“To modern men and women, often dissatisfied with a shallow and ephemeral existence, and in search of authentic happiness and love, Christ offers his own example and issues the invitation to follow Him.He asks those who hear his voice to give their lives for others. This sacrifice is a source of self-fulfillment and joy, as is seen in the eloquent example of those men and women who, leaving all security behind, have not hesitated to risk their lives as missionaries in different parts of the world. It can also be seen in the response of those young people who, prompted by faith, have embraced a vocation to the priesthood or the religious life in order to serve God’s plan of salvation.
—John Paul II, Holy Father’s Message for Lent, 2003

Don’t you ever get bored? This was a question a young person asked me recently when we were talking about what I do as a priest. I was sharing my normal duties and was asked this very reasonable question. He was wondering about the number of times I celebrated Mass each week, the time in prayer I spend each day and the other sacramental duties I have at the parish. For him, looking from the outside, it seemed a bit tedious and repetitious and yes boring.
We can all guess at my answer to his question. From the inside…my life, my ministry and my vocations is not boring. Yes, there may be days when I feel a bit tired and not fully engaged…I am a human being…and there are other days when I may be disengaged or frustrated with things…I am a sinner…but I am never bored.
Let’s begin with the Mass…am I ever bored? No. Why? Simply put, because it is an act of love. I can honestly say that as a child and young man I may have found the Mass a tad bit boring because I did not understand what was going on and often was not fully participating in the Mass. This all began to change in college and then at St. Bonaventure Mission in New Mexico when I started to go not just to Sunday Mass but also the occasional weekday Mass. I began to listen to the prayers at Mass. I began to read the Sacred Scripture in preparation for Mass. And I even began to listen to the homily with a little more attention. What I soon discovered was, while many of the prayers and words at each celebration of the Mass were the exact same words and prayers from the day before they led me to a different place and focused me on a different and new aspect of God’s love and will in my life. And as this occurred, I began to find the Mass not boring but on the contrary to be something that I looked forward too over and over again.
And this love of the Mass eventually led me to the priesthood. But don’t misunderstand me, many men and women attend daily Mass, don’t find it boring, and are not called to the consecrated religious life or priesthood.
As a priest I celebrate Mass daily and often several times each day with funerals, weddings and other occasions of joy in our Catholic Church but I am never bored. Why? Because each celebration is an act of love, an act of generosity and an act of serving others as God calls us to be servants. Each time I encounter the prayers of the Mass I discover ever more deeply the voice of God reminding me to seek Him with joy in my brothers and sisters. As I encounter Christ in the congregation I see each member of the Body of Christ differently with their blessings and crosses reminding me of Jesus’ invitation to seek him in the most vulnerable and those who challenge my comfortableness in life. It is the daily encounter with the Word, Jesus Christ, in hearing and proclaiming…often wondering…how God uses even brokenness to shine forth his glory and grace.
I could write about prayer in the same way with my daily Holy Hour, the recitation of Breviary, the Rosary which, once more, from the outside seem the same boring words, but when done in love become an act of healing and grace as we encounter the living Word, Jesus Christ, in all that we do.
Our faith and vocation, whether it be as a priest, religious sister or brother, married as husband and wife, in the single state or growing and preparing for our true vocation is never boring and when we seek to encounter Jesus, who is the center of our faith, we will discover more depth and joy than we had ever dreamed possible. Because the boredom comes when we begin to do our work in the expectation of receiving first rather than choosing to give in generosity simply as an act of love.
Is my life, my ministry, my vocation boring? Nope…because encountering Jesus daily in his Holy Catholic Church is a deeper joy and a more profound peace and greater blessing than I have ever dreamed possible.
God bless and pray for vocations.
Fr. Mark