Welcome back everybody. It's ever be. And today we have a super, super fun guest on the podcast. Y'all may know him from social media and if you don't yet, you definitely should be following him. So I'll let him introduce himself. Father, welcome to ever be.
Thank you so, so much for having me. I'm Father David Michael Moses. I'm a priest of the Archdiocese of Galveston, Houston, and I absolutely love being a priest.
That's awesome. Tell us a little bit about what you do besides being a priest. Yeah,
hopefully, is an extension of that. I've been a priest for about six years now, um, and, uh, these days, I've just seen a lot of good fruit from, uh, online ministry. I feel like, you know, you can preach a homily in person to, to people at the parish and, uh, that, that can have a very positive effect on them, um, but then you have to go off and do something else.
What's cool about online stuff is you can post something online, it can keep doing its thing and then you can go off and go back to doing parish work and it can keep evangelizing. So, I've seen a lot of. Um, especially with humorous stuff online and, uh, yeah, just, it's cool to see the fruit.
it is amazing to see the fruit. You've grown so much and it's beautiful to see a young priest online, kind of like meeting the people where they're at, or at least these younger generations just meeting us exactly where we're at. And that's why I wanted to bring you onto the podcast today and have a conversation, especially about kind of like normalizing the priesthood.
I think as Catholics, we grow up with priests in our parishes, maybe family friends, but sometimes we feel like they're kind of. You know, on on a different pedestal than us. Um, and I think that what I have experienced in my own life when I have, uh, grown in friendship with different priests in my life, I've begun to see the humanness and see them in a different light and appreciate them even, even more than what I did already.
So, today we're going to have a little conversation about normalizing the priesthood, and we just want to hear about you and your life and your story and get to know you more.
Yeah, a hundred percent. When I, I love that because at the end of the day, like what makes the. Only, we can only ordain humans as priests. So, the humanity of the priesthood is obviously something that was very intentional by God. And it's certainly, you're set aside for something very, very sacred. But the humanity isn't a problem to be, you know, scratched out. It's actually a gift and it's a real point of connection with people. So, look forward to jumping in that.
Yeah, truly. That's so good. Well, can you just first start out, um, just sharing about your journey to the priesthood? Where did you first feel called in your life and what did that discernment process look like for you?
Yeah, well every vocation starts with the family. Um, my, my parents, uh, really interesting story. They became Catholic before I was born. They converted from different Protestant denominations. And my, uh, my dad actually went to jail 13 times for doing pro
Wow. Yes.
served about six. And, uh, so my mom was just a hero during that time, you know, she's at home with all these kids and she was, were both loving it. You know, it was like pretty extraordinary to get to be involved in something.
I was just talking to them on my day off last week that they, uh, they were saying like they felt so much peace during that time that even though there was a lot that was being taken away from them, the knowledge of knowing that they were doing God's will, that they were protecting these babies, um, for them was just like worth, worth everything. Um, so yeah, my dad, they would organize like hundreds of guys to lay down peacefully in front of abortion clinics.
And just a disclaimer here, like this was all sanctioned by the Bishop. The Bishop was supportive of it. So I would not recommend someone go do this, you know, on their own at
Right.
um, the Bishop was behind it. And, uh, so that's what they did. And, and, uh, a lot of, a lot of people went to jail. Um, the charge was trespassing, but in Texas you can trespass if you think a life is in danger. And they definitely thought a life was in danger in those
For sure.
So, um, so that's what I kind of grew up hearing stories about. You know, a lot of
That is amazing.
when they're going to sleep, but we listened to, I was like, tell us some more jail stories. You know, that was,
Amazing.
wild stuff, wild stuff. And, uh, it was very much the backdrop, I think for, for my vocation
Wow.
like, I knew my parents had. That whatever the Lord asked of them, they said yes to it, no matter what that meant. And so, for me, it was like, okay, whatever the Lord asks of you, you gotta say yes.
Can't say enough.
you have to, you have to give it all. And, uh, I didn't actually think too much about priesthood until I went on an asylum retreat when I was 16. I'd been an altar server up to that point, and just serving at the altar, like, I just developed a deep love for the Eucharist, and just, even as a kid, I remember thinking, like, man, if this really is Jesus showing up, then, uh, this is the most important thing I'm doing each week. Like, I should probably take this really seriously.
Aw. Of course.
I, uh, you know, and they'd pray for vocations at mass, you know, for invocation vocations, and, uh, I was like, oh, I want to get married. I guess that means I'm not supposed to be a priest. I really thought that. You know, talking about like normalizing the priesthood,
Yeah.
it's very normalized to, very normal to want to get married. Um, but that doesn't mean God's not calling you to priesthood. And uh, when I went on that silent retreat, that's really where I felt challenged is the priest. Um, the priest had said at one point, you should choose the vocation that will make you a saint. And that just hit me like, Oh, that's, that's priesthood.
Wow.
know why I thought that. And I just kind of
Like it just kind of like came to your heart, like you just like felt that in your heart.
A hundred percent. Yeah, it was like, you should choose the vocation. He was talking to a group of people. He said, you should choose the vocation that will make you a saint. And I was like, Oh, that's priesthood. And then I was kind of like, Whoa, why did I, why did I
Why didn't I
You
just think that, yeah.
Yeah. And, and obviously that question is going to hit different people in different ways. Right. For some people that would hit them. Like I'm assuming for you, that would hit you. Like, Oh, that is totally married life. You know, like that's my path to holiness. So that's the the beauty of the unique call. Um, but telling the, I remember telling the director of the tree that I'm kind of feeling like this draw to priesthood, but, um, I'm not really sure why.
