The Celebrate Passion Project - A Standing Ovation At Church!

I am not sure that I have ever seen a standing ovation for a sermon during a Catholic Mass before this morning. But when someone delivers a message with inspired passion, people cannot help but to respond in kind.

Seminarian John Kim spoke at the 9:00 mass at St. John Neumann Church in Austin Texas, and shared his story of how he went from a foreign exchange student from South Korea, majoring in Information Technology, to entering the seminary on his journey toward the priesthood.

He has a calling to serve others and God. He has a passion for his chosen path that echoed through worship hall and touched the hearts of those in the congregation. His journey has not always been an easy one, including family pressures to return to South Korea and pursue a business career. But John is steadfast and confident about his calling.

I think we all long to have a calling of some kind. Something that grabs us deep in our soul and motivates us to overcome all obstacles. This type of passion is what changes the world. When John ended this talk, I just knew that the room would be on their feet applauding. Although that is not a common response during mass, it had to happen because of the power of John's love for his chosen work. The enthusiastic clapping lasted a long time as the audience was touched not only by his words, but by his passion.

If John can keep this level of passion alive and carry it forward once ordained, he will become an amazing priest who will change the world. He has already proven that his enthusiasm for life can raise people to their feet!

Have A Great Day.

thom
www.thomsinger.com

****The Celebrate Passion Project on "The Some Assembly Required Blog" will run all month in December 2007. Every post this month will touch on honoring people who have a special spark for life or helping others (and me!) to discover ways to re-ignite our internal passions for our world.

I challenge other bloggers who read this to dedicate one day in December on their blog to "The Celebrate Passion Project", and in their own way praise those they encounter who have a special way of expressing the excitement in their soul. And then encourage your readers to do the same!