St. Mary, Oxford at 215 Summit St, Oxford, IA 52322 US - Learning About Forgiveness and Vocations
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Learning About Forgiveness and Vocations
By Rachael Deatsch |
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Learning About Forgiveness and Vocations
St. Mary Parish in Oxford had its second youth ministry meeting of the new school year Nov. 12. We were very lucky to have two guest speakers: Father Thomas Doyle, a retired diocesan priest, and Father Marty Goetz, diocesan vocations director. During this meeting, they told us how they have experienced God throughout their lives and how special being a priest is to them. They showed us how lucky we are to have a God who forgives and is there whenever we need him.
About a month ago, I received an e-mail from Michelle Montgomery, my youth minister, with a link of a video to the song “Who Am I” by Casting Crowns. She said it was one of the neatest videos she had ever seen.
A few days later I was driving home and spent the time thinking about the true meaning of the song. I heard the words, “Who am I that the eyes that see my sin would look on me with love?” It was then that I really started thinking: God looks at each of us and still, after seeing all of our faults and sins, is ready to forgive us.
The rest of the lyrics carry the same message, one that Michelle and I wanted to share with our youth ministry group. So we showed the video at the meeting as the focus of opening prayer. Quinn, one of the other youths, and I told our youth ministry group about the deep meaning we found in the song, and then played it so everyone could hear the message for themselves. After that, our guest speakers talked to us about their experiences in faith.
Both Fr. Doyle and Fr. Goetz told stories about their experiences as priests and explained how they feel blessed to be able to share God’s message with others. Fr. Goetz talked about his own experiences with God’s forgiveness and told how he related to the message in the song. He had at one point wondered why God would care so much about someone like him, but it is ultimately God’s love that motivates him in his work. After the meeting, everyone left with a better understanding of the job that priests have and had seen a different side to the priests than what we see at Mass.
At the meeting we watched two priests with a great sense of humor and passion for what they do express their gratitude for God, which helped show all of us how lucky we are to have God in our lives. The priests stressed that even when you are at a low point in your faith, God is ready to be there; all you have to do is be ready to let him in.
(Rachael Deatsch a senior at Clear Creek — Amana High School in Tiffin and member of St. Mary Parish in Oxford.) This article was published in the Noveber 27, 2008 edition of the Catholic Messenger.