Seventh grader’s award-winning video shows priesthood as ‘force of good’
An Academy of Our Lady student has won the fifth annual Cardinal Joseph Tobin Award for Priestly Vocations Essay and Video Contest, drawing on his experience as a faithful Catholic and his interaction with priests within his community.
“The priest is there to represent Jesus, make him present, and make him visible,” rising eighth grader Dominic DiRado writes in his award-winning essay.
DiRado is on the student council at the Academy of Our Lady in Glen Rock and an altar server at Our Lady of Mount Carmel Catholic Church in Ridgewood.
“I have been going to church since before I could talk, and my faith has always been a very integral part of my life,” DiRado said.
For the contest, entrants are asked to write a 500-1,000-word essay that draws from personal experience and research and answers: What is the Roman Catholic Priesthood? How is it a force for good in the world?
DiRado’s essay was inspired by his experience as an altar server, as well as his relationships with Father Frank J. Fano, Parochial Vicar at Our Lady of Mount Carmel, and his great uncle, Father Francis A. Riha — referred to fondly by family and in DiRado’s essay as “Great Uncle Ted” — a member of the Maryknoll Fathers and Brothers currently serving his mission abroad in Japan.
Discussing how the priesthood serves as a force for good in his life and community, DiRado wrote “in my opinion, ‘good’ doesn’t cover it. Priests are bringing God to people all over the world, and because God is goodness, they are bringing all of God’s love to people.”
Each school or parish in the Archdiocese is allowed to enter up to three contestants in the essay contest. A panel of volunteer judges then narrow the competition to three finalists, who are tasked with creating a four-minute-long video based on their essays.
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Along with the prestigious title and bragging rights, winning the contest comes along with a commemorative plaque and a monetary award of $1,500. Father Eugenio de la Rama, the Director of the Office of Priestly Vocations, presented DiRado with the award on June 12 following the morning prayer at Academy of Our Lady. His religion teacher, Doris Treuer, also received a $500 prize for her mentorship through the entry process.
Treuer submitted DiRado’s essay to the contest in mid-February, and in March, the Office of Priestly Vocations notified him he was selected as a finalist in the competition.
That is when he began working on the video component of the contest, setting up interviews with Father Riha and Father Fano. Altogether, he said that he devoted over 24 hours to interviewing the priests and editing video footage for the contest.
In his video, DiRado discusses the positive impact that the priesthood has had on his personal life and the lives of others, with a particular emphasis on his experience as an altar server at Our Lady of Mount Carmel.
DiRado said his favorite part of altar serving is being able to actively participate in the Mass.
DiRado takes his duties as an altar server very seriously; he has not missed a single Sunday of altar serving since he completed his training just over a year ago, save for one weekend when he was sick. In his essay, DiRado writes that it is “very interesting to see the behind the scenes of the Mass” and that he enjoys being present “to help by setting the altar and washing the priest’s hands, and therefore can witness the consecration and transubstantiation.
He encourages other youth to get involved in altar service. “It is just something that draws your attention more to the Mass, and we can all agree that it is a good thing. You will never regret being an altar server.”
The Cardinal Joseph Tobin Award for Priestly Vocations was established in 2019. The contest is open to all students who are in seventh grade and are enrolled in a Catholic school or Parish Religious Education Program within the Archdiocese of Newark during the contest period.
“For the past five years it has been a success to host this event,” said Maria Thomas, Administrative Assistant for the Archdiocese of Newark Office of Priestly Vocations. “We hope this contest allows the seventh graders to reflect on the priesthood which would then create a ripple effect when building a culture of vocations.”
The full text of Dominic’s winning essay is available below.
