Fr. Mark Moriarty, '95
Alumni Profile -- (Summer 1999 Newsletter)
Mark Moriarty came to the College planning to be a doctor
like his father. He achieved his goal in a way. After graduating
from the College in 1995, he went directly to the seminary
in his native Archdiocese of St. Paul-Minneapolis and was
ordained a priest this past May. He's now a doctor of souls.
Fr. Mark had decided to test his vocation after having found
himself enriched by the intellectual and spiritual life at
the College. "Many things contributed to my vocation,"
he said. "I owe a great deal to the chaplains who were
there during my time at TAC, Fr. [Wilfred] Borden and Fr.
[Gerard] Steckler. The whole college life there has a way
of cultivating the love of truth and the mysteries of our
faith so well."
Having grown up in a Minneapolis suburb, Fr. Mark was eager
to return to the area and work as a priest. "I felt called
to serve back home around the people I knew and the culture
in which I had grown up," he said. "The idea of
being a parish priest - a jack-of-all trades - was something
that seemed to fit my character and abilities. What a challenge
it would be, I thought, to be a teacher, a leader, and a priest
for God's people."
He now embraces that challenge as Associate Pastor at St.
Hubert's Church in Chanhassen, about 40 minutes southwest
of Minneapolis. He serves a growing parish of 2,400 families
along with one other priest and two deacons. Along with general
parish responsibilities, he is in charge of marriage preparation
and training for First Confession and First Communion, something
he particularly enjoys. "I especially love those two
Sacraments," he said.
Serving as a priest in this day and age is no small feat.
"There are great opportunities available to promote the
Sacrament of Reconciliation," is the way he puts it.
"My biggest challenge is, how can I give without counting
the cost?"
"I really pray I'll grow in the gift of celibacy that
I've been granted. This is the year dedicated to God the Father.
And insofar as I have just acquired my own priestly fatherhood,
I so earnestly want to see people reignite their relationship
with their Father in Heaven." Just what the doctor ordered.
-- Qtrly Newsletter, Summer1999
|
