This is my second time helping out at Camp Hope. Throughout the camp, Fr. Patrick and I will sometimes talk about the ups and downs of the day. One of the highlights I remember was after a long night of confession, Fr. Patrick and I agreed on how good it is to be a priest. As a priest, these little moments really strengthen me and rejuvenate my love for Christ and His Church. I think that is why Camp Hope is such a special place, and even though it is not the easiest week to give my time, it is certainly a fruitful one.
As a relatively young priest, ordained in 2020, one of the first things I realized was that there are so many people with different levels of faith and even different ideas of what faith is. I quickly learned that not everyone was filled with the zeal for the Church and love of Christ that I expected people to have. So many times, my interactions with the people or my encounters with them were so “non-Christ” focused, I often wondered when I can actually start to feel like a priest. We would talk about politics, sports, health, career, school, etc. But rarely would I just talk to a person about Christ and heavenly things. I thought the priesthood was to communicate and give the life of Christ, but it rarely seemed like I was doing that.
As a relatively young priest, ordained in 2020, one of the first things I realized was that there are so many people with different levels of faith and even different ideas of what faith is.
At Camp Hope, however, things were a little different. I really felt like I was living my priesthood all week long. I did not have to convince people or remind them of the love of God or the true presence in the Eucharist or the importance of going to confession. These things were already established in the culture of the camp. And when Christ is already at the foundation, everything seemed to fall into place. As a priest, I had nothing to worry about other than being a priest, and that feels incredible. The only desire I had was to give Christ to those who came to me, and that was so easy when everyone who came to me was already looking for Christ.
At Camp Hope, however, things were a little different. I really felt like I was living my priesthood all week long.
I remember looking at our Lord during the adoration for the counselors and staff. In that moment I was so thankful for the call to the priesthood and I was grateful to Camp Hope for allowing me to serve them as a priest of Jesus Christ. It is such a wonderful life and I was reminded of that during this amazing camp.
Fr Jae is a priest in the Archdiocese of Newark. We are grateful for all of the priests who serve at Camp Hope and help make Camp possible! To learn more about Newark and the journey to the priesthood, you can visit www.NewarkPriest.com
To read more about Camp Hope and Newark Priest in our Friends of the People of Hope blog series.
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