Six priests, five years: Father Samuel Maul
Father Sam Maul chats with first graders at St. Maria Goretti Catholic School in Arlington on Nov. 13, 2024. (NTC/Juan Guajardo)
On May 22, 2021, six men were ordained priests for the Diocese of Fort Worth. Five years later, Father Samuel Maul shares his memories and experiences.
IN FIVE YEARS: I currently serve as pastor of St. Maria Goretti Parish in Arlington; I was previously parochial vicar of St. John the Apostle in North Richland Hills.
It feels very quick, but then if I think about all the things that I have already been a part of, I think, “Well, we've done a lot over the past five years."
ORDINATION MEMORIES: Waiting beforehand, the six of us were sitting there and talking and trying to keep our cool and build each other up. I remember the Kyrie. That's when everything hit. Asking the Lord for His mercy is basically the stance of every priest throughout the entirety of the Mass. Christ have mercy on me for entering into this life. Asking the Lord for His love and His mercy to carry me through. Those moments and the chrism on the hands are the most memorable.
GOD IS NEAR: Constant consolation comes from the Lord in prayer. A lot of my time in preparation and seminary was asking the Lord, "Is this what you want from me? " That got settled about halfway through seminary, but just every day that there's a difficult situation or I'm stressed or I'm overwhelmed, I go to prayer at the end of the day, and Christ always reassures me, "This is what I've asked of you. " Things don’t become too much because it's His will and I trust in Him.
PRIESTLY BLESSINGS: First, it would have to be the connection to the Lord through the Blessed Sacrament. Intrigue about the Blessed Sacrament is what started my journey towards the priesthood, was reaffirmed in seminary, and is the backbone of my life and my devotion to the Lord. Attending to Him who attends to us.
Another blessing is the genuine connections that occur in ministry with the people of God. It’s been very helpful to me, but also just nice.
FATHERHOOD: I’m in the role of father when I am offering a sense of direction, being a stable force connected to the Lord, and as a personal reminder to people about what direction we're supposed to be going and what it is that we're supposed to focus on. All of my pastoral counseling that I offer to people, whether it's immediately after Mass or someone who sets up a meeting, I try to have them refocus or reframe their situation in terms of what is it that Christ asks of us.
SEEKING GUIDANCE: There has just been a constant source of people whose opinions I seek out and I trust all the time, people who are relatively young and people who are very wise and very successful. People of all backgrounds provide me with a ton of great counsel.
PRIESTS AND BROTHERS: Our group of six priests all had to go through the same stuff of being ordained as deacons in that really unsure time of the beginning of the [COVID] outbreak and finishing our last year as deacons during that time. Being ordained together as classmates is a very special bond because we all place the same importance on the same day. Our bond isn't necessarily because we're classmates, but it's because we all serve the same people in the same diocese.
We have a very good presbyterate in which we all work together. We are all bound together and we understand each other and we understand each other's problems. Being ordained for the same purpose really binds us more.
GROWING GOALS: The prayer that I pray every day is that I get out of the Holy Spirit's way. The best priest is one who becomes a vessel and pours out what it is that he has received, not one who stands above all and says, "Look at all that I have.”
Just allowing the Holy Spirit to first form my heart all the more perfectly to love more perfectly, to sacrifice myself more, and to become a worthy instrument of Christ's ministry. One thing that all good seminarians should learn is if you think it's about you, you're wrong.
Over the next five years, I hope I don't grow in the opposite direction of saying, "Oh, look at all these tasks I've accomplished or all these new skills,” but instead “How wonderful it is that the Lord has become more present in my life.”
GRATITUDE FOR THE CALL: I'm just so thankful and have an extreme sense of gratitude every day to the Lord calling me to this life. I pray every day, "Well, Lord, don't let me mess it up."
Perspectives from all six priests ordained on May 22, 2021: