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By Priscilla Greear, Staff Writer
DULUTH — Four men ordained to the priesthood June 2 include a
convert to Catholicism and a man whose faith was repressed by communism while
he was growing up.
Those ordained were Father Randall T. Mattox and Father Joseph J.
Shaute, both of Atlanta, Father Pavol Brenkus from Slovakia and Father Maxis
St. Fleur from Cerca-La-Source, Haiti. All four attended Notre Dame Seminary in
New Orleans where they received the master of divinity degree in May. Their
ordination was celebrated at St. Benedict Church by Archbishop John F.
Donoghue.
Standing in the vestibule with nervous excitement beforehand, the
future Father Shaute said that after working for several years in sports
journalism and public relations now, at 37, “everything clicks.”
“I was resisting this for so long. You spend all these years
where you have this little voice inside saying, ‘God doesn’t know
what’s best for you in your life.’ That voice leads you astray,
saying you need a great career, to
have a house, all the material things will bring you happiness.
Then you start realizing you aren’t happy and you start opening yourself
up to God and he fills you with his love and that love eventually makes his
desire your desire.”
In a country with a significant priest shortage, all four men
expressed deep desire and enthusiasm to answer their call and serve God through
the priesthood. The rite was held in a church full of their friends and
families. Concelebrants included Msgr. David Talley, the outgoing director of
vocations, and over 50 priests. The parish choir directed by J. Wayne Baughman
provided music.
Scripture readings were given in English by Joe Shaute, father of
the candidate, and in French by Fenelle Guillaume, a friend of Rev. Mr. St.
Fleur from New Orleans. After Msgr. Talley called the candidates forward,
Archbishop Donoghue accepted them for the priesthood and the congregation
responded with applause.
In his homily the archbishop said this is a day to rejoice, as God
sees and provides for the needs of the archdiocese and “from our midst,
from our care, from our love” raises up men worthy to be his priests.
“In their vocation, we ourselves are fulfilled — as family, as
community, as Church,” the archbishop said.
The priesthood is a calling, he said, and, once called, men are
also called to God’s standard of conduct, reflected in the counsels of
poverty, chastity and obedience.
Priests must try to imitate God’s generosity in Christ by
self-giving, he said.
“Nothing we have can be ours, if others need it more.
Therefore, no day must go by, without a priest knowing that a sacrifice must be
made, that something must be given, and nothing taken in return. This is
poverty, as the Holy Spirit teaches us through the Church, and it is the first
of the protective mantles we don at ordination, for the love of Christ, and for
the service of His people.”
He spoke of the grace the priests receive to be chaste, saying
they must be channels of God’s grace to others, sacrificing preference for
any one person, talent or office.
“Though we ourselves are incapable of creating this power,
this perfect love called grace, it is still within our ability to act as
channels, by which God will distribute grace to His people,” he said.
“But any act whereby we seek to take back a part for ourselves, any act
whereby we betray this trust that God has committed to our care — the
selfless giving of His grace — or any limitation of our capacity, by
focusing our affections upon one person, one talent, one office — all
these would be sins against chastity as God reveals it, and we must seek His
strength to stay clear of those things which tempt us to the betrayal of this
trust.”
The third counsel of obedience, he said, means priests must bear a
perfected love for others, in imitation of God’s perfect love.
“Perhaps we cannot truly attain personal perfection on earth,
but we can make of our obedience a perfect thing, by one simple means — by
being faithful, without exception, to the teaching of the Church that God has
given us, by the words of His Son, and by the power of the Holy Spirit,”
he said. “Nothing the Church teaches offends God — everything the
Church teaches is an expression of His perfection.”
He asked the congregation to pray that the new priests will hold
these counsels all their lives for the benefit of themselves and those they
serve.
As the candidates faced him, the archbishop asked them if they
were resolved to serve as priests with a clear conscience and prayerful spirit.
“I am, with the help of God,” they answered in unison, after which
they promised obedience to him and his successors. The candidates then
prostrated themselves before the altar in prayer during the Litany of the
Saints.
Afterward, as each candidate knelt before him, Archbishop Donoghue
laid his hands on him, signifying the conferral of God’s Holy Spirit in
ordination. Then in procession, some smiling, some pensive, all the
concelebrating priests laid hands on each candidate. The archbishop spoke a
prayer of consecration, completing the act of ordination.
After a few chosen friends and family members vested each new
priest with his stole and chasuble, the archbishop anointed their hands with
chrism, signifying their ministry to heal, sanctify and offer prayer.
