Kelly Luttinen | Special to The Michigan Catholic

Priests reflect on joys, inspirations, and opportunities to ‘enter into people’s stories’

 

Metro Detroit — It’s where the faith is nurtured, the family grows secure in knowledge and trust in God, and where sacraments and life-changing moments take place. It’s the epicenter of evangelization and the neighborhood’s anchor in faith.

For most priests, the calling to the priesthood is a special vocation in itself, but the calling to the parish priesthood is an extra special blessing.

The Michigan Catholic recently talked with four priests from the Archdiocese of Detroit who have worked in many parishes throughout their lives and asked them to reflect on the ministry they love so much.

Msgr. Charles Kosanke, pastor of St. Regis Parish in Bloomfield Hills since 2011, said his vocation to the priesthood was nurtured by his hometown parish as a child.

“I grew up in a wonderful parish, St. Raymond in northeast Detroit. Then, when I later thought about becoming a priest, it was always about being a pastor in a parish,” said Msgr. Kosanke, who was ordained in 1985. Although hes spent half of his priesthood in seminary work, parish life has always held a special place for him.

“Whatever brings people to God is what is closest to my heart,” he said. “This occurs sometimes in teaching, sometimes in administering the sacraments — like baptism, first Communion, weddings and, sadly, funerals.”

Many faces of parish life

Ministering to parishioners during a time of loss can often be one of the most fulfilling duties for a pastor. Fr. Joseph Mallia, pastor of St. Frances Cabrini Parish in Allen Park since 2003, remembers one family in particular.

“They went through a series of deaths with their children,” he said. “It was journeying with them and their faith that really helped me to see the beauty in parish life. It was their faith, and not my own, that guided me and helped me. They strengthened me more than I strengthened them.”

Fr. Michael Vershaeve, a priest of 38 years and pastor of St. Joseph the Worker Parish in Lake Orion since 2003, also finds it meaningful to minister to the sick and to those grieving, but added “the gravy in the ministry” for him is working with engaged couples. “I’ve presided at more than 1,000 weddings in my career,” he said.

Fr. Vershaeve said there are several gifts from God required for working in a parish, among them “the ability to listen, compassion, patience, perseverance, long suffering and a willingness to allow other people’s faith to inspire you.”

Fr. Mallia agreed. “It’s the charism we feel we are called to,” he said. “Primarily, that charism is a willingness to be involved in the daily life of your parishioners. I couldn’t see myself as a priest away from a parish.”

Before becoming a priest in 1992, Fr. Mallia, a former high school teacher, said he considered entering consecrated life in order to teach, even taking a break from the seminary. Since becoming a priest, every parish he has worked with has had some connection to a school.

He admits that overseeing a parish with a school like St. Francis Cabrini’s is “a lot of work and can bring a lot of struggle,” but “young people challenge me to reach out in a new way.”

 

A pastor’s three roles

Msgr. Kosanke explained a parish pastor has three major roles: to serve as the chief teacher for his parish, the chief leader of “sanctification” (worship and the sacraments) and parish governance. All three roles must receive the same attention, he said.

Msgr. Kosanke, who also oversees a school at St. Regis, said he has always relished his involvement in Catholic schools. “They are a lot of work, but the joy outweighs the challenges,” he said.

He spends several days a week at the school, visiting the administration, attending activities and events and teaching classes in religion, social studies, science and English.

“The mission of Catholic schools is not just academics,” he said. “The No. 1 purpose is to form a community of disciples. I want the kids to see faith is not just for religion class. It pervades everything we study.”

Working with young people isn’t the only perk to parish life, according to these pastors.

“People, especially the elderly, share with us easily the great chapters of their lives in ways that they don’t always share with their families,” said Fr. James Kean, sixth-year pastor of St. Damien of Molokai Parish in Pontiac.

“Veterans recount deeds that they are otherwise too humble to pass on to their children or grandchildren. We hear accounts of the Great Depression or challenges overcome that instill wonder when we take time to listen,” he added.

Fr. Kean called his work “a great joy” and a “humbling opportunity … to enter into people’s stories.”

“The faith and strength of so many of our members is inspiring,” said Fr. Kean, a fluent Spanish speaker who ministers to a congregation that is 75 percent Hispanic.

“People come to me as a man who knows the operation and technical function of the Church and the sacraments — what they need to do for preparation or what teaching the Church might have on a given topic. More importantly, they come to me as someone they trust to have a solid relationship with the Lord. It is easy for me to think that this is my path I exclusively have chosen, when indeed it is the Lord who has led me along with patient guidance, and for whose part I am eternally grateful.”

 

Walking with God

Can any of these priests imagine doing anything else with their lives?

Before he was ordained in 1997, Fr. Kean spent a year discerning joining an order connected with Mother Teresa’s Missionaries of Charity, the Brothers of the Word, but eventually didn’t feel called there.

“I suppose I could imagine myself doing lots of things, but I could never imagine myself not having a priestly heart,” he said. “I could never imagine myself going through my day without looking for the ‘way’ of the Lord in whatever action occupied my time or my hands.”

“I was offered an opportunity to get a degree in the seminary,” Fr. Vershaeve remembered. “But I felt God wanted me to work in a parish.”

He recounted how, years ago, his brother, a retired sheet metal worker, said to him, “You are the only one in our family who likes his job.’”

“I’m so grateful to God that the call fit and I’ve had the opportunity to serve all these years,” he said.