Father Hathaway Celebrates His 35th Anniversary as a Priest on May 18, 2026

Father Hathaway was ordained to the priesthood in the Diocese of Arlington on May 18, 1991. He shared some thoughts on this milestone below: 

What have been the greatest joys of serving as a priest?

My greatest joys as a priest over these 35 years has been the time I have spent in the confessional absolving sins and offering the mercy of Jesus. What a privileged life to be an instrument of God’s grace in that way, and also to be able to offer the holy sacrifice of the Mass at the altar every day over these 35 years. That’s a lot of Masses and a lot of grace, and it’s always fresh and new. And in addition to those two sources of grace for me, it’s being able to help people in other ways through spiritual direction, helping them prepare for marriage, for baptism, consoling them in grief, the loss of a loved one. It’s just been an amazing, very full life, I would say.

How has your understanding of your vocation deepened since your ordination?

My understanding of my vocation as a priest of God has deepened by experiencing God’s grace through my pastoral service and the goodness of people and my call to serve them as a spiritual father by practicing it over this time. And also just perseverance. And I think all of us, as we get older and grow through our vocation, there are times of great joy and also suffering. And I think it’s the difficult times or the times that are more challenging that can unite us more deeply to Christ. And then hopefully those become memories. But I would just say the daily living of the life of a priest for such a long period, and through that experience, that it’s almost hard to explain, but a deeper union with Christ and Christ crucified.

What advice would you give to someone discerning a vocation to the priesthood today?

If someone’s discerning a vocation to the priesthood, certainly they should be praying so that they can listen to God. So it should be God’s will and not my will. But also they should talk to a priest about it. And they should have spiritual direction to help guide them. And then they should know it’s a great adventure. If they are called, it’s a great privilege. No one’s worthy to be a priest. People will

say, I’m not worthy. Well, no one is worthy to be a priest because we’re all human. But at the same time, God selects, as he selected the apostles, the first priests, with their faults even. So not to be discouraged by that, but to be open to that call. But it’s a wonderful life, if that is someone’s vocation and a great privilege. Just a very small slice of the church. Priests are a very small group and a great fraternity and just a great joyful path to God for the priest to be an instrument of that path for others.

So meet with the vocation director, of course, and then of course the Church is also discerning over the years ahead. Someone responding to a call, they think they have a call, they kind of test it out by talking to a priest and the vocation director, and that can either get confirmed or delayed, depending on their age or circumstances. And then you’re not ordained immediately anyway. There’s still like a seven-year engagement, if you will. So I would say you can only discern up to a certain point and be confident God is calling you. But then you actually have to enroll in the seminary. But you have to be received in the seminary. There’s a whole process there too. So the Church is discerning as well. So discerning with the Church, I guess, is a long way of saying all of that.