Take 5 with Father: healing for eternity
Fr. Michael Moloney (NTC/Juan Guajardo)
HE IS: Father Michael Moloney, pastor of Saint Mary Parish in Windthorst and Saint Boniface Parish in Scotland.
A COWBOY FROM THE START: Fr. Moloney grew up in Ireland on a dairy farm that has been in his family since 1896. When he was eight, his father took him aside and said, “You’re not getting the farm, you need to get an education.”
SCHOOLED: After medical school in Ireland, the future priest hightailed it to Texas and worked in emergency departments and private practice. He earned a second degree in public health and preventive medicine, then he answered the call to the priesthood.
ORDAINED: June 9, 2012, at St. Patrick Cathedral in Fort Worth.
BEST THING ABOUT BEING A PRIEST: Fr. Moloney finds special meaning in the healing sacraments: Reconciliation and Anointing of the Sick. The former physician is “pleased to be in the business of healing for eternity. I do like the idea of salvation as healing of souls.”
COMMON PRACTICE: Two lessons he learned as a family physician have been good preparation for the priesthood. First, “being on call, 24/7.” Second, “taking a comprehensive assessment of persons — the business of listening, getting a history, the human work.”
CHALLENGE ACCEPTED: With the “high demand for services” for a priest, “you have to surrender.” Fr. Moloney said the greatest challenge, and the greatest joy, comes from surrendering yourself.
AN OPEN BOOK: Within reach of his chair, you’ll find almost a dozen books — on topics Biblical, doctrinal, pastoral, and human. “Only the best books get read cover to cover,” he said. This summer he attended a conference on G.K. Chesterton, one of his favorite authors.
BUILDING UP: Fr. Moloney hopes to build a little Eucharistic chapel on the beautiful grounds of St. Mary. “I think Eucharistic Adoration is what it takes to get the average person up a notch, a couple of notches, in their spiritual life.”
THE LAST WORD: Inspired by his view of the Windthorst football field, he urged, “As we so appreciate excellence in sports and athletics, let us aspire to excellence in our spiritual lives, our sanctification, through the sacraments, mental prayer, and Eucharistic Adoration.”