And I honestly really want to get married. And, uh, he said, that's okay. That's totally normal, but God still might be calling you. You have to take that seriously. And so that kind of reset the playing field for me was like, okay, like if celibacy isn't just because. you were indifferent to marriage. If celibacy is truly a sacrifice of a good that you make because you've encountered another good, then I really need to take this seriously. So sorry, praying a lot, going to daily mass.
And over the next few years, um, just really
As a 16 year old, right? Like you're like praying, going to daily mass as a 16 year old.
yeah.
That's a lot.
cool how, yeah, it's really cool how it worked out because I, um, I actually started college when I was 14, and so because I had a full time college schedule, I was able to go to daily mass. Because I got high school, you know, class starts usually at like 7. 30, and you don't get out till 2.
Yes.
for me, I was able to go to like the 8. 30 daily mass, and I would arrange my class schedule every semester so I
Okay.
went to mass every
We have, but we have to, we have to stop there. You're in college at 14. Are you like a genius father? What, what, why did you start calling?
Yeah, so the way it worked out, definitely not a genius. The way it worked out, um, we were all homeschooled when we were younger.
Yeah.
all, everybody went into public school at different times, like either high school or middle school. My mom was really good about discerning what was best, kind of, for each child. with me Um, this, the second semester, my eighth grade year, she was like, Hey, there's this thing called dual credit classes. You can take like a college class at the university, but then it still be in high school. Um, and she was like, why don't you take one of those?
And so, I mean, I was in eighth grade, but you know, they
Yeah.
that much. And so I just took a dual credit class and it went well. And then my mom was like, wait, like, why don't you just do all your classes like this next semester? so we were like, okay. And I get, I had to get permission from the Dean, but they signed off on it. I took the test to get in. And then I did that for two years. And then, um, at that point, I just transferred to university in Houston.
it was so funny because they didn't ask for like They didn't ask for a high school diploma for them. I was just a transfer student. And so I was 16 and I had, um, I had enough credits to transfer in, so I just transferred in. And then two years later, I just had my bachelor's degree. It's pretty funny. Like more people should do it. We kind of hacked the system to be honest.
That is the biggest hack. If you want to get around SATs, you got to do that.
Yeah, exactly, exactly.
Wow.
and so, Yeah, I mean, I never, we didn't really plan it. I think sometimes people do think that, like, my parents were, like, pushing me, like, this guy's gonna graduate. And it really was. Like, they were, I mean, my parents were very, uh, facilitating, I would say. They were like, hey,
Mm hmm.
What about this? Um, so, It, it wasn't really the plan, I just ended up that when all my, all my friends were graduating high school, I was just graduating from college,
Wow.
bachelors, and so I had applied, that was kind of a unique part of my discernment, I had applied to some law schools and got into a few different law schools, um, and I was looking at doing that, going straight in it, but instead, obviously, um, felt much more called to seminary.
At one point, the vocation director had said, he said, hey, you know, I know you're thinking about being a lawyer, and that's, that's a good thing, he said, but at the end of the day, um, Uh, the church can hire more lawyers. We can't just go hire more priests. So if
So true.
to be a priest, then we really need you to say, say yes to that.
That's a really beautiful way to put it. And just like, praise God for this mentor that you had the vocations director to just kind of be like, you know, great, great passion you have here, but we really can't hire more priests. So you just, you got to say yes. You know, like, we really need that. Yes.
Totally. Yeah. Yeah. I think it's good for, I think it's good for me to know that like your, what you choose makes a difference in the church. Right? Like, you know, God's will is going to be done regardless, but like you choosing to be a priest, um, makes a difference for people's lives.
Yeah.
and uh, yeah, exactly.
Yeah. So. Is that in that moment did, were you like all in then? Like, okay, yeah. I'm just gonna say yes and then went to seminary and
the big moment for me was, um, I was praying, I'd ask God to send me a dove, because I was very nervous about the celibacy thing.
Yeah.
God if he would send me a dove, if he wanted me to go into seminary. And I was driving downtown to meet with the vocational director one day, and I was just kind of praying. I was like, Lord, send me a dove, send me a dove. and uh, I saw some birds, but I wasn't really sure if they were doves. And I was like, I probably should have picked something more specific.
Um, and uh, And then I was, and then he had said at that point, he was like, Hey, you should really feel peace, not anxiety, but it's the Holy Spirit. So the first thing he had suggested was actually to stop discerning seminary and really focus on law school, which is pretty good discernment advice, like to isolate your discernment a little bit. Sometimes we kind of get caught up in the options. And so I really did that.
I stopped thinking about seminary and started focusing on law school it just, seminary just kept coming back, like even stronger, you know? And so I was, I was finally praying in a holy hour at my home parish. And, uh, I was just kind of feeling frustrated with God because I was like, Lord, I want to do what you want, but I want to know that it is what you want.
Right.
um, I'm willing to be a priest, but celibacy sounds hard. And, uh, I just want to know that it's what you want. So if you want me to go into seminary, like send me a dove, send me a dove. And I don't really know what I thought would happen in the church. Like if one would crash through a window or something. I don't know, but I was just praying for that. And, uh, and right then I looked up and realized that the huge painted glass window above the altar of the church was a giant dove
There it is. Mm-hmm
And, uh, I just felt so much peace in that moment. Um, you know, Father Gregory Pine, uh, talks about how like, you know, with signs and that kind of stuff, you have to be careful, obviously, with signs, but a lot of it is how your heart responds to it. You know, like, is it giving your real sense of peace? And so when I heard him say that, I really went back to that moment and I was like, no, I felt so much peace. Like, okay, Lord, let's take the next step.
