January 14, 2011
Blessing of new drivers
Teenagers at St. Philip Church blessed by pastor, congregation
Father Thomas Kessler and members of the congregation bless new drivers during a Sunday Liturgy at St. Philip Church in Posey County. Click for a larger version.
By MARY ANN HUGHES (Message staff writer)
Years ago, when Deanna Goossens was a young girl of 11, her 22-year-old brother was killed in a car accident. “He survived Viet Nam,” she remembers, but not the accident.
That’s why she was so intrigued by an article she read “four or five years ago in the Message about a priest in another diocese who did blessings for young drivers.
“I thought that was the needed thing.”
The 2007 Catholic News Service story was about a priest in Oklahoma who held special blessings twice a year for young drivers and their cars.
The story said that “according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta, car crashes are the leading cause of death for U.S. teenagers, accounting for 36 percent of all deaths in the 16-19 age group. Statistics also show that teens are four times more likely than any other age group to have an automobile accident.”
Deanna, a member of the Respect Life Committee at St. Philip Church in Posey County, recently asked her pastor, Father Tom Kessler, to bless young drivers at a Sunday Liturgy.
Because this was the first blessing of its kind in the parish, all the high school students with drivers’ licenses and those with learning permits were invited to come up to the altar for the blessing.
“It was a lovely blessing,” she said, “from the book of blessings.”
The pastor reminded the young drivers that “driving is a privilege, not a right, and that they have a responsibility to be safe drivers, to be considerate drivers.”
He told them that “life is a gift from God,” and to be “considerate on the road.”
About 30 teenagers received the blessing from Father Kessler and the congregation. They also received hand-made key chains which were decorated with beads, crosses and angels. “The kids thought they were so ‘cool,” she said. “They seemed to like them.”
The parents also liked the idea of the blessing, and many have requested that it become an annual event. “The people really did like it.”
She believes it’s important for the Respect Life Committee members to “always look for ways to respect life — to try to do it from different angles.”
And, she believes, it’s important for teenagers to be reminded that “life is fragile. They think they are invincible.”