Cover Story - Father José works to 'bring Christ to every aspect of life'

The daily life of a priest may surprise you. If you’re Father José Haro, activities can range from celebrating Mass to unclogging a toilet to even contending with a wild turkey. In this diocesan “Year of Priestly Spiritual Renewal and Prayer for Vocations,” I caught up with Father José, the pastor of St. Mary Parish, Kalamazoo, and Director of Vocations for the Diocese to get a better glimpse into a day in the life of a priest.

It’s a seemingly quiet Saturday at the parish when I meet up with Father José in his office at St. Mary's Parish. He’s just come from a meeting with the parish catechists and was discussing some pre-Advent planning with his pastoral associate, Mary Kate Boyle, an ECHO intern from the University of Notre Dame. “Apart from the Sundays, the weeks look very different one week to the next,” says Fr. José when asked about his typical dayHis week’s calendar may be filled with visiting the sick, counseling people, meeting with couples to prepare for marriage or with parents to prepare for a baptism, teach-ing catechism or writing the Sunday homily. Add to that already lengthy to-do list are the responsibil-ities of managing the parish’s building and grounds and paying the bills.“People think we’re only doing spiritual things all the time,” he said. “I’ve hopped on the lawn mower when it’s been necessary and I’ve unclogged the toilet. We take care of the same things our people have to in their households.”And sometimes those tasks tend to the dramatic such as wrestling a wild turkey?“Yes!” laughs Fr. José as he recounts the incident. “That really happened. A wild turkey crashed through our parish office window. The poor thing was hiding under Mary Kate’s desk and at one point was flying around the office.”Fortunately the lost bird was set on its way and survived the incident (unfortunately there’s no video). For Father, it was another great story that punctuates the daily life of a priest that is a mixture of the spiritual, the mundane and the unexpected.“Really, bringing Christ to every aspect of life — that’s the great privilege we have as priests. We journey with our people at the most joyful moments of their lives and at the saddest.”Juggling his many duties isn’t a burden, says Fr. José, who explains how his parishio-ners are always ready to jump in and help.“I don’t think I’ve ever witnessed a parish more willing to host an event,” he laughs, noting that some-times people linger so long at coffee and donuts he has to flicker the lights on and off.“People have this sense that we’re unwelcoming — there’s nothing further from the truth,” Father jokes.Part of that misconception may be due to the fact that Fr. José celebrates the Mass ad orientem (Latin for “to the East”) and also prefers to wear a cassock. He acknowledges people may have had bad experiences that lend to negative associations.

“One common misconcep-tion some people may have is that those who attend the Latin Mass are stiff or have a holier-than-thou attitude,” he notes. “The way I look at it is like this. There are different spiritualities in the Church — such as the Carmelites or Benedictines — each one distinct with the same goal in mind: to bring people to Christ. I think you can apply that to the liturgy. There’s a preference on how people want to get closer to Christ. Father José was born in Guadalajara just a few hours away from Mexico City. He and his parents immigrated to the United States when he was just seven years old. They lived briefly in Texas before making their home in Kalam-azoo, where members of his mother’s family lived.Even as a young child Father José loved going to church.

“One of the stories my mom loves to tell is how when my cousins would rush to play video games after school, I would stop by the church and say ‘hi’ to all the saints.”Father José, though an only child, never felt like one, he explains, because he was so close to his cousins — the very ones he would agree to play with only after they “played Mass” with him.This gravitation to the priesthood started to dissi-pate for Father José when he entered middle school, but it re-emerged with the help of his pastor, Msgr. Michael Hazard, and his enthusiastic youth group leader, Lydia McNamara.“When I was a sophomore in high school, Msgr. Mike said to me, ‘Hey, have you ever thought about being a priest?’ His comment really struck me because I wasn’t that active in the parish at that time, I wasn’t an altar server or lector or anything. It stayed with me that he must have seen something in me.“And he never pushed me.”Msgr. Mike did connect Father José to a spiritual di-rector, and it was his parents who pushed his involvement in the parish’s youth group. He admits he was very re-luctant at first, but, since the group was led by a friend of his parents, his not attending wasn’t an option. Luckily, that was true for his friends, as well, and the youth group activities became a pivotal moment in his discernment.“Youth group helped me discern my vocation. So toward the end of junior year/senior year — with help of my pastor and spiritual director — I thought, maybe I should take the next step. When I did this the fears in my heart went away.Seminary proved to be a great experience for Father José, who spent eight years at the Detroit-based Sacred Heart Major Seminary, first in college and then finishing his theology degree.“I have to say seminary was a great time in my life — I wouldn’t trade it for anything.”


Father José’s love of the seminary was something that came in handy when he was appointed by Bishop Bradley in 2019 as Director of Vocations.“My part as vocations director is an extension of the bishop’s role,” he explains. “Just as he has eternal care of the diocese, I am acting as the seminarians’ father, helping them along the way to encour-age, support and sometimes correct them as necessary.”Drawing on his own expe-riences can be helpful. While he loved his time at Sacred Heart, he does admit he felt disconnected to his diocesan home at times, having spent his formation in the Archdio-cese of Detroit. It’s strength-ening that connection between the seminarians and the diocese that was actually helped by the pandemic.During the early days of the pandemic in 2020, Sacred Heart moved to online learning like many other academic institutions. The seminarians came to live with Father José and Msgr. Osborn at South Street House in Kalamazoo while continuing their studies.“I really appreciated this opportunity,” remembers Father José. “What I love most about this role is walking with young men who are discerning their calling; just praying with them, guiding them and hearing how God is moving in their hearts.“[Being together] was really a bonding experience for the seminarians,” notes Father José. “It helped them feel like brothers.”

Guiding the seminarians is one part of the vocation director’s job, but being on the lookout and praying for those who may be in the contempla-tion stage is another.Father José is accomplishing this by the house of discern-ment at St. Mary’s and also enlisting groups of parishioners to be engaged in the effort.“St Mary’s rectory has been renamed the St. John Vianney House of Discernment and is open to young men who are seriously discerning a call to the priesthood.”And last year Father José started the Vocations Apostolate Teams providing professional training for lay people actively involved in promoting vocations.“These folks are a supportive group to the parish priest in organizing local vocations events/discernment dinners/holy hours and also a group that is praying for an increase in vocations very intentionally.”Currently, there are about 15 parishes that have a team, and Father José’s goal is to have one in each of the 59 parishes.As both a priest and a voca-tions director, Fr. José finds himself squarely at the center of the diocesan year of renewal. And his hopes for the year: "to do whatever we need to do to strengthen our love for Christ, our priesthood, and Christ’s Holy People.