And so I called the vocation director very soon after that, finished the application process and went into seminary. Obviously seminary had lots of ups and downs. Um, the Lord
Mm-hmm
um, you know, like scripture says, young man, when you come to serve the Lord, prepare for trials. And I think you definitely feel that in seminary, but it's all very purposeful on God's part to move
Okay.
some of those moments of frustration and the moments of longing. To really be purified and by I would say like year four or five of seminary. Um, I did a, like a full year internship in a parish. We call it the pastoral year here in our diocese. Everybody does it.
Right.
love parish life. I just love the rhythm of being with the people and, um, Even during that year, too, I had a moment, I thought about this the other day, where I was at the Catholic school there. So again, I wasn't a priest yet, I just was wearing a polo. Um, I was in the cafeteria with a bunch of the kids, and we were just having lunch, and one of the little girls, she was probably eight or nine years old, she said, Hey, Father, do you think?
And then she stopped, and she said, Wait, not a father. And it was so interesting because looking back, I think, like, kids sometimes see things in us that we don't see
Wow.
Especially, like, especially young kids who haven't really been, like, by sin.
Mm hmm.
wasn't sure why she said that. She was like, yeah, father. And then she was like, wait, you're
She's like, why did I say that?
Yeah. But
But she knew.
back, it was
She told you.
think, Yeah. So just a lot of consolations like that during that year where I came back to seminary to finish out and I was just like, let's do it, you know, and have not looked back since.
That is so cool. I think one of the things you said that I love is as you're asking the Lord for this tangible sign and confirmation, I just almost feel like, like I could hear that like excitement and like, well that desire in your heart, even though there was still that fear and hesitation, I just feel like that continual, like Lord, show me a dove, show me a dove. Like you're like, Asking for that confirmation to be true.
Whereas I feel like if you were not truly wanting to be a priest, you'd be like avoiding any sign of like, God's calling you to be a priest and you'd be talking yourself out of it, but you're like, no, like, Lord, like, please send me that confirmation. Please send me that confirmation. Please send me that confirmation. So that's really beautiful to hear.
That's a good point. I don't think I thought about that. Just the fact that I was looking for something was probably, it's kind of like if you like somebody, like you're looking for a hint, you know, like you're looking like, Oh, did they text me back? You know, I think that's a good analogy. Like there must have been a part of my heart that was like yearning
Mm hmm. Mm hmm. Yeah. Because when we start praying for God's will to be aligned, like for our will to align with God's will, I mean, that just naturally begins to happen if we truly have an openness to do that. I mean, he begins to soften our heart to his will and then even like changing it to desire his will. And I feel like as you're sharing that story, I feel like that's a lot of what I was like hearing in your voice. And in your discernment process, it's like, okay, there was an openness.
And then there was like that shift of desiring what God wanted. So that was really beautiful. And I feel like really helpful for people in a discernment process to hear. Yeah. Just how others have discerned their vocation. So tell us now that you are a priest, what is a typical day in the life look like for you and is there anything about the priesthood that you feel like has surprised you in your day to day that now you're experiencing?
Yeah, so I'm a diocesan priest, right? Which for most of us, it's not necessary, but in most cases we do end up in parishes. Um, and so I've been in a parish all six years as a priest. And, uh, what I like about the schedule is that it's like totally different every day in a lot of ways.
Like you don't know, like that's one thing I've never talked to my brother priest when I was sworn after God ordained is like, you really have to surrender your schedule to God because, Um, even today, like I have things I've set out appointments that were set up by mass, but people just come in the office. People come up after mass.
Yeah.
things, you know, and so you kind of have to be like, okay, Lord, like, this is what I think the day is going to look like, but I'm very open. I have to be open to whatever you think it's going to be. And, um, So, I mean, it depends on the day, um, but the day usually is going to consist of, you know, good personal prayer time. We pray the liturgy of the hours. I mean, we, we promise to pray five times a day, which is pretty substantial as
Yeah.
Um, and then you have mass, uh, pretty much every day. I'm on the schedule. If not, I'll do my, my mass privately. Um, many of the days we'll have confessions. I do a lot of anointings here. So people prior to surgeries are going to homebound during the fish fry on Friday. I just got a call to somebody, um, who was passing away. Um, in fact, I got anointing call recently. Um, I went in and it was so sad. There was a guy who's.
Um, his, he had lost his mom like a year before his best friend had come down from Canada for his birthday because he didn't want him to be alone on his birthday because his
Oh,
away.
yeah.
his friend is down, the friend from Canada, the friend has like this huge heart attack and goes unconscious.
Oh my gosh.
I come to the hospital, we just get like this emergency call, like this guy's about to die basically, can you please come? And so we come to the hospital, and the poor friend, right, like his mom died a year ago,
Yeah.
comes to be with him, and now his friend, while he's with him, has like this massive heart attack and is about to die. the poor guy, when I felt for him, he was like, am I the Like, is it
Oh,
it was really sad, and of
yeah.
man, like, don't, don't listen to those voices, right? Like, these are people who love you, and, um, so I went in there, and this guy's family had come down too, and it was pretty much, I mean, he was on mechanical support, and they pretty much thought this was the end.
Wow.
the, all the prayers for him, everything. And, uh, again, it's just kind of a sporadic part of my briefly day. And all of a sudden you're here at this person's bedside. They're about to die and you pray for them. um, you know, I did everything I needed to do and I left. And, uh, like a week ago, the secretary. Called me. He was like, Hey father, remember that anointing that you did? And I was like, yeah, yeah.
