My Journey to Priesthood | Fr. David Michael Moses
Summary
TLDRFather David Michael Moses, a 27-year-old Roman Catholic priest in the Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston, shares his journey and daily life in this engaging video. From his early morning routine to unexpected calls, he emphasizes the excitement and unpredictability of priesthood. Raised in a non-Catholic family, his conversion story and calling to the priesthood are deeply personal. He blends his musical talents with his ministry, organizing benefit concerts and connecting with his community. The video highlights his dedication to serving God and his parish, offering a glimpse into the fulfilling and challenging life of a young priest.
Takeaways
- 😀 Father David Michael Moses is a 27-year-old Roman Catholic priest in the Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston.
- 🌳 He enjoys spending time in nature and values his close friendships.
- 🙏 His mornings are dedicated to personal care, prayer, and preparation for his unpredictable day as a priest.
- 👨👩👦👦 Father David Michael's parents converted to Catholicism after marriage, which influenced his faith journey.
- 🎓 Despite initially wanting to get married, he felt a calling to the priesthood after a silent retreat at age 16.
- 🎤 He has a passion for music and won a Christian music competition with his original songs.
- 🎉 He organizes annual benefit concerts, raising significant funds for Houston pregnancy help centers.
- 💒 His ordination was a significant and emotional milestone, marking his commitment to serve God's people.
- 🕊️ He found confirmation in his vocation through a series of spiritual signs and a seven-year seminary process.
- 🚗 During the pandemic, he creatively engaged parishioners with a drive-through nativity scene, showcasing his dedication to community outreach.
Q & A
Who is Father David Michael Moses?
-Father David Michael Moses is a 27-year-old Roman Catholic priest ordained for two years in the Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston.
What is Father David Michael's perspective on using his talents as a priest?
-Father David Michael believes that God wants him to use his talents and gifts for something eternal, rather than getting rid of them.
What is a typical morning routine for Father David Michael?
-His morning routine includes getting up early, working out, praying, and having breakfast before starting his day.
What background did Father David Michael's parents come from?
-His mother was Baptist and his father was Lutheran before they converted to Catholicism after getting married.
How did Father David Michael realize his calling to the priesthood?
-He realized his calling during a silent retreat at 16, feeling God might be calling him to be a priest despite his initial desire to marry.
How did Father David Michael reconcile his attraction to girls with his calling to the priesthood?
-A spiritual director advised him that it's natural to be attracted to girls, and he should still take his calling seriously. He then started attending daily Mass and praying more.
What role did music play in Father David Michael's life?
-Music has been a significant part of his life. He participated in a music competition called Music to Change and has organized benefit concerts supporting Houston pregnancy help centers.
What was a significant moment during Father David Michael's ordination?
-A significant moment was when he felt God saying, 'These are your people now. I need you to love them, care for them, and lay down your life for them.'
What impact did the pandemic have on Father David Michael's ministry?
-The pandemic changed how he ministered to people. Despite the challenges, he felt called to be a priest during this time to focus on things eternal.
What initiative did Father David Michael's parish undertake during the pandemic for Christmas?
-The parish organized a drive-through nativity scene to allow people to experience the journey of Mary, Joseph, and Jesus while staying in their cars.
Outlines
🌲 Time to Head to the Woods
Father David Michael Moses, a 27-year-old Roman Catholic priest, discusses his life as a priest in the Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston. He explains how God uses his talents for eternal purposes, shares his daily routine, and highlights the unpredictable and exciting nature of his work.
👶 Growing Up in a Catholic Family
Father Moses reminisces about his upbringing in a mixed-faith family, his parents' conversion to Catholicism, and their influence on his faith journey. He shares a humorous anecdote about his name and reflects on the importance of faithfulness, both in his parents' marriage and in his vocation.
🎸 Discovering the Call to Priesthood
Father Moses recounts his early life in Corpus Christi, his initial reluctance towards priesthood due to his desire to marry, and his eventual realization of his calling during a silent retreat. He describes his discernment process, his struggles with celibacy, and his final decision to enter the seminary.
🎤 Music and Ministry
Father Moses talks about his involvement in music, including his participation in a Christian music competition and his organization of benefit concerts for pro-life causes. He emphasizes the importance of using talents for God's glory and reflects on the impact of music in bringing about positive change.
