Fr. Hoffman to Serrans: Encouraging vocations is encouraging happiness
Fr. Drew Hoffman spoke the quiet part out loud during his remarks at the Serra 2026 Central Region Convention, held Sept. 25-26 at the Vail in Wichita.
By articulating unspoken assumptions, the pastor of the St. Paul Catholic Center on the Wichita State University Campus helped show how wrong that subtext was.
In fact, he emphasized, the deep joy of life as a priest had shown him that his former beliefs about happiness had been completely wrong.
Fr. Hoffman’s remarks kicked off the convention, which also included talks by:
• Diocese of Wichita Vicar for Evangelization, Discipleship, and Stewardship Fr. Jarrod Lies;
• Fiat Ministries Foundress and Director Emily Savage;
• Superintendent of Catholic Schools Janet Eaton;
• Office for the Beatification of Venerable Emil Kapaun Coordinator Scott Carter;
• St. John the Evangelist, El Dorado, Pastor Fr. John Lanzrath;
• Serra International Executive Director John Liston; and
• Bishop Carl A. Kemme.
The conference also featured a live recording of the “About 4 O’Clock” podcast that Fr. Hoffman hosts alongside St. Philip Neri Seminary Rector Fr. Chad Arnold and Assistant Rector for Pastoral Formation Fr. Garett Burns.
A path of joy
Fr. Hoffman acknowledged that he never wanted to be a priest as he grew up, and during those years largely considered the priesthood a necessary – but bleak – calling relegated to those who drew God’s “short straw.”
“I admired the guys that did it because I thought to myself, ‘You gave up being happy so that I could have Jesus,’” he said. “‘You live a bummer of a life, and I get to go to Heaven, and that’s a pretty good trade-off for me, but I hope I don’t have to be one of you.’”
Fr. Hoffman suggested a similar message influenced the broader culture’s view of the Church, in part because of many Catholics’ unspoken message: “We have promoted Catholicism as ‘Listen. I know it’s not fun … I know church is kind of boring, but you can be brave,” he said. “‘I know the sexual teaching of the Church is frustrating, but you better do it.’ No one is saying this, but that is how our young people have received it.”
And yet, such a “check a box” attitude assumes that happiness is a product of chasing one’s desires, Fr. Hoffman noted. He indicated that his perspective began to evolve when he encountered the concept that human life only makes sense when it’s recognized as a gift to be given back to God and others.
“I thought about the happiest people in my life … my parents, my teachers,” he said. “I started to think of some priests – they were not happy because they had fancy things or lived easy lives. They were happy because they gave from the moment they woke up to the moment they went to bed. They gave themselves to their kids, to their students, to their parishioners, and they were so happy, and I wanted to be happy.
“The priesthood has made my life make sense in terms of how I was created, who I was meant to be, where my destiny is in this life and in the next,” he added. “I share that simply, as you encourage a young man to discern his vocation to the priesthood, you’re not encouraging a young man (with a tone of) ‘Hey, you probably better do this.’”
Instead, he suggested, “I just want to offer a word of encouragement that you guys are giving men a chance to have their lives make more sense than they ever could have dreamed.”
