Alumni Priests, Confession & the Year of Mercy

In the pages of the Catholic Business Journal, Joseph O’Brien (’93) profiles three Catholic priests who are, as he puts it, “making confession a hallmark of their own Year of Mercy.” The managing editor of the Adoremus Bulletin, Mr. O’Brien asks the priests to explain the importance of penance, what role it has played in their vocations, and why it is so important to the ongoing Jubilee Year. Among those he consults are two of his old friends from Thomas Aquinas College, classmates Rev. Mark Moriarty (’95) and Rev. Jonathan Perrotta (’95), both pastors of Midwestern parishes.

The pastor of St. Agnes Parish in St. Paul, Minnesota, Fr. Moriarty (’95) recounts how his time at the College — and particularly the influence of then-chaplain Rev. Gerard Steckler, S.J. — heightened his appreciation of God’s mercy and, in turn, helped lead him to his vocation. “I was impressed with [Fr. Steckler’s] casual way of inviting us to experience mercy when he invited incoming freshmen to have 10 minutes of spiritual direction each week,” he says. “It wasn’t just a formality, but combined true vulnerability with a lifting of the veil of God. … I thought that was a truly beautiful thing. So that affected me in terms of my interest in being a priest.”

Fr. Perrotta (’95), meanwhile, observes that, as matter of human psychology, “There is overwhelming evidence that we have a need to confess, to speak to another our sins, even when we don’t go away knowing we have been forgiven.” Yet this sense of unburdening one’s self, he adds, is nothing compared to the true relief that comes when one avails himself of sacramental confession, thereby “knowing all of my sins have been completely destroyed; the sin and the guilt are no longer there.” In these moments, Fr. Perrotta tells Mr. O’Brien, “God and his mercy are present.”

For many more such words of pastoral wisdom, read the full article on the Catholic Business Journal website.