Changed, And Can't Help But Share It.

This week marked a new milestone in my ministry. In the third year of teaching at St Edmund Prep High School, this past Ash Wednesday marked the first time that I preached to the student body. Not to say that I have not preached to some of my classes, but to have all freshen and sophomores at a prayer service and speak to them in one setting is an event.
 I was a bit nervous. My good friend and fellow deacon was preaching at the earlier service for the upperclassmen. He has spoken to the students in a religious setting before, but I never had. I snuck in early to see what he was saying but missed the homily. I was on my own and, although I knew what I wanted to say, I was not sure how the Spirit would bring it out or if the students would respond.
  I should learn by now never to underestimate God's plan. He obviously wanted me there. As I spoke, the words just flowed out.This may sound like a stretch to some, but the Spirit really does move through me. I never really know what I will say until it is coming out of my mouth. Sometimes that does not even register. There have been times people have spoken to me about what I said in my homily about things I did not remember saying.
  The story I wrote yesterday opened my homily and, before I knew it, I was sharing life experiences I had along with how to live the faith.(And how hard it is to live it ).
  After the service and throughout the day today, fellow teachers and administrators kept telling me what a good job I did. I never let these compliments go to my head because I always wonder is they come out of habit. A pat on the back so to speak because it is required. but i have had many students approaching me telling me how they understood what I was saying and they were really moved by the ideas. One girl told me when she was listening she thought 'now this is what I'm talking about.' Another told me that when I did not speak about math, which is what she gets in the classroom, she could not stop from listening.
  It is events like these that make one realize once God has touched your life, called you to share the good news, there is no keeping quiet. There is only reward in knowing that you have done God's work, and there is great satisfaction in that.
  I had to share this experience and let you know that I am in a pretty amazing place right now. I place where I feel more alive in my ministry than I have in the past few years. St Joseph parish and St Edmund Prep have changed me. They have given my ministry and my relationship with Jesus new life in these past few months, and I can not help but share it.