Father Thomas Mahoney is the last, but certainly not least priest in our parish family to be featured in our #StaffSpotlight column. We thought it appropriate to feature him today in light of his birthday yesterday - belated happy birthday Father Tom!
Father Tom is the Pastor of our Akron Clarence Roman Catholic Community. He was ordained a priest in 2015 and served his first four years of priesthood at St. Gregory the Great. He was then appointed Administrator of St. Peter Parish in Lewiston, and Pastor of Infant of Prague in Cheektowaga, his hometown, before joining our family of parishes.
In a recent Q&A session with some of our students, Father Tom got personal and listed many of his “favorite things”:
Favorite Food: “Tater Tots. I prefer hamburgers and hot dogs to steak and lobster. But if I’m forced to, I will eat steak and lobster. Some say I’m a picky eater, I prefer to see myself as a simple eater. Think of it this way: I graduated kindergarten, but my taste palette did not or so I am told.”
Favorite Hymn: “O God Beyond All Praising”
Top Four Hymns for a Mass: “Holy God We Praise Thy Name, O God Beyond All Praising, Ave Maria, Holy Is Your Name (a Marian song)”
Favorite Celebration of Mass: “The first time I celebrated the Easter Vigil was in 2020, so I celebrated it alone with only two nuns in attendance because of the pandemic. The following year was my favorite Mass celebration so far, as I was able to celebrate the Easter Vigil with a congregation once again, and was so nervous to sing at the Mass but I did it! I’m not really a music person, I actually try not to sing and turn off my microphone during Mass when I do. That is except for the Chant Mass that we have been doing at St. Mary’s during Lent - I can sing the Sanctus!”
Favorite Apostle: “That’s an easy one - Thomas.”
Favorite Pet: “I had a purebred German Shepherd in the 1990’s and I’ve not had another pet since. That dog was trained as a helper for the handicapped but was gun shy so he couldn’t preform his duties if there were loud noises, like fireworks for example, so I adopted him with my Dad. He was extremely well trained! I used to coach soccer, and my dog would come with me and was so well behaved.”
Favorite Signature: “AMDG. I sign all my letters and emails with those four letters which stand for Ad Majorem Dei Gloriam, meaning "For the greater glory of God." It is Latin, and the motto of the Society of Jesus, or Jesuits, started by St. Ignatius of Loyola. I sign with those initials to remind me of my purpose - why I’m here, doing what I’m doing.”
Least Favorite or Hardest Part of Being a Priest: “All the administrative tasks that aren’t very ‘priestly’. I used to do many of those things in life as an accountant, and I had thought I left those tasks behind!”
Lastly, Father Tom related to the students how his call to the priesthood came about through God’s persistence. Prior to becoming a priest, Father Tom had a career as an accountant for 19 years.
“When I was younger, just out of high school, my sister told me I should think about being a priest, but I ignored her! I wanted to go to college, I was studying to be an accountant, I wanted to make a lot of money, have fancy cars, a nice house, all those things - the American dream.”
Father Tom achieved those things as he worked hard, he owned his own home and the fancy car - a BMW in fact! But as his life went on he realized God was calling him to another vocation.
“A moment came when a priest this time told me again, you should think about being a priest. I tried hard to ignore God, but He is persistent!”
We certainly are glad that Father Tom chose to answer God’s call and is here with us as our pastor today! Thank you for paying attention to God’s persistence in your life, and we hope you had a wonderful birthday!