And he said, um, so as soon as you anointed him, like, like a few minutes later, he woke up and woke up and the doctors normally get it and they've done some tests and everything. And then now he's like, the family just came in the office and told us like, he's completely fine now.
What?
And they're like, this was abs. Like the guy, the friend was like, I believe in miracles, but I've never seen one until
That's a miracle.
totally a miracle.
Oh my gosh. That is so cool. You're like a spiritual first responder.
Oh, absolutely. No, sometimes there's this place here where they ask if you're a first responder
You're like, yes, I am.
And I usually I'm like, kinda, and then sometimes they'll give me the discount. I take it. I take it. Um, no, but totally. And, and so I think that, you know, to answer that question, like the days are very different and you just often get just like thrust into these incredibly deep moments. Um, of people's lives. Like one day you're in the office joking with somebody and the next moment like you're at the bedside and someone's about to die.
Wow.
to kind of just be in that mode.
Yeah.
but I really love that you kind of wake up and it is an adventure. You know, it's like where, where is it going to take us today? And there's like amazing stories like that guy. Um, uh, so the rest of my day would be, you know, filled out with marriage prep appointments. I had one of those, um, over the weekend. And, um, Profession times and, uh, staff meetings and then just like emails and trying to, uh, keep up, keep on top of those kind of things. People need
It's an admin work.
Spirit, yeah, admin work, spiritual direction, that kind of stuff. So every day is a little bit different, but I really enjoy it and I kind of try to squeeze the social media stuff and the little moments I have in between.
Yes. Yes. Tell us a little bit about how you got started on social media.
Yeah, well you mentioned kind of normalizing the priesthood. For me, the reason I started doing it is because, um, up thinking about priesthood, I didn't really know what priests did. Like, it was a mysterious call to something, but I just didn't really know what it looked like. And I feel like good discernment is based on good information.
um, I thought, man, now that I am a priest, I know what priests do all day, it might be helpful to like, make a video about it, so any young guy who was like me when he was 16 can have a little bit more data as he's thinking about priesthood.
So that was very much the motivating factor, and um, the week I kind of would say I kind of started using social media, I had a, I was looking at the weekend, and that Saturday I had like a wedding, and some young adult stuff, and mass, and confessions, and I was also baptizing quintuplets that Saturday.
That's five, right?
Five, exactly. Yeah,
Wow.
And, um, I was like, this is like probably a once in a lifetime thing. Like, I should probably
Yeah.
day. Like,
Yes.
cool. And so, I just kind of filmed the day, and then a couple weeks later, I went back to the footage, and like, edited it together. Because I grew up doing a lot of video stuff, um, like in high school, and then, um, for the university I was at, and that kind of
Mm hmm.
um, and for the seminary. And so, I, uh, I was, I kind of edited it together and I just kind of posted it and I was like, hopefully some young guys will see that and find it helpful. And what I thought I was kind of surprised by is like, a lot of people were just very interested in what priests did all day,
Mm hmm.
And so when I kind of saw that, um, especially like non Catholics finding that interesting, I thought, okay, maybe this is kind of worth sort of leaning into a little bit more. Um, and especially started kind of leaning into short form content, that kind of thing.
Mm hmm.
at the end of the day, like I want to, I do want to normalize. discerning the priesthood, like that doesn't mean like you're a super weird person if you're thinking about priesthood,
Right.
also think like, um, I wouldn't wanna say I, we don't wanna de demystify the priesthood because there's something deeply mystical
Mm hmm.
about what happens at ordination. Like being aside, set aside to be in such close union with Jesus Christ that you act in his person in the sacraments is like a deeply mystical thing,
Totally.
Mysteries aren't supposed to, like marriage, there's something deeply mysterious about marriage,
Sure.
deeply mysterious about God. But when we have a mystery, we don't lock it away and shut it away. We seek to discover more about it.
Mm hmm.
like we seek, like with God, God is a mystery. That doesn't mean that we're like, okay, well, then move on to the next thing. God is a mystery means like he's endlessly discoverable. Like there's endless right to discover in him. And so I would say in the priesthood, the reason I make videos is not to demystify it, but to actually invite people into the discovery of that mystery.
And I think the more, especially for young men, they see the, kind of beauty of it, the more they'll be drawn into maybe like living that mystery as well.
That is so beautiful. I have never really heard it spoken about like that. And that is, yeah, really beautiful. Definitely something to just to ponder and pray with, which is awesome. Um, tell us a little bit more about what is something that is really rewarding, like about being a priest and what are maybe some of the challenges that you face?
Yeah. Um, I mean, there's so many, so many rewards. I mean, you see the, just the impact you can have on, on people as a priest. Um, just being called father, you know, is like, Like, that's rewarding every time. It's like, I love how, um, in the church we don't, we don't call our priest president or CEO or, you know, we call, we call him father. You know, like, it's
Yeah.
And most other things, like we call, you know, doctor, professor, those are indicators of their degrees. their qualifications, not of the relationship. as a priest, title is not doctor or professor, it's father. It's a relational of
That's so cool.
And so, that for me is like just deeply, deeply beautiful. Um, uh, to continue the stories about how you impact people's lives, I mean, yeah, hearing confessions and saying mass, I mean, it's uh, I find myself like constantly being like, I can't believe this exists. Like, I can't believe God thought this was a good idea, like, to let human men do this.
Right.
part of the work of Christ on earth,
Wow.
I can't believe this even exists. Because like, yeah, I think if we started a human committee and said, hey, who here thinks we should give the authority of Christ to some men? It would have been like a downvote from everybody.
been like, no, maybe not a good idea.