🎄 Celebrating Christmas in a Pandemic
Father Moses describes the creative efforts of his parish to engage people during the pandemic, such as organizing a drive-through nativity scene. He shares the overwhelming response from parishioners and the importance of reminding people of God's presence during uncertain times.
Mindmap
Keywords
💡Priest
💡Vocation
💡Eucharist
💡Sacraments
💡Celibacy
💡Discernment
💡Seminary
💡Ministry
💡Anointing of the Sick
💡Pro-life
Highlights
Father David Michael Moses introduces himself as a 27-year-old Roman Catholic priest.
Father David Michael explains how being a priest utilizes his talents for something eternal.
He shares his morning routine, emphasizing the importance of personal care before daily responsibilities.
Father David Michael describes the unpredictable nature of his day, including potential emergencies.
His journey to priesthood was influenced by his parents' conversion to Catholicism after their marriage.
He humorously recalls being named Abigail for three days because his parents thought he would be a girl.
Father David Michael reflects on his childhood in Houston, Texas, near NASA, and his love for altar serving.
He narrates his call to priesthood during a silent retreat at age 16, despite his interest in getting married.
Father David Michael emphasizes the impact of daily mass and prayer in discerning his vocation.
A significant moment of confirmation in his call to priesthood involved seeing a dove symbol in church.
He shares the surreal experience of his ordination day and the profound sense of responsibility it brought.
Father David Michael recounts moments of conversion and joy in ministering to people, such as anointing the sick.
He talks about the Concert for Life, a benefit concert he organizes to support Houston Pregnancy Help Centers.
Father David Michael highlights the importance of music in his life and its role in his ministry.
He reflects on the challenges and opportunities brought by the COVID-19 pandemic in his early priesthood.
A drive-through nativity scene was organized during the pandemic, drawing a significant response from parishioners.
Father David Michael shares a touching moment where a little girl asked if he was God, highlighting the role of priests in guiding people to find God.
He concludes with a reminder of the enduring presence of the Eucharist and his commitment to being a good priest.
Transcripts
time to get out of the house
time to head into the woods
don't got a lot of friends but the ones
i have are good
[Music]
[Applause]
some people wonder if being a priest is
boring
not to me
hey guys i'm father david michael moses
i'm 27 years old i'm a roman catholic
priest and i've been ordained for two
years here in the archdiocese of
galveston houston
when you follow christ and you become a
priest he doesn't want to get rid of all
of your talents and your gifts he just
wants you to use them for something
eternal
time to get out of the house
time to head to the woods
don't got a lot of friends but the ones
i have are good
the whole band is ready
and it's time to go
gonna be a good night at the catholic
rodeo
[Music]
we usually have mass at the paris around
8 30 and after that the day can kind of
go crazy so i want to make sure i take
care of all my personal stuff before
then so i want to get up early enough so
that i can get ready for the day work
out pray maybe have some breakfast
before we start the supernatural stuff
we gotta take care of the natural stuff
[Music]
as a priest it's nice to have the
mornings to get ready for the day and
certainly you have a schedule for what
you think the day might look like but
you never really know how things are
gonna end up at any point i could get a
call for an emergency for someone who
might be dying you could have someone
come in the office who really has to
talk to a priest right then it can be
kind of tough to kind of give god your
schedule give him your freedom but it's
also really exciting waking up every day
not really knowing what venture is lies
ahead so you guys can check out with me
and see where things go
[Applause]
[Music]
[Applause]
[Music]
i always do that before baptisms to
remind myself what the babies go through
[Music]
so i'm headed to my parents house right
now the house where i grew up my parents
actually didn't grow up catholic my mom
was baptist my dad was lutheran they
didn't convert to the catholic faith
until after they got married along with
both of my dad's siblings and their
spouses but i'm really thankful that
they were able to hand on the catholic
faith to me and their journey is a
testament and it was an example for me
that we should be willing to pursue the
truth wherever that lies
obviously my parents couldn't really
model for me the priesthood but they did
through their marriage modeled for me
what faithfulness looks like and i hope
i can live that out well in my vocation
to make sure i'm always faithful
[Music]
[Music]
so i was born in corpus christi texas
i'm the fifth of six kids
[Music]
my parents actually thought i was gonna
be a girl for nine months in the womb so
i was baby abigail that entire time it
wasn't until i i was born my mom held me
up at the hospital and said oh abigail
abigail you're a boy
and i didn't have a name for three days
after that because they were so
unprepared
