Priests of the Year Inspire Our Kids

Summer 2010 Issue | Posted by Editor in Everyday Apostles

During this “Year for Priests,” Faith & Family asked young people, “Why would you nominate your pastor (or any priest that you know) for Priest of the Year?” We were very moved by the beautiful stories of faith and service we received. Thank you to our participants — and to the amazing priests who inspired their essays! On the following pages you will find the winners and runners-up in the 6th-8th Grade and 3rd-5th Grade categories.

First Place

6th - 8th grade

Mary Clare Bowring

6th grade

Pinecrest Academy

Cumming, Georgia

Cardinal Francis Xavier
Nguyen Van Thuan

Joy, Hope, and the Eucharist in a Vietnam Prison

What if you got taken away from everything in the dark of the night? What if it was because of your faith? Would you deny Christ so that you would not be taken away? Cardinal Francis Xavier Nguyen Van Thuan did not and would not take back his acknowledgement of his faith.

Cardinal Francis was kidnapped simply because he was a Catholic bishop. He was taken to the prison in Hanoi (Hilton), Vietnam. This day was the most memorable day of his whole life. He remained completely full of hope from the moment they took him, mainly because it was August 15, 1975, the feast day of our Mother Mary. On August 16, a voice came to him and said, “Son, why are you so anxious? Follow the example of St. Paul when he was in prison.” He continued to send letters to his faithful.

Some of Cardinal Francis’ relatives were burned alive in a Catholic church and others were Vietnam martyrs. When he was in prison, the lights were sometimes kept on all month long, and other times there would be no light at all. The guards would come clean him and his cell with a hose. He said to them, “Thank you for cleaning my cell and me.” Doing this made him feel love and freedom. He would also tell the guards that he loved them. He was very forgiving of the guards. Some guards even became Christians, and many of the prisoners with him became Catholic. When he was too weak to pray, he said, “Jesus, here is Cardinal Francis.”  He heard Jesus say back, “Francis, here is Jesus.” 

The only thing Cardinal Francis had to give him strength to survive all the years that he was in prison was the Eucharist. To celebrate Mass, he would have a medicine bottle filled with wine for the Blood of Christ, and for the host he had relatives send in a flashlight with the host in the lid. He would celebrate Mass in his cell with three drops of wine and one drop of water. He said, “They were the most precious Masses of my life.” For a cross, he cut some wood into the shape of a cross and wore that as his bishop cross. He never got a new one even after he got out of the prison, though he did cover it with metal.

His motto was joy and hope. On the feast of Mary (Presentation), November 21, 1988, he was released from prison, after being in there for 13 years. My dad met him at the U.S. bishops’ office in Washington, D.C., where my dad was working in 1999. The cardinal celebrated Mass and told them his story. Cardinal Francis became the president of the Vatican Council of Justice and Peace in 1998. I think he should be priest of the year because he was a great Catholic for standing up for his faith and how he made it through it all with the help of Mary and Jesus.

  Runner-Up

6th - 8th grade

Caroline Beecher

8th grade

Everest Academy

Lemont, Illinois

Father Matthew Kaderabek

Bringing a “Conviction in God’s Magnificence”

to the Sacraments

Sometimes I believe priests are chosen by God because they have nearly every talent imaginable. Every priest I know has many outstanding abilities that form a generous character and admirable traits. One priest who especially stands out among all the priests I have met is Father Matthew Kaderabek. He has a deep faith and constant devotion to Our Lord. Father Mat-thew possesses countless talents, including moving homilies, enlightening confessions, and exceptional singing, sports-playing, and speaking. 

At daily Mass I am consistently astounded by his amazing way of interpreting the Gospel of the day. He always has a personal life experience for each passage that can easily transfer to the varied lives of every individual in his congregation. Father uses creative analogies to get points across in a powerful yet simple way. And it does not stop there. Our school chaplain also gives terrific spiritual direction in confession. He deepens our faith with an inspiring twist on every topic. He views repentance in a positive light and encourages every child to go to weekly confession through his living example of Christ’s mercy. He has a profound conviction in God’s magnificence, and you can sense his strong belief during every sacrament he offers. Another gift God has given Father Matthew is the ability to speak with inspiration and skill. One example of this that also shows his insight into the teachings of the Catholic faith is when he describes our path to heaven. He was previously in the army, and during one period of training he had to spend a short while in a chamber filled with tear gas. It was horrific and the longest few minutes of his life. He has never forgotten it. After he became a priest, Father Matthew has recounted this experience and translated it to our path to heaven. He described the gas chamber as the times when we are without God in our lives. The world overwhelms us, and we cannot see what lies ahead. If we return to God we can avoid this painful experience, but our reasoning is gone and we cannot think skillfully. This analogy had a powerful effect on me, and it is a daily reminder to stay close to God and to develop a lifelong relationship with him as a loving Father. 

Father Matthew uses every skill he ac-quires to honor God. His remarkable singing accompanies the choir and adds to every Mass. His football skills amuse the boys during recess and teach them essential virtues such as teamwork, patience, and charity. Father Matthew seems to have a talent to share with everybody, whether they are old, young, sad, or happy. It is motivating to see someone who is so close to Christ, and it encourages me to keep striving to meet my life’s goal: heaven. If I were to nominate any priest to be priest of the year, I would nominate Father Matthew Kaderabek because he has a sincere love for God — and wonderful ways to clearly demonstrate it.

