A 17-year-old boy and his father sat before Deacon Miguel Serna in a Catholic church in southern Idaho last year—both riddled by an unspoken pain that had strained their family.
Deacon Serna sensed the tension. He gently led the father and son in silent prayer. “Let’s offer everything to God,” he prompted.
When they opened their eyes, the father spoke to his son: “I used to be like you, and it hurts me seeing you like that,” he tearfully confessed, “but I was afraid to tell you.”
Finally, father and son talked openly about the problem of addiction. Deacon Serna’s ministry in the Diocese of Boise, Idaho, is aimed at just that—helping break the cycles of silence and shame that addiction casts over families.
Last summer Deacon Serna, below, completed certification training through iTHIRST, a faith-based addiction and recovery initiative that Catholic Extension Society has partnered with to offer the program nationally. The training equips faith leaders to pastorally support individuals affected by addiction.
The interaction with the teenage boy and his father, Serna said, is what iTHIRST is all about:
The journey, the walk with Christ. Spiritually growing within.”
He knows firsthand the struggles of this difficult journey with addiction.
A nightmare
Years ago, Serna appeared to have it all together. He was a married father with four kids and working as a farm manager in the dairy business.
But his life was falling apart.
For six years Serna was deeply mired in alcoholism, creating a selfish and unkind version of himself. His addiction hurt his family and landed him in trouble with the law. During this period, a prosecutor in a courtroom even said in front of a judge that “Miguel is worth nothing” and should serve prison time. Those pointed words shocked Serna when he heard them.
On January 2, 2008, he let go of alcohol—but he was not alone. He recalled asking, “God, bring the old Miguel back. I’m here to do your will.” His recovery has sustained ever since. Ten years later, he answered God’s call to become a deacon.
Addressing the root cause
Since 2021, Deacon Serna has served in teen ministry at three parishes in southern Idaho. After he completed iTHIRST training, he began reaching out, sharing his own addiction story with teens. He quickly realized that his words resonated with more teens than he anticipated.
Deacon Serna believes the problem of addiction has been exacerbated in recent years by teens being able to purchase hard drugs online, supplied by local dealers, through mainstream social media platforms. According to state data, fentanyl is the main driver of overdose deaths in Idaho, which tripled between 2020 and 2022. What’s more, Deacon Serna said no effective programs exist to address the root causes of teens’ addictions.
Through his summer course in iTHIRST, which he attended with religious leaders across the country from July to September, Deacon Serna learned how to gently uncover those struggles. When he encounters teens with addiction issues, he gives them a 24-hour assignment inviting them to reflect deeply on why they began taking drugs.
The biggest challenge I encounter with teens is [them questioning], ‘Who am I?’
They don’t know the value they have as a human being,” he said. “Somebody has told them already, ‘You are only this. You can only do this.’”
He has found that teens often turn to substances due to feelings of loneliness. As a result, they seek companionship in the kinds of friends who may introduce them to drugs.
Deacon Serna is accompanying a growing number of families through his ministry. When Deacon Serna meets with parents and teens, he facilitates an exercise that encourages parents to revisit their own youth. In doing this, parents start to see their teen’s struggles through the lens of their past struggles—fostering better understanding and empathy within the family.
A hopeful path forward
Deacon Serna has helped teenagers and their families embrace the healing power of Christ through his focus on eliminating root causes. He engages the help of teens in his youth groups to create a welcoming, healthy and supportive community where teens can interact among their peers.
Witnessing teens thrive in their families and in their lives fuels Deacon Serna’s work.
He hopes to establish much-needed teen ministries across the diocese to address the root causes of destructive behavior by creating trusting environments where teens can be in touch with the God who created them to be light for the world. He knows that sweeping people’s pain and problems under the rug will not help.
Instead, the Church must approach teens with open arms and an open heart.
“We have to stop pretending it doesn’t exist,” Deacon Serna said. “So, we need to work together.”
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Photo credits: Josh Marumoto Photography
