Dear Fr Jim:
This isn’t a religious or theological question. It is a personal one. Is it difficult for you being such a young guy (and a priest) moderating a singles website? I think it would be helpful to those of us on this site to know your story and to understand where you are coming from.
I’m glad you are here. I think we need open communication in order to explore authentic issues.
Peace.
Thanks for your question – and thanks for calling me a “young guy!” – after working full time with college students, I don’t feel as “young” anymore!
I appreciate your question because I suppose it gives me an opportunity to clarify a couple of things here.
For one thing, I’m not a moderator on the site. Dave Nevarez who’s the owner/founder of the site had heard me on Sirius-XM Satellite Radio on Lino Rulli’s “The Catholic Guy Show” [quick plug, the show is on Monday-Friday , 4 to 7 PM EST on “The Catholic Channel” – Sirius 159; XM 117… I’m on Friday’s]
David had approached me about being a “web-chaplain” for the site. So basically, I post my homilies on Sunday evenings, stop by in the chat room for an hour a week (to field questions or just to chat with everyone) and answer someone’s question each week. So that’s basically my role on here.
You’re other question, is it difficult? To be honest, not really. I’ve been a priest almost 10 years now. I was a parish priest for over 7 years, which gave me a great opportunity to work with people of all ages in all walks of life, states of life. This “Specialized ministry” I’m in right now has challenged me in some ways where I hadn’t been challenged before. Namely that I spend a great majority of my time ministering to one age group (working with people in a variety of age groups and different capacities/positions; but still with the focus on 18-24 year olds) That’s new, but the good thing is that I believe God has “stretched me” in this. And it taps into my creativity in a new, unique way.
So, while in some ways all of us have their different stories, different journey’s, I’m thankful to have the opportunity to serve you here – to be stretched by all of you – knowing that we are united in our love for Jesus Christ and His Church.
God Bless,
Fr Jim
