Father Steve Robbins said “yes” to leading the Teen Mass and the Q&A that followed. Thank you, Father Steve, for saying yes!
In many conversations with my friends who (at the time) were discerning the seminary, I encountered an interesting mix of uncertainty and assurance. Aside from fear of the future, there was an overwhelming mix of messages flying their way, and they were not yet adept at filtering the righteous from the wrong. As their journey moved onward, they told me one word, which frankly stunned me, as their reasoning for saying “yes” to the priesthood — relationship.
November is a busy month: the start of the holiday season, lots of planning, thinking of who to invite to your respective gatherings, etc. With all of this busyness and the preoccupation with our to-do lists, the last concept on our minds may well be what the Lord is asking of us or how we can begin to hear His voice. In the Church, we start November with the Feast of All Saints. Looking from a distance, their lives may seem intimidating, leaving us with a “how did they do that?” mentality. What we often forget is how much the Saints struggled. While the messages that flew their way and the particulars of their situations versus ours may differ, what remains the same is the mutual struggle to discern where the Lord’s call is in a world that rejects Him. The Saints were, at some point, able to distinguish between the Lord’s call and the world’s call. And the only way this is possible is to step toward the Lord and enter into a relationship with Him.
Twenty-seven of our parish teens recently said yes to the Lord by attending our October Teen Mass, where they participated in a Q&A about our faith and the priesthood with Fr. Steve Robbins. The maturity of the teens, as expressed in their questions, was astounding, and I encourage them to keep coming to Mass, keep attending our fellowship, and to know how pleased the Lord is when He sees them in His House.
November also brings us National Vocations Awareness Week, when we have the opportunity to pray for our young men contemplating entering the priesthood. Let us join them in their journeys of discernment by praying for clarity in their hearts and minds, and for a desire in them to deepen their relationship with Christ.
Kate Braunstein is the Coordinator for Evangelization