She once had a professor suggest that she had a responsibility not to "burn out" and that paying attention and addressing her personal needs would enable her to be a more effective minister. She strives to engage in on-going personal formation including regular spiritual direction, spending time with friends who bring her to life, and not being afraid to take a "mental health day" once in awhile. A community of support that helps you to keep growing is also crucial to doing this work; never work in isolation, she explains. And always focus on what is good and what is possible, Theresa advises.
In her own thinking about what is good and possible, Theresa's advice to the Vatican or to other young adult ministers is to "Invest in them." Invest in young adults' education, invest in extending a spirit of welcome to them. She explains that this is an urgent matter, very much in need of the church's attention, with nothing less at stake than the possibility of losing this generation of Catholics. She advises folks who minister to young adults not to skirt around difficult questions, but rather to honestly engage with these questions and to do so regularly.
This willingness to engage tough questions and to meet young people where they are is part of why Theresa is a role model for Jen -- and for many other young women.
Who are your Catholic role models? How do they inspire you?
Read earlier installments of Young Women & Catholicism --
- "In All Things,"on the unique identity of young Catholic women.
- "Young, Female, and Catholic," on the "Catholic glue"that keeps us in the Church.
Kate Dugan and Jennifer Owens are alumni of Harvard Divinity School. They are co-editors of From the Pews in the Back: Young Women and Catholicism. This fall, Kate begins doctoral studies in religion at Northwestern University in Evanston, IL, and Jennifer Owens will begin a Ph.D. program in systematic and philosophical theology at the Graduate Theological Union in Berkeley, CA.
Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In