and my dad always wanted a son named
michael but my mom had dated a guy in
high school named michael and she
thought that like if he heard that she
named one of her kids that he would
think that she was still into him or
something like that so
she kind of shot the name down with my
older brothers but with me she finally
was willing to add david to the name and
they decided to call me both david
michael which was already a pretty long
name when you add father david michael
to it it is even longer i thought about
going by father moses my last name but
that sounds like i'm like 140 years old
right it doesn't really fit
[Music]
moved here to this house when i was four
years old here in houston texas right
near nasa it's kind of a cool place to
be because we had an astronaut living on
our street here the astronauts teaching
us cce which just made it a lot of fun
growing up
[Music]
and i really love the fact that i was
able to be raised in the catholic faith
really enjoyed alter serving growing up
just being close to the eucharist as an
all-server being close to the sacrifice
of the mass i really felt like was the
most important thing i did every single
week and was always grateful for that
[Music]
as an alter grown up sometimes people
would say oh you'd be such a cute little
priest and i would say i like girls and
i honestly thought that because i wanted
to get married i knew priests couldn't
get married that meant i was not
supposed to be a priest so it was until
i went on a silent retreat when i was 16
just kind of praying during that time
that i felt the lord start to say in the
silence it might be you it might be you
i'm calling to be a priest
[Music]
so i remember talking to the spiritual
director on that retreat and just
telling him hey like i'm kind of feeling
drawn to the priesthood but i really
like girls i don't know what to do about
that and he said it's okay don't worry
um that's totally natural
god still might be calling you and you
have to take that seriously so i started
going daily mass every single day
started praying a lot and really just
asking the lord
to open my heart to whatever it was that
he had for me
i fell in love really with what a priest
could do for people specifically to
literally give them jesus in the
eucharist to the mass and to forgive
their sins and the person of christ and
confession i just thought what more
could i do with my life than that but of
course the girl thing was definitely
still there
[Music]
and so i ended up contacting the
vocations director for the archdiocese
um the priest in charge of helping young
guys discern the seminary i got about
half of the application process with him
and just got really nervous about the
celibacy thing again and so i called him
and said hey i'm kind of feeling nervous
and he said okay why don't you come
downtown and talk to me so i was driving
downtown and i read at a certain point
discernment you could ask god to send
you a sign so i said okay god if you
want me to go into seminary send me a
dub
so i'm driving downtown and i see some
birds and i'm not really sure if they're
doves and i realized i don't really know
what a dove looks like in the wild i
really should have been more specific
about what i asked for
so i ended up talking vocational
director and he said to really focus my
discernment so at the time having just
graduated from college when i was 18
i've been accepted to some law schools
as well so i was looking at that as a
possible option he said to stop
discerning seminary and really discern
law school to isolate that discernment
and so i did that for the next couple of
months i really prayed about law school
by that time i realized i really didn't
want to be a lawyer and i was still
feeling called to the priesthood but i
was still nervous about this celibacy
thing so everything came to a head when
i was praying in a holy hour in my home
parish here in nassau bay praying there
in the holy hour i just said god look i
want to do whatever it is you want just
tell me what it is if you want me going
to seminary send me a dove like crash on
through a window or something like that
right then i looked up and realized that
the huge pain and glass window of the
altar of the church was a dove
symbol of the holy spirit a giant dove
and i thought wow i'm a doofus this
whole time all serving all these masses
this stuff has always been here god's
call in my life so at that point i
entered the seminary um felt like i had
what i needed and it ended up being a
seven year process each year um i almost
didn't come back it was about 50 50 each
of those first couple of years but
something inside me always kept pulling
me back so it wasn't until i went on
what's called pastoral year where i was
full-time in a parish that i really felt
confirmed in that call to the priesthood
just absolutely loved parish ministry
loved being with people as as a minister
as a representative of god and just fell
in love with the idea of being a
spiritual father
[Music]
the day of my ordination it was finally
here there's a quote from a movie i love
it came so quickly after taking so long
that's really how i felt you know you
spend seven years you enter seminary you
think this is gonna be such a long time
and then suddenly it's there you know it
comes so fast we spent years and years
