| Pigskin
Pastor Father Tom recalls a conversation he had over breakfast one Sunday morning with Msgr. James Heslin, pastor of the Cathedral-Basilica at the time. Msgr. Heslin told him, “Why don’t you give priesthood a try, because there you can affect more people.” From an early age, Father Tom was active in the church. His parents, now deceased, made sure Father Tom and his younger sister Tina received a Catholic education. According to Father Tom, he comes from a non-traditional family. “My mother was a Catholic from Pittsburgh and my father, a non-Catholic Christian from St. Augustine,” he explained. Both his parents were previously married and they didn’t practice their faith much. Father Tom said, “It took mom three years and a second child to finally convince the pastor to baptize us.” In the fourth grade, Father Tom became an altar server. By the time he received his First Communion, his mother had stopped attending church with him. “If I wanted to go to church, I had to get on my bike and go,” Father Tom said.
Rain or shine, Father Tom made sure he got to Mass and by the time he was in high school he was hired by Msgr. Heslin as a sacristan where he would set up for Mass and other liturgies. He even served at Masses for the late Bishop Paul Tanner. These experiences, he said, put him in the right frame of mind to consider the priesthood. He also credits his vocation to the caring support he received from the Sisters of St. Joseph. Father Tom remembers the night he told his parents that he wanted to become a priest. He sat down with them in their living room and broke the news. His mother’s reaction, he said, wasn’t all that favorable and his father didn’t have much to say – so he returned to his bedroom. His father came in a few minutes later and said, “I know your mom wasn’t necessarily in favor of what you told us, but I want you to know that whatever you decide to do, your mother and I will support you.” After graduation in 1975, Father Tom met with the vocations director for the Diocese of Saint Augustine, and began making plans to attend St. Meinrad Seminary in Indiana. He studied there for four years and graduated in Dec. 1979 with a bachelor’s in history. The following fall he entered St. Vincent de Paul Seminary in Boynton Beach, Fla., where he studied theology for another four years. In 1983, just two nights before his ordination to the diaconate, and after seven years of study and discernment, Father Tom said he fully decided to go into ordained ministry. Up until this point he believed that he was in control of his call to the priesthood. “It’s amazing. You don’t see how it’s all planned out, but God is in so much more control and is doing more to walk with you than you realize.” Father Tom was ordained to the priesthood by Bishop John J. Snyder on May 26, 1984. Since his ordination, Father Tom has been called to serve in many roles in the diocese, including: associate pastor of five parishes, pastor of his current parish, Most Holy Redeemer, chair of the Liturgical Commission for the diocese and Catholic Chaplain of the Jacksonville Jaguars football team – to name a few. Father Tom has served as the Catholic Chaplain since the Jaguars first draft in April 1995. He celebrates Mass the night before each home game for the Catholic players, coaches and their families, and on game day, you can see him on the sidelines cheering for the team. During training camp in the summer, Father Tom said he makes himself more available to the players because many of them are living out of a hotel far from home, and they literally have nobody available to them. “I have become one friendly face that they know they can pull aside and talk to,” said Father Tom. “I have also had the pleasure of preparing a number of them along with their fiancée for marriage, and presiding at the marriages of a few of them.” So what gives him strength to minister to the people and affect lives? Father Tom will tell you the highpoint of his priesthood is when he is the celebrant at Eucharist, especially on Sunday. “You draw so much of your spirituality as well as your strength in ministry from the Eucharist,” Father Tom said. He also values his time in the confessional. “I’m amazed at how much influence you have over people’s spiritual lives by being a good confessor,” he said. “When I’m going into the confessional, my first prayer is, ‘Lord don’t let me get in the way.” Finding the time to fulfill the expectations people have of you is one of the biggest challenges he faces as a priest. A self-proclaimed perfectionist, Father Tom said he has learned that “when you don’t have time to minister it’s because you haven’t made enough time to pray.” He said it’s critical that he maintains a routine that includes daily prayer. “I know the life that I live right now, the vocation I’ve answered, is fulfilling in so many ways,” said Father Tom. “There is a satisfaction in knowing that what Msgr. Heslin said to me that one Sunday morning – consider the priesthood because you can influence people more than you will ever know – is absolutely right.” If you know someone that would make a good priest – tell him. If you are thinking about the priesthood, call the Vocations Office at (904) 262-3200, ext. 101 or email vocations@dosafl.com. |
Father
Tom began discerning a call to the priesthood while still in high
school at St. Augustine’s St. Joseph Academy. It was the 1970s
– a time when drug use amongst teenagers was considered normal
and choosing to become a priest or religious sister was seen as
countercultural.
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