• Cleaning out who knows what from rental vans after a trip
• Shopping with 2 carts in tow at the local warehouse with the food for a retreat
• Asking a Core member to leave the team because they have chosen to move in with their boyfriend or girlfriend
• Always being the last one to lock up the Church every Sunday and Wednesday night
• Waiting 30 minutes for a parent who is running late to pick up their middle schooler
• Having another staff member call you out at a staff meeting for not arranging the chairs the way they needed to be arranged in a classroom
• The reminder at bill time each month of being paid a lot less than you could if you worked in the business world
• Planning a great event only to have just a couple of teens show up
• Having a parent question why their teen has to go on the Confirmation retreat and miss a school activity

When I was growing up almost every time I would whine and complain about something, my dad would simply say – “It goes with the territory” – meaning that more than likely what I was complaining about was something that went along with either the choices I had made or that it was part of being the age I was and wishing I was more grown up. The reality for us in Catholic youth ministry is that there are a lot of potentially unpleasant things we face simply because it goes with the territory. The key is not focusing on all the negatives we face but in realizing the positives that go with the territory. Here are a few that for you to consider: As Catholic youth ministers you get to:

• Have daily interactions with teens
• Learn more about the faith every day
• Work in a building where you are always only a few steps away from the Blessed Sacrament
• Pray for and with teens, families and core
• Visit foreign countries on mission trips and World Youth Day pilgrimages
• Be involved in a ministry that focuses on teens falling deeper in love with Jesus in the Eucharist and deeper in love with Mary
• Make a difference in people’s lives everyday
• Be an important member of an amazing parish community

And a few bonus “Goes with the Territory” reminders on the fun side

• Have video games and fun stuff in your office or youth center as a part of your job
• Get to wear jeans to work everyday
• Go to amusement parks with teens as a part of your job
• Get free T-Shirts
• Have food like pizza and snacks around you most of the time ( I know this can be a positive and a negative )
• Have more friends on Facebook than any of the people you graduated high school with (If you are allowed to have teens as friends by your diocese)

There are a lot of great things that go with with the territory. Which side are you on in Catholic youth ministry? Do you focus on the negatives, the things you have to do or do you focus on the positives, the things you get to do? The answer could make all the difference for you and your parish.