Yeah, sounds like with the track record of track record of Humanity, this sounds like a horrible idea. And yet God, like in his super abundant goodness, um, gives it, and he offers it and he does it, of course not for the sake of the priest, but for the sake of the people that he wants to be present with his people that through the priest. Right. But it, it's for the salvation of souls. But it's still crazy that I get to, I mean, I sit there in confessions sometimes and I'm like, this is insane.
This is insane that I get to do this. I mean, I say mass. It's like, this is just insane. Um, and to be able to, yeah, to be that spiritual father for people is just in absolute insanely rewarding.
That's so cool. I love hearing you talk about like your own thoughts about the priesthood because it reminds me of how my husband and I talk about marriage sometimes. Like we'll be married four years next week. And so Thank you. It hasn't been a super long time, but four years, we're like, Oh my gosh, it's already been four years. And sometimes we just sit there and we're like, this is so cool. Like we're married. Like, did you realize like we're married?
This is awesome that we get to do this and. We're like, I wonder when that's going to wear off. You know, I wonder where, when we're going to like wake up and just be like, Oh yeah, marriage is normal. Marriage is, it is what it is. But like, at least right now we're like, this is so cool. We get to do this. And so it's awesome hearing you say that about the priesthood. I mean, that's how, you know, like you're totally in the vocation. God's calling you to be in how your vocation is that like.
Just that call to, to find the Lord in your vocation, to be sanctified in your vocation, to find that joy and fulfillment and peace, and, I mean, you can, you can tell that the Lord has, has led you right.
A hundred percent. And yeah, I mean, even though what you were saying about, you know, like early on, maybe in a vocation, it can be easier to, like, appreciate it.
Sure.
but I think, like, that's more the reality. Like, for me, when I, the day I got ordained, I was just so pumped, right? So pumped, everybody was there, and I got, I got ordained, I got to be a priest. And I remember thinking in my ordination, like, you know, I won't always feel this on a human level as much, like this kind of high about, like, this newness. Um, but, like, this will always be the reality. Like, we know in 30 years, when you don't feel it, whether it's marriage or priesthood,
hmm. Mm hmm.
because the reality hasn't changed. It is still just as beautifully mysterious and deeply beautiful and, um, all that changes is like we become more numb to it. The reality doesn't become weaker. So I think it is, whether it's marriage or priesthood, it is about like trying to keep your, your life and your thoughts in step with what is already true. You know, and the more you can do that like the better you're gonna you're gonna live it, you know
Yeah. Yeah. And so let's go back to, um, a challenge. What do you feel like is something that is, is challenging about the priesthood,
Yeah, there's a lot of challenges, and the challenges are really what make it life giving, I think, in a lot of ways. Um, in terms of discerning, I mean, celibacy, like I said, is a huge challenge to today's culture, and it should be a challenge. Like,
right?
says, like, uh, celibacy, it is a sign of contradiction. It's supposed to push back on a world that is too fixated on certain things,
Mm-hmm
that That it offers something else. You know, I think there's something really deeply beautiful about that. Even I was reflecting recently, like, I love the fact that like in a church that asks young people to be chased in a church that, um, asked couples to not use contraception, to use
Mm-hmm
planning, how beautiful that the leaders, the shepherds, we asked them to be celibate themselves.
Mm-hmm
it's like as a priest, when I, when I say don't use contraception, you really need to use an FP, which means you're going to be celibate for,
Right?
the
For a time. Yeah.
saying, I'm not asking you to do something that I'm not doing myself all the
Right?
you know, and,
Mm-hmm
to not live together before marriage, and we ask, uh, you know, young people to stay away from things that are impure. The challenge as a priest is actually what makes you a good father to them in that moment, you know So the challenges are very very life giving just basic like the biggest day to day challenge is just the the amount of good things you could be doing But only
Mm-hmm
can do some of the good things and I think I mean I'm in a parish right now the first parish I was at There were two priests and 20, 000 parishioners,
Wow.
age was 20.
Wow. Mm-hmm
just wild. We had 2, 500 kids in Faith Formation. This parish, we have 10, 000 parishioners, still huge. And, um, yeah, there's a million good things you could always be doing. So you're not discerning every day, like, should I do something evil or something good? There's just all good things, but it's a question of, like, which good thing is the Lord calling me to?
You know, and I think that can be just a constant challenge as a priest to make sure that you're Properly discerning the highest good. Um, and hopefully as we get more and more priests that will become kind of easier and easier But I think that can definitely be a a consistent challenge. And again, that's actually why I use social media Some people say like with so much to do how do you have time for social media? For me
Hmm.
choosing the highest leverage actions in terms of evangelization And I think social media is one of the things, I can spend 15 minutes on a video and a million people can see it. That's a pretty high leverage action.
That's huge. Yeah.
like, that's one of the reasons it's worth leaning into that stuff.
Totally. Totally. What do you feel like are some of the biggest misconceptions people have about the priesthood and how would you clarify them?
Yeah, um, I think the biggest one I probably have seen from like very good people in the church is that like being a priest would be boring Which I mean, I can't even set it with a straight face because it is like anything but boring. I
That's so cool.
It's it's constantly fascinating the amount of things we get to do the way you involve people's lives I mean Last night we had a young adult group, which was just a huge blast. The week before we went to the, like 35 young adults in the parish went to the trampoline park here in town, um, Sunday night, just super, super fun. It was our community weekend this weekend at the parish. So we had like free food for everybody after every mass
That's awesome.
so many beautiful and exciting moments. You know, the story I shared earlier about that guy in the hospital, just so many things like it is, I mean, I've never, I mean, I'm dead serious. I don't think I've ever had a moment as a priest where I thought I was like, I think I'm bored. I mean, it has never happened.
