David Archuleta, of American Idol fame, recently announced that he is taking a hiatus from his pop-star career to serve the Mormon Church as a missionary, and in his faith tradition, David's story is not unique. Is there a Catholic equivalent to this commonplace religious commitment? Maybe we should create one. Rozann Carter explains.
The December 30th issue of the Wall Street Journal ran on Op-Ed piece about David Archuleta, the American Idol Season 7 Runner-up who is putting his musical career on hold for a 2-year stint as a Mormon missionary in a foreign country. “A pop star trades the stage for 10-hour Bible-teaching sessions in a distant land,” read the article’s sub-title, which went on to cite “roughly a third” as the percentage of young Mormon men (average age 19) who elect to serve as missionaries for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.
David Archuleta, because of the “idol” stature of his sacrifice, was painted as a hero by some, a fool by others, and at the very least, an anomaly by the remainder. But, within his own faith tradition, as evidenced by this article, his decision is 1-in-3. His choice is commonplace. His pronouncement, barring the fact that it was made on a concert stage, is somewhat routine.
And, I would argue, therein lies the beauty...