Here I am Lord

 “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you,
And before you were born I consecrated you; 
I have appointed you a prophet to the nations.
Jeremiah 1:4

One of my favorite movies is Simon Birch. It is a story of a middle school teen who had stunted growth. He was so tiny that he was cast in the Christmas pageant as the baby Jesus even in middle school. Still, he believed that God had a special purpose for him and that is why he practiced holding his breathe under water all summer every summer. I don't want to spoil it for you but he was right. Every one has a special purpose. Jeremiah was a prophet. Why did God will you into existence?



God knew that I would be a youth minister and he started the ground work back when I was conceived in my mother's womb. He gave me the skills and temperament. I was the youngest of seven: five boys and two girls. My siblings say I was spoiled by my mother. I just observed what they did and did the opposite. LOL! I tried to teach teens the same skill. Watch the culture and do the opposite. Swim upstream. I was an altar server. I was chosen to be part of this elite server team that did all the important liturgies. It gave me a front row seat to the Eucharist which is the source and summit of our Christian faith. Growing up, I remember preaching to the neighborhood kids in the sandbox in our back yard. Later in life, I would be speaking to hundreds of teens and adults.

Our house was the focal point of all neighborhood games: Capture the Flag, Kick the Can, Hide and Go Seek, Bloody Murder, and every sport imaginable in which we had to amend the rules depending on how many neighbors showed up to play. Over the years, I would use those game playing skills over and over again. I could take a normal game and add some new twist like blindfolds. Now you have blindfold Capture the Flag. Crazy! Even in college, my room mate and I were part of the social committee for our dorm. How do you make a slip-n-slide without access to water? Of course, big black tarp and Crisco Oil. Eww!! Yes! I thoroughly enjoyed planning crazy games for teens and then watching them do it. Shaving cream and Cheetos. Any game with water. Gutter Sundaes. Bigger and Better hunt.

  I the lord of sea and sky
I have heard my people cry
All who dwell in dark and sin
My hand will save
I have made the stars of night
I will make their darkness bright
Who will bear my light to them?
Whom shall i send?

Here I am Lord
Is it I Lord?
I have heard You calling in the night
I will go Lord
If You lead me
I will hold Your people in my heart 


To be a youth minister of a parish, it is more than a job. You enter into the lives of the people and make a commitment to them. I worked for three parishes and the Diocese of Rockford as Director of Youth and Young Adult Ministry. I believe each youth ministry job was a divine appointment of Our Lord Jesus. Let me show you one example. In July of 2005, I was hired by Father Bob who was Pastor Of Corpus Christi Church to lead their youth outreach and prepare students for Confirmation. Let me show you how God laid the ground work for me. In 1979, my mother died of brain cancer just before the start of my senior year of high school. Father Chuck was the celebrant of my Mother's funeral. I remember that his homily focused on both of my parents. My father died two years before my mom. Father Chuck was using the beatitudes to focus on how both of my parents exemplified living out our Christian faith. He ended his homily by saying "Blessed are the shoemakers Pat and Paul for they shall see the Kingdom of God." I will never forget his words. My parents gave me the foundation of my faith in God. They have been my measuring stick as a christian. 

After Jan and I were married, we started to attend St Thomas Church in Naperville. Fr Chuck was the Associate Pastor and he baptized Bethany. It was good to be in the same parish with him again. He was a good priest. Jan and I became involved in youth ministry which included leading a group of teens from their freshmen year to junior year also we helped lead youth retreats. We also got involved in adult ministry which included bible studies, retreats and marriage prep where we would meet with couples to go over their "test" results. We ran into Father Chuck many times. He left a couple years later to eventually become the founding pastor of . .Wait for it! . . .  Corpus Christi Church in Carol Stream. He was  replaced at St Thomas by .....Fr Bob....But wait there is more!! My mother and father in law became members of Corpus Christi Church. I went to several masses there over the years. But wait there is more!Then Father Chuck retires and Father Bob is named pastor of Corpus Christi.

After being let go by the Diocese of Rockford, I was asking God where to next?  It took over a year in which I applied for many youth ministry positions including the Diocese of Joliet where my good friend Paul was hired. I found out that Corpus Christi was hiring a full time youth minister. So, I applied! When the interview started I knew that Corpus Christi Church fit like a glove because I believe God had prepared me for the moment. I had a similar experiences for each youth ministry job. Jesus had plans for me from before I was conceived in my mother's womb. How about you?  He knew that I would be a husband to a living saint and a father to five awesome children.


I the lord of wind and flame
I will tend the poor and lame
I will set a feast for them
My hand will save
Finest bread i will provide
Till their hearts be satisfied
I will give my life to them
Whom shall i send? 

Here I am Lord
Is it I Lord?
I have heard You calling in the night
I will go Lord
If You lead me
I will hold Your people in my heart
 Song written by John Michael Talbot

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