First Place

3RD - 5th grade

Jace C. Griffith

5th grade

The Little Way of Love Academy (homeschool)

Idaho Falls, Idaho

Father Mark Cyza

Loving Others More Than He Loves Himself

When Mom told me about this contest, I knew who I’d write about. I know you’d love Father Mark Cyza from Nebraska City, Neb. What do you think his favorite song is? It’s The Turkey Song, and it goes like this: “If God can love turkeys ... then God can love you ... and you are a turkey ... but I am one, too.” He likes to play this on his guitar for children of all ages (and they love it). There are two sides to him. On the one hand, he is very humorous, and on the other hand, he is a little more serious. Either way, he is a truly humble and devout man who loves being a priest.

He is concerned with the salvation of all people, including the robber whom he found hidden in the office of the rectory late one dark night. As soon as Father Cyza confirmed that this was not a big rat, his first question was, “What are you doing in my house?” When the man explained that he was in big trouble and started running out, Father Cyza followed after him saying, “Do you want to talk?” He was not even concerned with his own safety, but only about that man’s soul.

My family and I recently moved from Nebraska to Idaho, and my mom asked Father if he would come visit us and give a holy hour for our teenagers. He agreed willingly and came to stay with us for a few days. He gave a beautiful talk on suffering, and many people said it changed their lives. I was home quickly, but Father Cyza was not back until after 11:00 pm because he stayed to hear confessions for anyone who asked. He is very self-giving. It is easy to see that he loves others more than himself.

While at our house, he demonstrated his patience and kindness by playing everything from ghost to hide-and-seek with my 3-year-old brother. Father Cyza didn’t spend all his time playing, though. He spent an hour every day before Jesus. He claims he wouldn’t have the strength he does if he didn’t spend this hour with God every day.

My oldest sister had Father Cyza as a religion teacher her sophomore year. Try as they might, the class couldn’t make him lose his temper. He is exceedingly kind and forgiving. My brother also had him as a religion teacher in sixth grade. Father Cyza enjoys anything high-tech, and he introduced remote-controlled clickers for each of the kids to allow them to answer questions electronically, which quickly won over the whole class.

Father Cyza is currently a pastor at St. Mary’s church, a religion teacher at Lourdes school, a speaker on KVSS radio, an RCIA instructor, and a great friend to Jesus. Get to know him better at ComeHomeToJesus.com. Even though he didn’t want to be a priest at first, he listened to God and found peace in accepting his will. I’m sure glad he did!

  Runner-Up

3RD - 5th grade

Madeleine Quinn

5th grade

St. Therese School

Parkville, Missouri

Father Patrick Tobin

“Let the Jesus in You Meet the Jesus in Other People”

F ather Patrick Tobin is the best priest and the nicest person I’ve ever met. He always thinks of others before himself, and he treats people so kindly that it’s as if they were royalty. Once, Father Pat was walking down the street when he noticed a poor man shivering in the cold. Father Pat took off his own coat and gave it to the man, not wanting or expecting anything in return. One week later he was given a new coat. He’s probably out there somewhere giving his coat to someone else who needs it.

Father Pat also helped start Harvesters in 1979. Harvesters is an organization where people bring in food to donate to the poor, needy, and homeless. He personally gives out the food and is at the pantry at least once a week. Father Pat is always thinking of more ways to help Harvesters. At Harvesters, Father Pat can use one dollar or less to feed an entire family. Harvesters distributed more than 25 million pounds of food in 2005. Without Father Pat and Harvesters, lots of people would go hungry.

Father Pat has done lots of work with Mother Teresa. She called him asking if he wanted to come on a retreat to Calcutta, India. He called back asking if there had been a mistake. She returned the call and said, “No mistake. Come to Calcutta.” That was the first of his eight-day trips to visit the sisters of 31 different countries. The theme of these retreats was, “Let the Jesus in you meet the Jesus in other people.” While doing this, he saw lots of poverty and decided to help by making water filters for all those who needed it.

Father Pat always shines his shoes before going into church out of respect for God.  Whenever I walk into church he’s always there, shaking hands and welcoming people. When he greets people it’s not just a simple “Hello, how are you?” It’s a “Hello, how are you?” with a sincere smile and a look on his face that shows he really means it.

Father Pat has the best homilies. Father Pat’s homilies aren’t something you have to listen to — they’re something you want to listen to. Father Pat always includes short stories and sayings to make the homily interesting, I was even interested when I was 5. One of Father Pat’s best sayings is, “I’m sorry you feel that way.” This saying can be used in many situations. If someone insults you, you should say this instead of retorting with a devious insult. I am very lucky to get to hear Father Pat’s homilies.

Father Pat is a man on a mission. He has spent his 50 years of service helping the poor, hungry, homeless, and needy. He has lived out one of Mother Teresa’s sayings, “Unless life is lived for others, it’s not worthwhile.” This is why I think that Father Patrick Tobin should be nominated, and win, the Best Priest of the Year.