In a sign of peace, all the priests embraced the newly ordained
priests before they gathered with the archbishop at the altar to celebrate the
Eucharist for the first time.
The host pastor, Msgr. Hugh Marren, spoke at the end of the Mass,
thanking those who led the service, asking the congregation to pray for
seminarians that “they will complete their journey to priesthood” and
calling on parents to encourage their children to consider religious vocations.
At a reception afterward, Father Shaute recalled that while his
vocation was always “underneath the surface,” it became evident after
1991 when he became involved in the youth ministry at St. Ann Church, Marietta.
“That ministry really helped me to grow in terms of my own
personal spiritual growth and my relationship with Jesus and at that time that
whisper because louder. And eventually you have to listen to God — he
becomes irresistible.”
“He’s inviting you in love to go in the direction he
knows is best for you and the more you follow him the more you realize this is
it,” he said. “But you also realize today is not an end. It’s a
new beginning and what has gotten me to today is that relationship with Jesus
and what will guide me in the future is that relationship with Jesus because
otherwise this can be empty so quickly.”
As he develops in pastoral ministry, Father Shaute also hopes to
utilize his communications background for the archdiocese.
“I certainly do have an interest, whether it’s an
occasional article in The Georgia Bulletin or whatever other ways I can bring
my gift to working in archdiocesan communications. Being a priest with a
background in communications and journalism I have a different appreciation for
communications than a lot of priests do.”
His sister, Michele, said her brother was an academic, but also a
“people-person” and has “always had a very gentle nature.”
“I think of that as a very important characteristic as a
priest and he’s always been very compassionate,” she said. For her,
his vocation was “inevitable.” She recalls him quizzing her before
high school religion tests and standing next to her at Mass reciting portions
of it with the priest. “As a kid you kind of elbow your brother like
‘stop doing that’ . . . It’s like ‘Oh my gosh. Now
he’s doing it,’” she chuckled. “We’re all incredibly
proud of Joe.”
His father, Joe, who said he was “just delighted,” said
that his son was theologically inquisitive by second grade and remained
involved in church activities, although in high school he became sports
oriented.
“Quite a few people told him ‘you should be a
priest’” before he decided on it five years ago, Shaute said. The new
priest’s mother, Anne, said that trying journalism first made him “a
great listener” and gave him poise and presence on the altar.
“His own personality is to be very kind,” she said.
“We’re thrilled for Joe that he has found his niche in life and he is
happy and very content but ready to go to work. I think he has found exactly
where he belongs.”
A longtime friend, Chris Kohn of San Antonio, Texas, recalled
working with Father Shaute in youth ministry and at a reconciliation service
where he reached out to hurting teens and “really stood out as a
minister.”
He has been a solid friend, said Kohn, particularly when Kohn
dropped out of seminary. “Joe has been rock solid for me and that’s
not easy to find because a lot of people aren’t . . . If somebody has had
a bad day Joe is a great person to talk to.”
James Mattox also used the word compassionate to describe his son,
Father Mattox, who grew up in the Episcopal Church and became a Catholic after
college.
“I’m very proud. I think it’s wonderful,” he
said of his son’s ordination. “I think his faith is extremely sincere
. . . He’s very compassionate and listens to people’s problems, needs
to help people . . . He’s very caring.”
Mattox said his son was extensively involved in music and acting
while growing up and has performed in numerous plays. Majoring in religion at
Emory University in Atlanta, and growing up in the Episcopal Church, he
developed strong faith and an awareness of the Holy Spirit, his father said.
His conversion to Catholicism and his ordination have built on that foundation
and have focused his desire to serve the Lord.
“It didn’t come together for him ‘til he found the
Catholic Church. That became the initial bind and then he went to seminary and
all the loose ends started coming together,” said Mattox.
He added that he has become interested in Catholicism and that he
and his wife are beginning a Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults program
this fall.
Father Mattox’s seminary friend, Father Bob Frederick, a
parochial vicar at St. Jude the Apostle Church, Atlanta, called his friend a
“deep thinker.”
“He was always the one who would ask questions from
perspectives that no one had thought of. The depth of his understanding was
admired by his classmates,” Father Frederick said.
He has an “outward focus” and is “extremely
approachable and open and positive . . . A lot of people seem to be drawn to
him in different parishes.”
Father Mattox said the Eucharist and Mary drew him to convert to
Catholicism in 1994, after which he discerned his vocation, and as a convert he
will never take it for granted. During the discernment and formation period he
struggled with the sacrifice of family life called for by the priesthood and
with the loss of mentors. But now he’s at peace. “It’s
wonderful, a real blessing, a sense of homecoming.”