serving at ordinations as seminarians
for guys who are getting ordained and
then suddenly you show up for rehearsal
and you're the guy getting ordained you
know it's completely surreal and getting
ready that morning with my family and
all of all my sisters and my brothers
there um i drove there with my my
spiritual director who had really guided
me to this point we drove together and
he was the one who was festing me that
day um
and just walking into the church that
morning uh seeing all the people you
know for us there were there were seven
guys getting ordained which is the most
we had in our diocese since 1986 and
about 30 years so the church was just
packed
the music was absolutely beautiful
absolutely majestic
seeing all the other priests um walking
in the church you know had it ahead of
us the hundreds of of guys in the
presbyterate that we were going to join
that day and i remember getting up there
um you know to be ordained and turning
around and seeing
all the people you know we had thousands
of people there um and i really felt the
lord
saying in my heart
and michael these are my people
and i'm a father for them
i love them i care for them i lay down
my life for them
i felt him say david michael
today
i'm giving them to you
these are your people now
i need you to love them
and to care for them
and to lay down your life for them
i need you to be
a father for them
and to feel that on that day to know
that this is what i was signing up for
to lay down my life
for god's people in the way that he did
was such a gift and such a blessing
[Music]
but yeah just so many moments of just
seeing conversion in people's lives
um
leaving just what happened monday what i
mentioned that family really wanted
someone to come in and anoint them in
the hospital
and uh
and just seeing the joy on the family's
face coming out knowing that they've
been
um that they've been annoying that
they've been prepared in that moment
then they called yesterday and said they
passed away in just a couple hours
and yet they were still
so happy that i had come you know like
that's what i kind of mostly felt
talking to them after the anointing was
like
in the midst of such a sad situation
like like their their husband their
father was dying you know he was dying
that was the truth of the situation
but the fact that i was able to anoint
him
for them meant like this was actually a
moment not of sadness but a moment of
joy and i really felt in that moment
like that's what sacraments that's what
the sacraments do is they pierce into
like these dark moments in our lives
and infuse like joy like there was
something to celebrate in the midst of
his dying
there was something to celebrate that
like jesus was there fully and jesus was
was pouring grace into his heart and
preparing him to meet him and the fact
that sacraments can give people that
kind of hope and then as a priest i can
be an instrument of that hope for people
is just it's just awesome it blows it
blows my mind
so this picture was taken at one of our
concerts for life which is a benefit
concert we do each year supporting
houston pregnancy help centers
i grew up i started taking piano lessons
when i was about six or seven years old
but retired after a year i started
taking charleston when i was about 10
years old and also quit after about a
year
[Applause]
then a year after that i picked up my
guitar again and wrote my first song
about all the dogs in our neighborhood
and that really revamped my passion for
music i started writing lots of
different songs continued to take guitar
lessons picked up the drums went back to
piano and really just developed a
passion for writing music time to get
out of the house
time to head to the woods
don't got a lot of friends but the ones
i have are good
the whole band's ready so a few years
into seminary i heard about a music
competition called music to change
battle of the bands and it was a
songwriting competition for different
christian bands to come and compete
against one another i didn't really have
a band but i entered by myself i did my
one man band act with my original song
let's go for a race
time to kick this night
into four-wheel drive
[Music]
turn the music up cause it's time to get
down
[Music]
[Music]
[Applause]
[Music]
and thanks be to god ended up winning
the competition but really appreciated
what the message of of it all was
music to change that music should be
something that brings about change music
as art should be something that is
beautiful that draws us outside of
ourselves draws us to eternity draws us
to god and hopefully brings about a
positive change in our christian lives
just a few months ago this church was
packed
so many people we had to adapt chairs in
the hallways chairs in the street
come out as early if you want to see
but things change so fast things change
so soon and suddenly we have plenty of
room
so my dad has always been involved in
pro-life work he did a lot of it before
i was born and now he's on the board of
a pro-life pregnancy help center here in
houston
each year they would do a fundraising
dinner right which was always very
successful but they were looking for
different ways to branch out so the
summer before i entered seminary when i
was 18 my dad said how about you do a
benefit concert for them you've been
