his Dad know if there are any discrepancies between the missal and what is being said at Mass.
The third example of a possible priestly vocation took place during a tour of the Church I was giving to children preparing to receive First Communion. I showed and explained the different things we use for Mass and asked and answered questions. After the 60 kids were dismissed there was boy who stood in front of the altar with a troubled look on his face. You know the kind: his forehead was wrinkled, he eyes were purposefully pointed up at me with his hands firmly planted in his pockets. As his teacher stood at a distance I said "Hi, do you have a question?" He said how do you preach?" I was sure I misheard him and so I asked him to repeat his question. To my surprise I had heard him correctly. I was as puzzled as he was troubled and I asked him "Do you need to preach"? He said "I'm scared of preaching and if can't preach I can't become a priest" Wow! I bent down and told him "I'm scared when I preach too! What I do is pray first and ask God to let me hear what he wants to say to me and to those who will attend Mass. I read the readings prayfuly, then study them and finally start to write what I am going to say. Don't worry", I told him, "Jesus told us not to worry about what to say because he would send us the Holy Spirit who would help us know what to say" The boy looked a little relieved, said thanks, and walked away with his teacher. His forehead wrinkles had subsided a little but I could tell he was thinking it over deeply.
Will these boys become priests? Only God knows. When I was 7 I thought I would be a priest, from 16-25 years old I would have laughed and now at 36 and I am still amazed that I am a priest. God speaks to us and to our kids and places a seed, a desire in us that needs to mature and be nourished through prayer - both listening and speaking to God - and an encouraging Christian environment especially at home.
It seems to me that children are actually great listeners! Let's listen to them and help them respond to God's call.
Pray for vocations and support them at home and at your parish.
Recently I heard the confession of a young boy. While he was confessing it crossed my mind to ask him to be open to a vocation to the priesthood. It had nothing to do with his confession, it just entered my mind as clearly as could be. As he finished he confession he got up to leave and then sat down right away and I said "can I ask you something?" I responded "You want to ask me about the priesthood, don't you". He was stunned and said "how did you know?"
God speaks to us, within us, but also through one another. Let's listen carefully.
One of my nephews is incredible conscious of God, loves to read about Him, asks great questions and has a sense of how close God is to him. His joy at receiving the Sacrament of Reconciliation and First Communion was divine. Like many children he was worried he would say or do something wrong but more than anything he was excited. I went with him and his parents to his first reconciliation/confession. He wanted to make sure we got there really early. When his dad asked him were he wanted to sit he lead us to the front pew, right in front. As you might imagine there weren't many families positioning for the front pews. We sat alone for quite some time until the pews and the whole church filled up. When it was time for confession he jumped up and was first in line.
The day before Easter my nephew asked his dad if they could go to the sunrise service at 6am for Easter! His dad told him that if he woke up and got ready in time they would go. My brother was a bit surprised when his son woke him up and said "let's go dad". And so they went. He also likes reading a kid's Mass missal, Magnifikid, on the way to Church. He looks over the prayers and readings and lets his Dad know if there are any discrepancies between the missal and what is being said at Mass.
The third example of a possible priestly vocation took place during a tour of the Church I was giving to children preparing to receive First Communion. I showed and explained the different things we use for Mass and asked and answered questions. After the 60 kids were dismissed there was boy who stood in front of the altar with a troubled look on his face. You know the kind: his forehead was wrinkled, he eyes were purposefully pointed up at me with his hands firmly planted in his pockets. As his teacher stood at a distance I said "Hi, do you have a question?" He said how do you preach?" I was sure I misheard him and so I asked him to repeat his question. To my surprise I had heard him correctly. I was as puzzled as he was troubled and I asked him "Do you need to preach"? He said "I'm scared of preaching and if can't preach I can't become a priest" Wow! I bent down and told him "I'm scared when I preach too! What I do is pray first and ask God to let me hear what he wants to say to me and to those who will attend Mass. I read the readings prayfuly, then study them and finally start to write what I am going to say. Don't worry", I told him, "Jesus told us not to worry about what to say because he would send us the Holy Spirit who would help us know what to say" The boy looked a little relieved, said thanks, and walked away with his teacher. His forehead wrinkles had subsided a little but I could tell he was thinking it over deeply.
Will these boys become priests? Only God knows. When I was 7 I thought I would be a priest, from 16-25 years old I would have laughed and now at 36 and I am still amazed that I am a priest. God speaks to us and to our kids and places a seed, a desire in us that needs to mature and be nourished through prayer - both listening and speaking to God - and an encouraging Christian environment especially at home.
It seems to me that children are actually great listeners! Let's listen to them and help them respond to God's call.
Pray for vocations and support them at home and at your parish.