That is.
many good things. So, I think that's a huge misconception. Um, and, and, uh, On a spiritual level too, I think that like people think being a priest just necessarily means loneliness.
Mm hmm.
there are, everybody has lonely moments for
Yeah.
And I don't think I think Jesus was lonely on the cross. So if a priest is supposed to be conformed with Jesus, I think you should have some lonely moments.
Mm hmm.
but the life of a priest is anything but just continual loneliness. I mean, again, that's, that's insane to me. Like I'm with people all the time. People I
Yeah.
love me. Um, the best friendships I could ask for. Um, that like the loneliness is not the pervading emotion I have at all, you know? So again, there's moments of loneliness. but that's not, that's not the constant state of life by any means. Um, and again, like the challenges are actually what really lead to the joy in many ways. So those are the kinds of misconceptions I would say. Mmm.
you, I mean, I think you clarified those really well. And I, I feel like I've heard those myself of people. And I think what you said is true. Like everybody does experience a level of loneliness and if priests do or when they do, that's. Maybe not a bad thing, you know, it's like a unification with Christ. Um, but yeah, I feel like you do hear at least the moms or the ladies like pray for the priests and their loneliness, pray for the peace and their loneliness. But it's very cool to hear.
You're like, actually, um, I'm having a great time. Like a lot of the time I'm with my people all the time. So it's so good to hear that you have community. Within your parish. Um, maybe with that, like even beyond your parish as well, but yeah, that you feel like you have kind of a support system and community and friendship and like the parish is like your wider family, right?
Totally. Yeah, they call you father, because that's your family, I mean, 100%, you know, and I think, and, and, looking at the life of Jesus, right, he was not a man who lived, like, isolated at all.
You know, like, very, I mean, he had his, his, his own immediate family, but very soon as he began his personal ministry, like, he, he's get, he got, got his friend group going, you know, and he hung out with these 12 guys, and there was more people, and they were at wedding feasts, and like, he was a very communal person, and I think that's the model for everybody and especially priests.
Totally. Okay. Let's go back to social media. So you were talking about how you love using it to leverage, like leveraging social media to reach the masses and to evangelize kind of on a mass level. First of all, it's amazing that you can spend 15 minutes on a reel and get a million views because that's hard to do. And that's how, you know, the Lord is blessing your work.
Not everyone goes like that, to be honest.
Yeah, there I know, but you do get a lot of views and that's how you know the Lord is blessing it. Cause I'm like, sometimes you spend hours on social or on making a video and you're like, yeah, this is the one that's going to go viral. And it gets like no views and you're like, okay, humbling
so crazy, right?
on.
to predict. Yeah,
It is hard to predict.
the one that you didn't spend much time on is
Oh, yeah, it's the one that goes viral. And you're like, I don't know how this works anymore. It's fine. Um, but social media can be both a blessing and a challenge. And I think especially, um, when it comes to the faith, there's a lot of different feelings about social media, about how we're engaging with social media. I know a lot of Catholics that have decided to get off social media because they don't feel like it is a good place to be.
And then a lot of Catholics that are very passionate about social media and using it for For the good. Um, so can you talk to us a little bit about that and tell us maybe how do you think Catholics and especially young people, which I feel like is the majority of people that are on social media, how can we be using it for the good of the gospel?
Yeah. Well, I love that you framed it that way because I would say like, yeah, there are Catholics who think they should get off social media and that it's really dangerous, and there are Catholics who think there's a really good tool and they should be there, and they're both right. They're both right. Um, it is dangerous. Absolutely. And some people shouldn't be there. And some people should be there. The analogy I always use, um, is like, social media is like a bad neighborhood.
That I would not recommend, like, my nieces go live in a bad neighborhood.
Right.
not suggest my family go live there. I would not walk alone late at night in a bad neighborhood in the streets. Um, but it's dangerous, but I also think like every bad neighborhood should have a Catholic church.
Right.
every bad neighborhood should have a Catholic priest. I would never recommend the diocese shut down the churches in the bad neighborhoods.
I love that. Yes. Yeah. Mm hmm. Totally. Mm
big fan of people getting off social media. I'm, I'm a huge advocate of parents keeping their children off of social media. I mean, the statistics are very clear. You're happy if you don't have social media. So. am the biggest fan of that. Get rid of it. If you walk away from it, for sure. But just because a few of us moved out of that neighborhood doesn't mean the bad neighborhood like ceases to exist and that we can't minister to the people there.
Um, and so for me, like, I very much feel called to that bad neighborhood to minister there as a priest, to do it carefully, to be smart about it. and I do think if it's done well, it can be a just a huge, a huge tool. Um, I mean, I get messages from people all the day, as I'm sure, all the time, as I'm sure you do, um, from people who, uh.
Uh, you know, started coming back to the church, started going to OCIA, and we have two people in our, um, OCIA class here at the church who, uh, who started my social media and started kind of entering the, entering the faith and, um, you know, I, I got a message from a mom recently who said her, I'll keep this kind of vague, her daughter was involved in like some really bad stuff.
hmm.
um, she had tried to really reconnect her with her faith and she just wasn't really having it. And one day her daughter came up and was like, Hey mom, I just followed this funny priest on Instagram. And her mom was like, Oh, what is, okay, yeah. You know, it's not like her mom was trying not to be too excited,
Oh yeah. Totally.
Oh,
Bye. Bye. Bye.
You know?
Yeah.
um, she emailed me and she said, Thank you so much for reaching my daughter
Oh.
I couldn't. And she said, she showed me some of your funny stuff, and she just started showing me some of your more serious stuff.