Father St. Fleur said his road to priesthood has been long, as he
began by entering a seminary in Haiti, then left in 1990 and studied business.
He returned to the seminary in New Orleans to become a priest for the Atlanta
Archdiocese.
He spoke of the struggles and fears he faced going back to the
seminary as an older student when friends were settling into careers, marrying
and having children, and of the difficulty of having to study in his second
language, English. But he is thankful to God.
“I feel very happy to be a priest because I have been
studying for priesthood for a long time,” he said. “Seminary life is
not easy. You can’t do it by yourself as humans. Without God’s
presence and prayer I would not be able to make it to today.”
“It’s God’s will for me to become a priest and
God’s will for me to come to the U.S.,” he said. “It’s a
big challenge being in service here and studying in a different language, but
what is good is the support of the people in Atlanta and other places, of my
bishop and the director of vocations.”
Father Guyma Noel, pastor of St. Matthew Church, Winder, is
grateful to have his close friend and fellow Haitian in Atlanta. With a Haitian
community of some 30,000 in the archdiocese, he believes Father St. Fleur will
be able to “build a bridge between Haitian culture and the American
culture” and a bridge with the Hispanic community.
“He learned Spanish. He’s a man of culture,” Father
Noel said. “I’m looking forward to working with him as he works with
American families, with Spanish, with everyone in the diocese. He’s open
to everyone.”
Father St. Fleur is “very dedicated,” the pastor said.
“He’s a man of ‘yes.’ When he says he’s going to do
something, he’s going to do it. He relates well with young people.
Together we were leaders of the youth group in Haiti.”
His friend, who served as a lector in French at the Mass, said
Father St. Fleur is a spiritual mentor to her daughters and he is like a son to
her.
Father Noel said the priest’s family was not able to come to
the ordination because they were denied visas, a plight that also occurred at
his own ordination Mass.
In the absence of their families, seminary professor Elizabeth
Willems, SSND, was particularly happy to support Father St. Fleur and Father
Brenkus with her presence at the ordination.
“I’ve watched (Father St. Fleur) adjust as not only a
man of a different culture, but as a black man, and having to deal with racial
tensions of this culture,” she said. “He’s a genuine man, a
caring man.”
Father Brenkus, she said, is a creative thinker with an open mind.
“He comes at things from a fresh approach, a new approach. He
looks at things from all angles. I appreciate that in him and he
questions,” she said. “He’s a very simple man. And he can laugh
and he feels people’s pain.”
A Slovakian friend and priest, Father Jozef Kovacik from Altoona,
Penn., said Father Brenkus brings a strong appreciation of family values,
coming from a family in which he had eight siblings and from a country and
culture with stronger family ties. He also spoke of Father Brenkus’
intelligence and of his travels, as he has lived in Germany and the Czech
Republic.
“He will enrich people with his wisdom and he likes to serve
and help people any way he can,” the priest said. “He likes to read
and travel too. That’s one of the best ways to know other cultures, (the)
mentalities of people.”
Growing up in the former communist Czechoslovakia, Father Brenkus
attended Catholic Church and the underground church, which offered more
activities for youth, discouraged by the government. There, Salesian priests
helped him discern his vocation.
It was a difficult decision to leave his entire family in Slovakia
to serve in this archdiocese, he said, but the church there is strong, with
more seminarians, and he saw a greater need overseas. He was touched by the
presence of American friends at the ordination.
“It was good to see a lot of friends. I haven’t had
anybody from my family here. It was so good to see so many people come to join
me to celebrate today, (to celebrate) that great joy,” he said.
As he settles into his first assignment at St. Thomas More Church,
Decatur, Father Brenkus plans to “learn from my pastor and people as much
as I can for my benefit and the benefit of the people I serve.”
Father Pavol Brenkus
Age: 29 Birth Date: Feb. 26, 1972
Place of Birth: Rabcice, Slovakia, near the border with Poland,
about 20 miles from Krakow
Parents: Xaver Brenkus and Johanna Brenkusova
Siblings: Six brothers, one a seminarian, and two sisters
Education: Studied theology from 1989-94 at University of J.A.
Komensky, Spisske Podhradie, Spisska Kapitula, Slovakia; master of divinity
degree from Notre Dame Seminary, New Orleans, May 2001.
Work Experience: Held summer jobs in East Germany and in Czech
Republic; worked for two summers at children’s camp in Germany; worked for
two years as an attendant at a Slovakian hospital; taught for one year at an
elementary school.
