You might say I started a new career after 50 years as a priest, but that’s not entirely accurate.

It’s more like “déjà vu all over again,” to quote Hall of Fame catcher and contemporary philosopher Yogi Berra.

For the last two months, I’ve been involved once again in youth ministry as the new chaplain at St. John’s College High School, my alma mater. It’s new in the sense that my day-to-day “job” is working with young people, but that was also a big part of my early priesthood.

I was very active in youth ministry as a deacon at St. Jane de Chantal, and then again in my first assignment at Little Flower. I then spent the next 11 years as director of CYO and Youth Ministry for the archdiocese. I loved those years, but I admit that much of the work was administrative, so I love being able to work with young people directly. I’ve realized that young people today are much the same as they’ve always been, but they do have some different goals, inspirations and temptations than when I was first ordained.

I celebrate Mass at 7:15 a.m. four days a week in the St. John’s chapel, and then spend time around students coming to school for the day. After that, I go to my office to be available however I am needed and to plan for future Masses and retreats. I’ve celebrated Mass for seniors and juniors, and I’ve been a part of five retreats for freshmen and a junior retreat at the Clagett Center in Adamstown.

I’m so impressed with the openness of our young people, with their desire to draw closer to God, and their willingness to think about how they’re doing in everyday life. While I can’t say much about this, hearing their confessions has inspired me. To listen as young people seek the Lord, admit their faults, try to do better, and do it in sacramental form has become one of my most meaningful activities at St. John’s.

I hear firsthand their worries, concerns, hopes and dreams. They tell me where they are on their life’s path, and where they’ve failed in their pursuit of goodness. They are honest about their successes, and disappointed in their failures. They want to grow closer to God and enjoy all that makes high school so much fun – activities, sports, academics, parties and friends.

When I retired from my full-time role as president and CEO of Catholic Charities, I knew that I might never be able to replace the incredible sense of warmth and fulfillment that comes with being a servant leader doing things for others. But God is in charge, and I again love what I am doing.

It gives me great joy to walk the journey with young people and be seen as an older mentor. I sense that they appreciate the lessons that come with age, and I do my best to share a thought, a blessing or a smile.

I think of a saying I have long loved but only recently discovered is attributed to one of my favorite saints, St. Francis de Sales. He said, “Bloom where you are planted.” God has replanted me, but I am blooming again, grateful to walk with amazing young people and serve however the Lord wants me to.

(Msgr. John Enzler serves as the mission advocate of Catholic Charities of The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Washington and is a chaplain at his alma mater, St. John’s College High School in Washington. He writes the Faith in Action column for the archdiocese’s Catholic Standard and Spanish-language El Pregonero newspapers and websites.)