Confessions of a Catholic Youth Minister

“Young people of "World Youth Day", the Church asks you to go, in the power of the Holy Spirit, to those who are near and those who are far away. Share with them the freedom you have found in Christ. People thirst for genuine inner freedom. They yearn for the Life which Christ came to give in abundance….In your hands, carry the Cross of Christ. On your lips, the words of Life. In your hearts, the saving grace of the Lord.” St John Paul II In May of 1990, I sat down with Msgr Kobbeman at Holy Angels Church in Aurora to discuss their youth ministry opening. I remember being greeted at the door of the rectory by Fr. Lutz. It was pretty intimidating to be in a rectory with two priests dressed in their blacks. I had a desire to serve God, but I was not sure of the direction. In order to work for the church, I would need to take a pay cut. I was married with one child and one about to be born. If I was sure God was calling me to not only work in youth ministry but...

Growing up in Glen Ellyn was happy time for me. I grew up in a great neighborhood on Glendale ave. I went to a great church and school at St Petronille. The village of Glen Ellyn with its narrow tree lined streets and cement sign posts made an ideal place to grow up. Lake Ellyn was a nice park filled with tall trees and a lake which made a great place to watch fire works. It had a solid downtown filled local business owners like my father. Stores selling everything imaginable from clothes to hardware to liquor to groceries to toys. It had a volunteer fire department made up of local men from all walks of life. You would hear the siren go off and soon cars with blue lights flashing would be speeding through the streets. Glen Ellyn was big enough that you didn't know everyone but small enough that you couldn't get away with too much without your parents finding out.   As a family, our favorite place to go out for food was Don & Angie's Restaurant. They ...

"Neither wealth, nor pleasure, nor power, nor honor is, in point of fact, the final cause of the will’s activity, Human experience reveals clearly that the attainment of even the greatest worldly goods leaves us still wanting more, still unsatisfied.” Bishop Barron A man dies and goes to heaven. St. Peter meets him at the pearly gates. St. Peter says, “Here’s how it works. You need 100 points to make it into heaven. You tell me all the good things you’ve done, and I give you a certain number of points for each item, depending on how good it was. When you reach 100 points, you get in.” “Okay,” the man says, “I attended church every Sunday.” “That’s good,” says St. Peter, “that’s worth two points.” “Two points?” he says. “Well, I gave 10% of all my earnings to the church.” “Well, let’s see,” answers Peter, “that’s worth another 2 points. Did you do anything else?” “Two points? Golly. How about this: I started a soup kitchen in my city and worked in a shelter for ho...