'I've Never Been More Excited To Live Life'
On Saturday, June 8, Deacon Christopher Droste will be ordained to the priesthood at St. Benedict Cathedral. Several days ago the Message caught up with Deacon Droste, 33, to discuss his year spent as a transitional deacon and his expectations for the priesthood.
The Message: It has been a year since you were ordained a transitional deacon. How have these last 12 months gone for you?
Deacon Droste: It’s been a new experience to kind of learn more about who I am and the new relationship that I have with others within the community as an ordained man. You have a whole new self-awareness that is hard to put into words because people not only see you as “Christopher Droste,” but they see you as a deacon and a minister of the Church. That takes some getting used to, to get used to living in that skin.
A lot of the experiences I’ve had have prepared me for this transition, but in terms of experiencing people’s expectations, their perceptions of who I am and my relationship to them, that’s a whole new dynamic. And I think this whole year, it’s happened even in seminary with other seminarians, and with my family and with people that I serve. You do become something different, and it can feel a little uncomfortable at first, but I continue to grow into that.
The Message: You mentioned feeling like your relationship with some of your fellow seminarians, or perhaps how they came to perceive you, started to shift once you become a deacon. Can you talk more about that?
Deacon Droste: I think for me, it was about helping them grow by letting them see someone in the place that they’re striving towards, and to just share with them my experiences. I actually shared this with some of our guys this year -that I felt like I was kind of a bridge between where I’d been as a seminarian and where all of us, as seminarians, were striving to go. I was still sharing a lot of the same experiences, the same formation, but I was also in a place where I was doing a lot of things outside the seminary, and the best way I could put it is that you kind of feel like you have one foot in the seminary and one foot out, and you’re trying to sort of hold that tension of being in both places.
The Message: Have you had any opportunities over the past year to share your experienced with young people in the diocese who might still be working to discern their vocation?
Deacon Droste: Initially I was a little nervous about ministering to youth, especially teens. When I was that age, I didn’t really participate in the life of the Church, so I guess I had this concern about whether they would think that I was relatable and whether there would be something attractive about who I am. How could I show them something attractive about what I do? How could I connect to them and relate to them? And ultimately I realized that the best way I could do that was to not try to be anyone but myself; just to be real. It’s hard to measure how productive I’ve been thus far in terms of helping young people to be open to the presence of God in their lives, but I think ultimately it’s about being as real and honest with them as you can be.
The Message: What are some of the things you’re most looking forward to about your June 8 ordination? And what, if anything, are you a bit anxious about?
Deacon Droste: I think what I’m looking forward to most is just celebrating the life of faith in the diocese - having a reason to celebrate the ordination of a priest. Certainly it’s profound that I’m the one being ordained, but I don’t really see it as my moment. I feel like it’s the life of the faith that’s been nurtured in me that is coming to fruition. God calls and sends vocations, and I happened to be one that He’s specifically chosen to be a priest in this diocese, along with other priests, and so my ordination is a reason to be thankful and to celebrate that fact. People being brought together and witnessing to that fact is the greatest thing that I look forward to – to see everyone there, participating in their own way. I hope it’s a very festive weekend.
The only nervousness or anxiety I have arises from the simple fact that I’m not a person who really seeks out the spotlight. But on the other hand, if my ordination provides an opportunity for people to be inspired and to experience joy in their faith, then I’ll get over that pretty quick. There’s also some nervousness just knowing that I’m about to take another big step into a more public ministry, a more public way of life, and that a lot will be expected of me. In some ways I feel like things are coming at me really fast, but I’ve had a lot of really good preparation for this moment in my life and for the future, and ultimately I feel like if this is where God wants me, then he’ll provide the resources I need to carry out His mission.
The Message: What are your thoughts on entering the priesthood at such a transitional time for our diocese, as we prepare to embark upon strategic planning?
Deacon Droste: I firmly think that the real challenge is maintaining a positive and open disposition towards the proposals that are being made, and movement of the Holy Spirit. This can always bring about a risk or the possibility of accepting new, unfamiliar, unforeseen circumstances. No matter who we are, and where we’re at in the mix, sacrifice will be demanded of everyone, and if we all can try to embrace this out of affection for Christ and one another, than everything will tend to follow His design, rather than the one we may prefer or construct based off a spirit of fear, insecurity and possessiveness.
