Dr. Michael Moloney had it all, so he thought. He was a successful doctor with a beautiful home and luxury cars in the driveway. Such success led this man on a long quest, a search for “truth,” until finally he heeded the call to enter the Catholic priesthood, ordained only 4 ½ years ago. But to 66 year-old Father Michael Moloney, becoming a priest is simply continuity to his former role as a doctor. “Both deal with healing,” he said. “However, I’m no longer responsible for the healing,” he said with a smile. “Our Pope likes to say that the church is a hospital for sinners.”

Father Michael’s life has truly been an amazing journey. He was born and raised in Ireland, son of a dairy farmer. Because Michael was not the eldest, the farm would go to his oldest brother, not him. Michael’s father told him he would support him as he pursued an education.

Father Michael said that he discerned between the age of 10-15 that he wanted to be a medical doctor. Upon graduation from high school at 17, he entered premed school,the way it is done in Ireland. He spent 2 years in premed, 5 years in medical school and 1 year as an intern. After his internship, he spent a 1½ years working in an emergency room in Ireland before heading to America to practice medicine.

Moloney was a family doctor in the Houston area from 1977-2000. He then spent 2 years in Lubbock and then he moved to Wichita Falls, where he got his “calling” to become a priest.

It wasn’t something that came suddenly. Apparently the seed was planted early in his life. At the young age of 11, Father Moloney told his mother he wanted to be a missionary. She told him to come back and tell her that when he was 21 years old, but after going to medical school, the idea of becoming a missionary went on the back burner. Born and raised a Christian Catholic, church took a backseat to his medical career. Life was so busy that he drifted, stopped going to church and didn’t think faith was that important.

Success as a doctor ironically drove him to find the Christian faith. After establishing a very successful practice, and becoming monetarily well-off, Dr. Moloney began asking himself, “Is there anything better than this? Where do I go from here? What is the meaning to all of this?”

A conversion experience to Christ in February of 1982 changed Dr. Moloney’s outlook even on medicine. He realized that “truth” is a person, not an idea. “Truth” is Jesus Christ. This conversion is what broadened his outlook.

Dr. Moloney asked himself what this conversion meant to his practice. He began looking at his patients a little differently because he realized that because doctors many times don’t’ spend enough time with people, there is a tendency to overlook depression, anxiety, stress and psychosomatic illness. He then began screening for those things in his patients when medical tests ruled out anything physically wrong. He felt he needed to have a bigger view of the person and not just a biological view. Already a very successful doctor, his practice flourished even more.

The idea of missionary work returned to Dr. Moloney with the idea of possibly becoming a missionary doctor. He attended non- denominational Bible churches with no intention of returning to Catholicism. Upon heeding the advice of friends, Dr. Maloney spent 4 years in Evangelical seminary in the 1980’s in Vancouver, Canada.

“The more theology I studied, the more Catholic I became,” Father Michael said. Dr. Maloney returned to his Catholic roots.

Dr. Moloney did not pursue missionary work and once again he returned to practicing medicine in Houston. 

“I am a little like Jonah,” Father Michael said. “I was running from God until he finally caught up with me. In the ‘90’s my best friends, my priest and people in the church were all telling me I needed to become a priest. I kept ignoring them. I cooled my heels for a while and decided to redirect my medical career into preventative medicine.”

Dr. Moloney returned to school at the University of Texas in Houston to “retool” for a change of direction in his medical career.. After completion, he was offered a fellowship in Lubbock at Texas Tech where he spent the next two years. Even in Lubbock, friends and people in his church there continued to tell him that he needed to become a priest. Dr. Moloney actually became annoyed with the constant suggestion.

Community Healthcare Center brought Dr. Moloney to Wichita Falls where he practiced medicine, and finally God caught up to him with the big nudge. An old Irish priest who became a friend to Dr. Moloney organized a yearly vocational banquet in Wichita Falls which raises money for priest vocations. Father Moloney said, “I was helping him with this banquet when the Holy Spirit pushed me and told me I was going to seminary.”

Dr. Moloney began winding down his life as a medical doctor, and then in 2008, he left for 3 ½ years of study at seminary in Wisconsin in preparation for his new role as Father Michael. His first year as a priest was spent in the Cathedral, his second year at Sacred Heart in Wichita Falls, and then he was assigned to St. Mary’s in Windthorst where he has been for 2 ½ years.

“I never thought I would be in Archer County. I remember watching ‘The Last Picture Show,’“ he said with a chuckle, “and I am now living close to the town where that was filmed. I have had a lot of fun with that.”

Turning more serious, Father Michael said, “It is a real privilege to work with these people in Windthorst. There are a lot of really good people here. There is a lot of faith. Windthorst is kind of different and it is because it is this colony that came in the 1890’s. There is a stronger sense of community here.”

Catholics have been preparing for Christmas with 4 weeks of Advent, focusing on the Second Coming of Christ, a very serious time. With a week to go, it is now time to slowly move into the celebration of Christmas, towards nativity.

When asked what his message might be to Archer County this Christmas, Father Michael said, “To make one’s self available to God by fasting, extra prayer, and alms giving. By fasting I don’t necessarily mean food. Maybe give up television for a while. Create some silence so that you can hear the word of God. We live in a very noisy world and we do not hear the word of God in noise.”

Life can be extremely stressful for most of us, and we find ourselves too busy to take the time “to smell the roses” or open our hearts and minds to that inner voice that might be trying to speak. Making a quiet time without the noise of the television or cell phones might be a wonderful New Year’s Resolution to incorporate into a daily routine.

I think I'll give it a try

This article written by Barbara Phillips originally appeared in the Archer County News on 12/23/16 and appears here with her permission.