As Father Dave moves on to his next assignment as full-time chaplain at Lansdale Catholic High School and resident at Our Lady of Mt. Carmel in Doylestown, we wish him good luck and God’s blessings. Father Dave shared some thoughts with us about his time at St. Jude and his upcoming assignment.

Q: St. Jude was your first assignment out of the seminary two years ago. What have you liked about being at St. Jude?
I’ve loved getting to be a priest and doing the things that are so common to the life of a priest – celebrating the sacraments, preaching, and getting to know the families that make up the parish family. The parish is one large community of faith with lots of small communities within it, and we’re all walking together on the journey of faith. For example, you have the daily Mass community, Sunday Mass community, school and PREP communities, and many different age groups and ministries. Intersecting with these different communities as a priest in one way or another is powerful. Some people you only get to see in a moment of need, to be there for them as a priest, and that’s been very humbling.

Q: How does it feel to be transferred to a new parish for the first time?
Challenging. There’s a lot of emotion, and it’s very overwhelming to see how sad people are to see me go. The first parish is always special, because it’s the first place you got to be a priest.

Q: So, tell us about your new assignment!
I’m going to Lansdale Catholic full time as the Campus Minister. I don’t yet know what that will entail, but they have a history of a full-time priest up until two years ago. This past year I’ve been a part-time chaplain helping with retreats and liturgies, but now I’ll be doing that full time, planning the sacramental life of the school community, helping to lead, organize, and plan retreats, and being a presence within the community in all the things that make up high school life – dances, sports, plays, whatever – to plug in with the kids, make the connection, and just be a daily presence. I may teach, or at least be a guest lecturer within classes.

Q: Do you like the idea of working with young people?
Definitely. There’s a great energy that the youth have and that they bring with them wherever they go. These are formative years; they’re being exposed to so much in the culture and media, especially social media. They are at a point in their development when they’re beginning to think critically and make decisions that will impact their lives pretty seriously. So there’s a great opportunity. I do look forward to it!

Q: Having the presence of a young priest can really help them, too.
I definitely think there’s a relatability that I’ve already gotten to see in my limited interaction this past year. It needs to happen at every age group in the Church. I am seeing more and more the need for relational ministry, incarnational evangelization and intentional friendship, especially with the young. When they see that your faith is genuine, authentic, and true, it creates an opportunity to show the tangibility of the faith, especially for their generation.

Q: I remember your vocation story, that as a senior in high school you were trying to figure out what to do and you began praying a lot more, which led to hearing God’s call.
Yes. Honestly, I think my biggest goal for high school is to help these young people develop a real prayer life. Going back to the basics, not trying to be cutting edge in ministry – just helping them see that this is what’s most important, and create a culture of prayer.

So I’m really excited. I’m a little nervous, because it’s a transition. So it’s hard, and there’s grief, sadness, but in a good way. It’s been a wonderful two years of learning and getting to walk with people, but it’s very exciting to start this, too. Teaching will make me nervous, if I have to teach, but it’s an opportunity to grow.

Q: What will you miss most about St. Jude?
I’ll miss the moments that other people don’t get to see, like sitting in my office and watching people all day long walk across the parking lot to visit the Blessed Sacrament on Thursdays. I’ll miss getting to be one of the first faces people see when they come to register at St. Jude. I’ll miss the time that I got to spend with parishioners, like doing home blessings, sick calls, or occasional dinners. I’ll miss doing marriage prep, which I was originally very nervous about, but I’ll really miss it because it’s the most exciting time in their life. I’ll miss preparing funerals and celebrating sacraments. It all boils down to the fact that I’ll miss the people. I’ll miss the people the most.

As a resident at OLMC, I’ll likely do at least one Mass over the weekend but that’s it – no weddings, no funerals, no sick calls, I will not have the emergency line. I will just be a resident, so I’ll really miss a lot of the priestly functions.

Q: Do you have a final message you’d like to share?
Yes. It’s one of gratitude. It sounds cliché, but I can’t really capture how grateful I am to have been here, to begin here. And I want people to know that they were just as instrumental in forming me to become a good priest as the nine years of seminary formation. This was continued formation because I still had so much to learn. The “book learning” was done but formation is ongoing. The people of St. Jude have taught me so much and I’m grateful for their faith in me and their faithfulness to God, to Christ, to His Church, and to the St. Jude community. The people here love their parish!

And I’d like to say – sort of as some religious communities do at the end of a chapter or cycle of servant leadership, taking stock on their failures to learn from them and to bring closure and healing – I want to say thank you for your understanding. I didn’t know how to do a lot of things well. I tried, but I apologize for any shortcomings of mine, and for the times I wasn’t able to give certain people enough time or attention. I ask your forgiveness for any of the ways I have fallen short. I felt pulled and stretched, especially in my second year between my work here and at LC, and so I thank the parish for their understanding and encouragement. I’m truly grateful.

View a photo album of pictures with Fr. Dave here: 
stjudechalfont.org/photoalbums/fr-david-obrien