Andrew Orr: Path of Discernment

How do you de-stress?

“I listen to quite a bit of music. I’m also a film buff, I do watch quite a bit of films. A lot of it is very old. Most of the classic films aren’t in English; but music, a lot of it is Christian music.”

Catholic High School graduate Andrew Orr has grown his faith in many ways throughout the years by faithfully attending Our Lady of the Holy Souls Church in Little Rock, keeping an adoration hour at Christ the King Church in Little Rock and participating — and later volunteering — in diocesan youth events, most notably Search and Catholic Charities Summer Institute. 

While each experience produced spiritual fruits in his life, the quiet moments listening to discerners and seminarians share about their spiritual lives continue to have an impact. 

“I would just stay up with them, chill with them, listen to them talk and they’d just talk about their faith journeys,” Orr said. “It definitely made me consider discerning for a while. I’m still leaving it on the table, but right now, I’m going to just continue my college experience and leave my mind open to discerning later in life. I do know I want to be involved with the Church.” 

Orr, 18, a sophomore honors civil engineering major, has served as a eucharistic minister for St. John Newman University Parish at Arkansas State University in Jonesboro. This school year, he will be their sacristan. 

“I think it’s seeing the impact I can have on people,” he said that’s been most spiritually fulfilling, whether he’s sharing his faith with his fellow Catholics or answering questions for students of different religions. 

“I consider it just laying the seeds to let faith grow in people,” he said. “All the little small things that grow over time, from explaining what Ash Wednesday is to explaining why I’m Catholic to all the different elements of my faith, is spreading the seed and seeing where it will grow.”

More stories will appear in our 15 Young Adults Who Inspire Us 2023 Section as they are posted online. Subscribe to Arkansas Catholic’s digital and print publications to read more content like this.