The Roman Catholic Priesthood and How It Is a Force for Good in the World
By Dominic DiRado
The Roman Catholic Priesthood is truly remarkable and vital to the good of the world. It lights the way through the darkness of sin. Priests are called by God to proclaim the Good News of the Gospel. In doing so, they bring so much good to the world. Firstly, I have witnessed how the priesthood is essential to the Mass through altar serving. Secondly, priests hold events and gatherings outside of mass to further teach the Gospel to the world and help people grow their faith, bringing good to the local community. Finally, some priests also serve in foreign lands, like my Uncle Ted does. Priests like this proclaim their beliefs, even in countries where Catholicism is not widely accepted. Overall, the priesthood is amazing and extremely important to the goodwill of God’s Creation.
On Pentecost, Jesus sent the Holy Spirit to his Apostles and told them to spread the Good News far and wide, thus creating the Roman Catholic Church and priesthood that we know and love. Through this, the twelve apostles became the first priests. Today, Roman Catholic priests still continue to fulfill the mission Jesus gave the original Twelve. They do this not in their own name, but in the name of Jesus. This is because we have only one divine priest in Jesus Christ. He does everything in such perfection that nothing can top it. The priest is there to represent Jesus, make him present, and make him visible. In addition, the celebrating priest makes present the Sacrifice of the Mass, also known as the Eucharist, in the image of Jesus. I find this very interesting to see during the Mass.
I have experienced firsthand how the priest makes Jesus present in the Mass while altar serving. The congregation usually can’t see what is happening behind the altar during mass. As an altar server, I am there to help by setting the altar and washing the priest’s hands, and therefore can witness the consecration and transubstantiation. It’s very interesting to see the behind the scenes of the mass. I find it particularly fascinating to see the priest repeat the words of Jesus at the Last Supper. It’s evident that the priest is vital to the parish, because without the priest, there is no mass. In addition to being vital to the mass, priests are essential to the education of parishioners and the formation of prayer groups. Priests are tasked with the responsibility to teach about Jesus. Sometimes priests fulfill this duty by hosting lectures, or teaching at schools on occasion. One common method of teaching is the worship group. Our priest, Father Frank, announced a program like this during his Christmas Day homily. It was called Christlife, and in it there would be dynamic talks, conversations, and more. In a nutshell, it was a seven-week program about coming to know Jesus in a new way. Just two weeks later, the program had sold out, and probably not just because of the free meal offered. Through this program, Father Frank brought several hundred people closer to their faith.
Priests sometimes face difficulties drawing people to God, like my Great-Uncle Ted. He lives in Japan to spread Catholicism as a missionary and serves as the principal of a catholic Kindergarten school. However, Catholicism isn’t very popular in Japan. The two most popular religions are Buddhism and Shinto. Christianity on its own makes up 1.4% of all people there, and approximately 0.34% of Japanese citizens are Roman Catholic. Like so many other catholic priests in foreign countries, he is working against popular faiths to bring his own to the people living there. He left his family in America to share his faith on the other side of the world. He is a very dedicated priest as well, and he’s been one for 54 years. He has been serving as a missionary the whole time. I am sure that my uncle wanted to stay in America, but he followed God’s call to preach in Japan. Without him, these people would have no way to show and grow their faith in Christ.
In conclusion, the Roman Catholic Priesthood is quite amazing, and it is necessary to benefiting the world God created. Since Pentecost Sunday, when the priesthood was born, the priests of Catholicism have been tasked with spreading the Gospel. However, they don’t do this in their own name; rather, they do it in Jesus’s. I have seen this as an altar server from behind the scenes, and it has helped me to realize how important the priesthood is to all local parishes. Many worship groups like Christlife extend the Gospel’s meaning further and bring many people closer to God. In addition, I know of how priests go to foreign countries to spread their faith, like my Uncle Ted. They preach their faith even where it isn’t popular. However, in my opinion, “good” doesn’t cover it. Priests are bringing God to people all over the world, and because God is goodness, they are bringing all of God’s love to people. The priesthood brings hundreds of millions of people closer to their faith, and, in doing so, lights the way to Heaven through a world of sin and darkness. God bless.