I think it’s always challenging to try to maintain a sense of openness to conversion through all of the unforeseen events that may come our way, but really that’s part of the challenge of being a Christian. We’re constantly undergoing a transformation, sometimes in ways that we welcome and sometimes in ways that we don’t. And ultimately our challenge is to rediscover our identity and mission through these changes.
The Message: You’ve talked in the past about your love for music and the fact that you spent time exploring music as a possible vocation before entering the seminary. How does your passion for music impact you today, and what effect do you think it might have on your priesthood and your approach to ministry?
Deacon Droste: The power of music to inspire people, to open their hearts and minds, to bring them together to sing, is really unique and beautiful. There’s so much that music evokes in us. It has the ability to attract us, mystify us and move us in a very profound way. For music to be good, true and beautiful, it has to follow a certain order; there has to be a harmony that works but also a tension. When all of the pieces and instruments of a musical composition come together, it’s one of the most beautiful and awe-inspiring experiences we’ve been given by God. And I definitely see a connection between creating and playing music and living our lives as Christians. I think we all play an instrument, a part, in singing the song of God’s being, and we have to work and practice at honing our skill of living to witness and express the Christian life in a beautiful, harmonious way. The same way that I’m attracted to music and how it breathes and moves, that’s how I try to live my life - with that same kind of awareness.
A lot of people like and appreciate music, but when you start to realize how challenging and demanding it can be to create and play music, I think it can alter your perspective. Playing music, or even just singing along with a song, demands participation and it really draws you in. I think there’s something written in the grammar of music that shows us the depth of our reality and our relationship with the mystery of God.
The Message: Without asking you to go into an exhaustive list of names, because I’m sure countless people have helped form and shape you into the individual you are today, can you talk a little bit about some of the mentors you’ve had along your path to the priesthood?
Deacon Droste: I can’t imagine being who I am and where I am today without meeting a number of people who have shown me the way and opened me up to who I could become. Some of these were people who witnessed to me in a very attractive and powerful way and showed me what it means and how it means to be a priest – how to live and approach ministry with a passion and integrity and genuineness.
I’ve truly been blessed to have a real variety of people placed in my life. Early on it was Bishop Paul Etienne. When I was up at (Simon) Bruté (Seminary), he was the vice rector, and I really connected with him. He really helped me along while I was there. I also got to go to Rome and I became very close with a couple of religious priests who were very strong in the arts – in poetry and music. Their friendship and their example helped me to bring the fullness of my humanity into my vocation and allowed me to realize that I can allow God to use all of me in this work.
Here in the diocese, there are really too many names to mention. But if I had to name a couple, it would be Father Alex (Zenthoefer), my vocations director, and Father Tony Ernst. They both have been a real support to me and also they’ve been great friends. I’m really excited about being able to embrace them both as real brothers in the priesthood.
There are also so many great figures in Church history from which to draw inspiration. The last two Holy Fathers, John Paul II and Benedict XVI, I’ve followed pretty much everything they’ve done. I’m inspired by the saints – men and women, past and present, who, by the holiness of their lives, express what true humanity is by their affection for Christ, and the offering they make of their lives as a total response to Him.
The Message: Is there anything else you would like to say to the people of the diocese as your ordination draws near?
Deacon Droste: Something that I’m excited to share is this: It’s a mystery to me how I’ve been given such an opening and such a gift of faith that would lead me to where I am now. I’ve never been more at peace, never been happier, never been more excited to live life than I am right now. Even in the midst of all the struggles, challenges and sufferings that we all live through, the joy of living a life with God and within the Church…it’s where it’s at.
Ultimately I hope that what I can bring through my ministry is the sense that it’s possible to look deeper into reality to realize there’s a whole new world that you might not know is waiting for you. It’s really an amazing journey if you open yourself up to God up and allow Him to permeate your life with His presence. It’s really about believing and trusting in the promise that living a life of faith, following Jesus, is how we experience true happiness in life, and that it can be realized now. Obviously we’re pilgrims and we must hope to reach our final destiny in heaven, but we must begin anew every day, trusting in the mercy of God, and strive to live as intensely as we can towards this promise now, and make our life’s mission to share this experience with others! It’s all given to us in the life of the Church, and that’s what I hope to effectively communicate to people.