Mm hmm.
thank you. And, um, that's, that's what we're about. Like I love, same, same for you. You know, like I love seeing the comments that are like, I'm
Yeah.
why is this on my feed? But
Right.
I followed. You know, it's like, got em! We got em! You know, and I'm just super, super passionate about the lost sheep. Like the, the parish I met is called Christ the Good Shepherd.
Oh.
says
fitting.
The Good Shepherd goes after the lost sheep and he doesn't send somebody else He doesn't tell someone else to go he goes himself. And so for me, I just feel very called like okay, I'm gonna go go get him, you know And I've seen just so much affirmation from the Lord with the fruit of that that I feel like at least for this time You know, it's it's worth it's worth leaning into
That is so cool. I love, I love what you were saying about the bad neighborhood, but I also love. Like your tactic of like getting on people's feet and getting on people's radar of like using humor and And then also including kind of like the more serious stuff. Like I love what you were saying about the girl She's like, oh mom. Look at this funny priest.
I found, you know It's like that connection point of like meeting them where they're at using humor And then once you've kind of built that trust a little bit to be like, Hey, but I actually like, have some, like some really good stuff to say if you, if you want to listen, which I think is a really good strategy.
Well, Jesus says to go fish for men. And how do you fish? You have bait and you have a hook. That's what you do. And so for me, like, that is the social media. We need a bait. Which is usually, like, humor is just so, such a universal language. And then later you hook them. You know, like, we're out here fishing on social media. That's what we're about. So.
Yes.
ha
some of the videos really, really hook you. I get it every time when it's like things that I can't eat as a priest. And I'm always wondering, like, wait, as a Catholic, I'm like, as a Catholic, I didn't know priests had a list of things they couldn't eat. And then over here, you're eating like a telephone and I'm like, what is this?
ha.
Like what? How did he come up with this?
Got'em.
So good. Um, okay, let's go back to discernment for a little bit. I, if you could speak to the young men out there, um, who may feel intimidated by the idea of discerning the priesthood, what advice would you give to somebody who is feeling called, but might still be hesitant?
Yeah. Um, for me What I felt when I entered was like, gosh, I sure hope I don't have to be a priest. Like, you know, I'm willing if God wants, but I don't, I don't, I hope I don't have to like be celibate
Mm.
tells me and live the way the Bishop wants me to live. And like, I'm willing, but I kind of hope he's not calling me. And even, even probably when I went to seminary, I was like, there's a little part of me that was like kind of hoping it would be a no from somebody.
Okay. Hmm.
what being a priest means that like. Through ordination, you are so closely united with Jesus Christ when you take a piece of bread and you say, this is my body, this is my blood, Jesus makes it become his body and blood. Like Jesus said, I'm gonna conform myself to you so much that when you speak, I will do it every single time. Like, I will give you my voice to speak in the world, and I will do what you say. It's crazy. When somebody
Yeah.
in with sin, and I say, I absolve you from your sins, in the first person, binds himself to me and to my word, that when I say it, he will do it every single time.
That's so cool. That is.
And so, I don't think even when I entered seminary I had that awareness.
Mm hmm.
But when I did, like I went from saying, I sure hope I don't have to be a priest. To like legit being like, man I sure hope he chooses me.
Mm hmm.
sure hope he chooses me.
Oh,
he, is he, is it even possible that he is going to like invite me to this? To, like, love the way he loved, to, like, literally be him in the world, like, to be acting as a person, is crazy. And
yeah. What an honor.
be my, yeah, oh my gosh, there's no greater honor.
Right?
no greater, I mean, you've heard the quote, um, from this, I forgot which saint it was, but like, if an angel appeared and a priest walked up, he would greet the priest before he greeted the angel.
Wow.
for him, the
Wow.
the one who's knighted to the person of Christ, and the angel's not.
Dang.
crazy. And, and, and that's my thing. That's what I would tell a young guy who's like, Oh, I don't know, I'm nervous, da, da, da, da. I would say like, dude, if the Lord invites you, and I think, you know, sometimes we invite in kind of maybe too soft of a way, like, oh, you might be opening doors. No, no, no, like the Lord doesn't send the invitation to everybody. If you get one of those invitations,
Take it.
seriously.
Mm hmm.
seriously. Because he doesn't just send those invitations out to everybody. Um, and then right along that, a side that I would say like, what Jesus says in scripture so often, don't be afraid. Don't be afraid. Be a man.
Yeah. Yeah.
sometimes. Okay. Be a man. Say yes. Don't be afraid. you giving, laying down your life and you're not really sure what you're getting in return? Absolutely. Do it anyways. Um, God is the one who sees the future. the one who knows what it's gonna look like. Like, have the, have the courage to say yes to that and let it go where it goes, you know? Um, that would really be my, my response.
That is so cool. And I think in the end we know doing God's will is the path that's going to bring us the most joy, the most peace, the most fulfillment in our lives. And even if we know we're being called, but there's still that like question in our hearts of like, but I never saw myself. Doing this or I never saw this being a part of my life or, but I'm like, not really sure that this is going to bring me the most joy.
Like, if you know, it's God's will just following that and trusting in that, like, you're going to find that fulfillment, that joy, that peace, no matter what it is. No matter what it is. And I used to always tell my Bible study girls when I was a missionary and I used a little bit of an extreme example. I'm like, if God's will is for you to be homeless and you follow that, you are going to be joyful being homeless. And like, you could never imagine that right now. Right.
But I just feel like that, even that, to that extreme, like sometimes God's will is so not what we thought it would be. We just, it's what he teaches me continually. It's like, we just have to continue to trust that his plan is better than ours. His plan is always better than ours.
