Ministers today come in so many shapes and sizes.  Gone are the days when Priests are the sole individuals responsible for the spiritual development of all Christians.  Today, as a young lay woman, I am also helping people develop a strong relationship with God.   The word “lay” is defined as those who are part of the priesthood of all believers through baptism, but are not priests, bishops, or deacons.  But as ministers we all work together, which is so helpful because being a Christian minister is not an easy task.

The best example of working together is when we study together.  For the past few years I was blessed enough to study theology at a graduate institution that was filled with lay students and seminarians.  “Seminarians” are individuals who are on their way to being priests, deacons, and perhaps one day, bishops.  Regis College at UofT was an excellent academic institution, but most of all it treated lay students and seminarians as equals and taught us to do the same….needless to say, over time we became great friends.  I learned so much about the joys of being a Priest.  By talking to my friends, who were both seminarians and Priests,  I began to better understand vows of celibacy (living a life committed to God rather than a spouse) and vows of poverty.  This past Sunday I was blessed enough to go to the Ordination Ceremony of two of my good friends, Vijay and Jinto.  Vijay and Jinto were made Deacons in the Roman Catholic Church, and I was so excited for them.

I’m also very happy that two young men who respect me enough to value my work as a lay minister are now working alongside me in the Church, hooray!   We must remember that while working as a Christian minister is very challenging, it is also filled with so many joyful moments too!   I’m keeping them in my prayers and I hope that you do too.  Way to go guys!

Our group that studied together and who are now working in ministry alongside each other!  All for the greater glory of God!