writing all of this music you play all
these instruments why not put it to good
use for a good cause
so we had our first concert for life we
had about 300 people come and raised
about fifty thousand dollars it's a lot
of fun it really helped listeners out
have to be a priest or a deacon or a
prophet to grab a prayer and stick it in
your pocket got a prayer book in my
pocket and i'm not afraid to use it
honestly at that point i kind of thought
i was done with music i went off to
seminary and was focused on the
priesthood
[Music]
i used to want an easy life
free of pain and free of strife
i used to think that comfort was pretty
soon the next year came around the
pregnancy help center needed some more
money so we decided to do another
concert for life we brought some other
priests and seminarians in i continued
to write different songs and just this
past summer we did our eighth annual
concert for life we now have raised
collectively over half a million dollars
had crowds of over a thousand people and
it's really developed into something
that um has been a lot of fun and good
for vocations and really hopefully a
huge support to the pregnancy help
centers here
not the whole time i've really been just
in awe of how god works in our lives
right when you come to follow jesus you
might think that you're giving up who
you are when really what god wants to do
is use everything you are for his glory
when you follow christ when you become a
priest he doesn't want to get rid of all
of your talents and your gifts he just
wants you to use them for something
eternal
[Music]
ultimately guys there's a reason why
you're here there's a reason why you're
living in these times a reason why
you're living in this place
god made you because he thought it was a
good idea
god made you because he had something
for you
that nobody else could do so it's good
to take time to to discern that to be
open to whatever god has it's only those
of us who are pursuing the priesthood of
religious life we definitely need your
prayers but don't just pray that god
will send good people
make sure you're open to being the
person he sends
[Music]
[Applause]
[Music]
[Applause]
[Music]
obviously some you know challenges with
the pandemic you know it's kind of crazy
that was like six months in my
priesthood you know we're doing
everything all of a sudden things just
changed you know very suddenly how we
were supposed to minister to people and
a lot of people said like oh i'm so
sorry this is like you're part of your
first year as a priest you know um but i
always told them like this is why i'm a
priest because the world
is broken and you don't know what's
coming next and we've got to make sure
we're focusing on the right things
because everything can pass away and you
know this world can pass away so quickly
that we need to make sure we focus on
things that are eternal so i definitely
felt like god wanted me into me to be a
priest at this time you know for this
time
[Music]
as we get ready to celebrate christmas
here at the parish we're always
wondering how we can engage people and
draw them deeper into the mystery of the
birth of our savior obviously last year
with the pandemic it was hard to have
people in person on campus so someone
came with the idea of having a
drive-through nativity scene where
people could come stay in their cars but
experience kind of the journey of mary
and joseph and and jesus and the birth
of christ welcome to bethlehem
wonderland the story of christmas come
alive
[Music]
[Applause]
so we had all these families come in
they had their costumes and their
children we had some people who work in
radio make this beautiful audio tour
that people could listen to in the car
as they drove through the nativity scene
we really had no idea what to expect we
had never done this before right but we
were totally blown away by the response
from parishioners
[Applause]
what's up guys
how's it going merry christmas it was
wonderful
[Music]
we ended up having i think close to 600
cars in line at one point the line was
almost five miles long eventually we had
to shut the whole thing down because
people in the city couldn't get to like
walmart and other places that they
needed to go but it was a beautiful
outpouring of love for
our child jesus especially i think in
those times um when we experienced the
the uncertainty of life and the
brokenness um it was so comforting i
think for people to be reminded that god
is with us i think our job as catholics
is to let people know that if they need
a savior we have one and to point them
toward him
[Music]
i had a little girl come up to me once
and say
are you god
and you could tell she was disappointed
to answer her question
no
no i'm not
but i can't tell you where to find him
every day i'm going to wake up and try
to be a good priest for you
sometimes i'll succeed
sometimes i'll fail
thank god
the eucharist remains
i'm father david michael
until next time
god bless
good morning again marie hey hey hey hey
hey
i can like dab you
yeah we're doing all these things that
can get beautiful music and then just
cut him saying we never actually do this
hey guys hope you enjoyed the video i
had a blast working with shalom world on
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bless
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