Absolutely. And that's the progression, right? Like what you're saying kind of reminded me of, uh, one of my best friends in seminary, um, got diagnosed with cancer like a month before we got ordained.
Oh, wow.
And, um, And it was, I think it was the second time he'd gotten cancer. And it was pretty serious lung cancer.
Mm.
um, he went through a lot of chemo. And actually, sadly, just a couple years ago he actually passed away.
Oh.
but his final, um, his final homily he gave at the seminary when we were deacons, before we were going to get ordained. Um, he said, You know, so much of his prayer during that time not just that he would know God's will, because in seminary we talk so much about knowing God's will, like how, you know, we want to actually discern what God wants.
Yeah.
at that point, it wasn't just to know God's will. because at this point he was confused by God's will, right? Like, why would
Right.
him through seven years of seminary, then
Only then. Yeah, exactly.
crazy. And he was like, my prayer right now is not just to know God's will. It's not just to do God's will. It's to love God's will.
Yeah. Mm. Mm.
is the joy that you're talking about. Like, if you want joy, not enough to just know it, know God's will. It's
Mm.
to do God's will. Like, you have to love God's will. But when you do love God's will,
Yeah,
like that is full freedom, right? Like that is complete peace and complete joy.
totally. Dang. I need to pray with that. That is so,
that good? I know, it like kind of makes me emotional just thinking about it, thinking about him, but
yeah, it does. And I, I just think back to the way the Lord's worked in my life in those moments where I've gone from like, no, I know my plan is better to, okay, God, maybe I'll be open to your plan to then kind of like seeking it to then loving it. Like you totally see that progression. And when you do get to that, like, I love. What God's calling me to do. I love his will, that freedom that you mentioned. It's just unlike anything else. Like you don't get that anywhere else.
Um, and it is so beautiful. So before we wrap up father, can you tell us what are some practical ways that we as lay people can better support and encourage priests in our own communities?
Mmm, I appreciate that question.
Yeah.
will just say, people are great. People are fantastic. I am so thankful for the people of God. They pray for me. They're always checking in. So, one, I would say people have got to do a great job. I feel very, very supported and loved. Um,
That's so good. I
Uh, I mean, all the natural ways to support your priest, letting them know that you appreciate them, you know, all those things are really good. And then the day we're trying to make you holy, we're trying to sanctify you. So the more holy you are, the easier our job is. So I'm very inspired by, by God's people and these, these parents that have these kids and are just such good parents.
And like, I'm so inspired by that and really grateful for people in my parish who are just really pursuing holiness. honestly the best thing you can do because that makes our job a lot, a lot easier. We're all working together on that.
love that. If you could leave our listeners with one key message of encouragement, what would it be?
Yeah, um, Can we go with that? Love God's will? How's that?
Let's do it. I think that is the best
will, do God's
right now. Yeah. Perfect. Okay. Last thing. So this is something that I'm starting to do on my podcast. And I thought about the other day and I was like, why haven't I been doing this all along? But there's a first for everything. So my podcast is called ever be because of the promises that I've made to God to have his praise ever be on my lips, no matter the circumstances or anything.
And so I'm going to start asking all my guests, Where God working is in, where God is working in their life so that you can share the way God is working and praise him on your lips as well. So, what has been a way that you have seen God work in your life recently?
Yeah, um, I would say one thing a couple of weeks ago, my, my brother had his first baby
Oh,
um, the, uh, yeah, we were all super, super excited
yeah.
sadly pretty soon after they was born and realized there had been some issues with the amniotic fluid and it sounded like
Mm
wasn't quite getting enough nutrients.
hmm.
took the baby to the ICU. And for a while, like I think there were 90 babies in that hospital, in the ICU, and he was like the most, the one that they were most concerned about. Like
Oh,
my,
Oh,
said like when you walk down the hall, was like all the nurses were like in his room, like all the time it seemed like. It was like pretty scary. um, so I went up there a few days after he was born and baptized him, which was a really beautiful, beautiful moment, real consolation. Um, and we had just so many people praying, um, for him. And, uh, took some time, been a couple of weeks, but they basically got discharged and now he's just doing super well. It's just super wise gaining weight.
yeah.
And, um, we, there's still waiting on some tests and things like that, but it seems like everything might be completely fine, which is kind of insane that he went from like the most at risk baby to like, everything's looking really good right now. So
Well,
brother just sent me some of the newborn pictures with him and his wife. And, um, so. The praise of God is definitely on my lips, um, for that, you know, I know that's not everybody's story, you know. There's different things that can happen, especially with infants, but,
totally.
when God, uh, God jumps in and really does something extraordinary.
Yep. Life is so precious. Life is such a gift. Praise God for what he's doing in your family. And thank goodness that little baby's okay.
Amen. Baby Bobby.
Baby Bobby. Oh, amazing. Well, father, thanks so much for spending time with us today. It was awesome to hear your story, your words of encouragement and all the amazing things that are happening in your life as a priest. It is so cool to hear just how you're serving people and how the Lord is allowing you to see literal miracles in your life, uh, left and right. So thank you so much.
Thank you so, so much for having me. It's been an honor, and thanks for all the great work you're doing for the kingdom.
Thanks father.
Thank you so much for listening in. If you've enjoyed this episode, please share it with your friends and on social media and give me a five star rating on whatever podcast platform you're listening on. That helps me in the show out so much. Also, make sure to follow the podcast on Instagram at Ever Be podcast. And if you want more content like this and you don't already follow me, you can also follow me on Instagram at Ma Seed Wagner and may his praise ever be on our lips. God bless.