Primary Hobbies and Interests: Reading, hiking, traveling
Pastoral Internships: Summer 2000, St. Peter Church, LaGrange;
summer 1999, Clinical Pastoral Education at Emory University Hospital, Atlanta,
working with Alzheimer’s patients; in residence at St. Thomas More Church,
Decatur; fall 1996-spring 1997, St. Joseph Church, Marietta; summer 1996, St.
Catherine of Siena Church, Kennesaw.
Additional Languages: Slovak, Czech, Polish, Russian
Particular Ministries of Interest: Parish ministry
First Assignment: Parochial vicar at St. Thomas More
Church,Decatur, a parish of about 1,200 families.
Pastor: Father Frank Richardson
Father Randall T. Mattox
Age: 34 Birth Date: Dec. 29, 1966
Place of Birth: Marietta
Parents: James and Nancy Mattox
Siblings: One brother, one half-brother and three half-sisters
Education: Bachelor’s degree in religion from Emory
University, 1988; master of divinity degree from Notre Dame Seminary, New
Orleans, May 2001.
Work Experience: Mental health counselor at Charter Peachford
Hospital, Atlanta, 1988-92 and at West Georgia Medical Center, LaGrange,
1992-94; has acted occasionally in industrial films, theatre and has been a
performer at Six Flags.
Primary Hobbies and Interests: Computers, music, singing, camping,
hiking
Pastoral Internships: Summer 2000, St. Mary Church, Rome; summer
1999, El Paso Project, Spanish immersion program, El Paso, Texas; summer 1998,
Clinical Pastoral Education at St. Joseph’s Hospital, Columbus; fall
1997-98, St. Joseph Church, Marietta; summer 1997, St. Marguerite
D’Youville Church, Lawrenceville; summer 1996, Spanish immersion program
in Dominican Republic; 1994-95, St. Mary Church, Rome.
Additional Languages: Spanish, French
Particular Ministries of Interest: Rite of Christian Initiation of
Adults, adult education
First Assignment: Parochial vicar at Holy Cross Church, Atlanta, a
parish of about 1,500 families.
Pastor: Msgr. Paul Fogarty
Father Joseph J. Shaute
Age: 37 Birth Date: Dec. 10, 1963
Place of Birth: Tacoma, Wash.
Parents: Joseph and Anne Shaute
Siblings: One sister
Education: Bachelor’s degree in journalism with a
broadcasting concentration from Georgia State University, 1986; master of
divinity degree from Notre Dame Seminary, New Orleans, May 2001.
Work Experience: Freelance writer for the Gwinnett Daily News
1985-88; freelance production assistant for Turner Sports, 1986-88; newscaster
and reporter for WIYN-AM Radio in Rome; sports publicity and media relations at
Emory University, 1987-91; advertising, marketing and trade writing for a
claims adjusting corporation, 1990-91.
Primary Hobbies and Interests: Golf, sports, writing
Pastoral Internships: June-October 2000, St. Lawrence Church,
Lawrenceville; summer 1999, Clinical Pastoral Education program at St.
Joseph’s Hospital, Atlanta; summer 1998, St. Pius X Church, Conyers;
summer 1997, Spanish immersion program in the Dominican Republic.
Additional Languages: Spanish .
Particular Ministries of Interest: Youth ministry, liturgy,
pastoral counseling, hospital ministry, writing and communications
First Assignment: St. Joseph Church, Marietta, a parish of
approximately 2,500 families.
Pastor: Father Paul Berny
Father Maxis St. Fleur
Age: 37 Birth Date: May 3, 1964
Place of Birth: Cerca-La-Source, Haiti
Siblings: Five brothers and sisters
Parents: Pademil St. Fleur and the late Margueritte Charles
Education: Attended Notre Dame Seminary, Port-Au-Prince, Haiti,
until 1990; master of divinity degree from Notre Dame Seminary, New Orleans,
May 2001.
Pastoral Internships: June-October 2000, Cathedral of Christ the
King, Atlanta; summer 1999, Clinical Pastoral Education, Birmingham, Ala.;
summer 1998, St. Lawrence Church, Lawrenceville; 1996-1997, pastoral year, Sts.
Peter and Paul Church, Decatur.
Additional Languages: Spanish, Creole, French
Particular Ministries of Interest: Youth ministry
First Assignment: Church of the Transfiguration, Marietta, a
parish of 4,082 families.
Pastor: Msgr. Patrick Bishop
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