Fr. James Hatfield, Ordained, May 2010,
Speaks about his journey…

Fr. James Hatfield, St. Joseph Cathedral parishioner, was ordained a priest on May 29th, 2010 at St. Joseph Cathedral in Columbus, Ohio. He described his last year of seminary as very special after entering into Holy Orders as a deacon one year ago, in June 2009.

“My life changed at that moment of ordination. It was very, very special,” said Fr. Hatfield. “Much preparation for ordained ministry is necessary but prayer is essential. I have found that the Holy Spirit does a good part of writing of the homilies and guiding me in my daily life. I spend a lot of time with Scripture and thinking about how to address the needs of the people.”

Fr. Hatfield treasured his experience as a deacon. “I was struck by the importance of baptism--for the child, the family and the Church during my work as a transitional deacon,” said Fr. Hatfield. “As an ordained minister of the Church, you have an intimate involvement with the families at the Sacramental level. This is truly spiritual fatherhood.”

He describes how presiding over the Sacraments and entering into the mysteries in such a special way creates a connection to the family he is ministering to and to the Holy Trinity. “That unity is the Eucharist from which all Sacraments flow.”

Fr. Hatfield looks forward to serving the people of the Columbus Diocese as a priest who will teach and evangelize so that others can evangelize in the world. “It is not merely about the action, but the love that flows out of the action that transforms the world. I think that the number of serious, spiritual-minded people is growing. It is an exciting time to be a priest because people have still have a very strong faith in Christ, His Church and in their priests.”

Fr. Hatfield grew up in Reynoldsburg, Ohio and was raised Baptist. “Faith was very big in my house. My mother read the Bible to us daily,” said Jimmy. “The first time I thought about ministry, I was 7 or 8 years old. I was at Vacation Bible School and the teacher read us a book about a missionary and from that moment, I began to think about ministry.”

Fr. Hatfield converted to Catholicism and joined the Catholic Church on December, 16th, 1988; he was 32 years old.

His journey to the Catholic Church began when he did some catering for Pre-Cana group at St. Mary of the Springs in Columbus. He became friends with one of elderly nuns, Sister Jeanette Waligore, OP. “Sister struggled with some serious health issues.  And yet I found her to be an inspiration as she was so happy because she was so in love with Jesus, we talked and talked about her love for Christ and the Catholic Church.  The witness of her very life had an amazing influence on my spiritual journey.”

He decided to visit Columbus St. Matthias and that is where he met Fr. Raymond Lavelle. “I attended a 6:30 a.m. weekday Mass one day, and I thought to myself that these Catholics must really love their faith to be here so early in the morning,” saidJimmy. “Fr. Lavelle and I began talking and he so patiently answered my questions about Catholicism.”

Another Catholic friend gave him some books and videos from the Office of Religious Education about Catholicism. His hunger for more Catholic information grew.
“It was so ironic. When I was a Baptist, I was under so many misconceptions and misunderstandings about the Catholic Church,” said Jimmy. “But when I found Catholicism, I knew that this was my home. I converted and in my enthusiasm, I felt that I was immediately ready to consider priesthood. But Fr. Lavelle advised me to be patient, to pray, to learn about the faith, and to see where God was leading me.”
He continued to get more involved in the Catholic Church. He taught adult Bible studies and PSR, and he joined the Chrism two-year program at St. Therese Retreat Center. “Chrism was such a great ministry formation program – the prayer, the community, the books, and the mentored ministry. It helped me settle into the faith. God had brought me to that point.”

In 1998, Fr. Hatfield began working on a Bachelor’s in Theology at Ohio Dominican University; he graduated in 2005. While attending ODU, he worked part time as Program Coordinator of Ministry Formation for the Diocese of Columbus and he also worked at the Cathedral Book Store.

With the help of many friends and supporters, Fr. Hatfield discerned a call to the diaconate and then to the priesthood. In his years at the Pontifical College Josephinum, his call to the priesthood was affirmed.

“I am grateful that God has called me and I am thankful for every single moment of my journey to the priesthood,” said Fr. Hatfield.

For Fr. Hatfield. it is a great gift to be a spiritual father after the five years of preparation.

“We come out of seminary with so much more to learn; seminary is only the beginning. I know that life ahead will be very different,” said Fr. Hatfield. “I thank God for my seminary brothers and for sharing this moment of transformation with me. This is an exciting new beginning.  So many wonderful people have helped me to prepare for ordination day, taking care of the many details, so I can prepare spiritually.”
The week before priestly ordination, Fr. Hatfield went on a retreat at a hermitage in Michigan to prepare for ordination. “The Holy Spirit has led me this whole time--from my conversion to Catholicism and to my time with Fr. Lavelle who used to tell me to, ‘be patient, pray and learn about the faith; get an education in the faith.’ Every time I tried to force it, I would realize that I wasn’t letting God be God.  Life and discernment became so much easier and effective when I would simply walk through the doors that God was opening for me.”

“The priesthood that I am being ordained to is not my priesthood. It belongs first to Christ and then to the people with whom I shall have the privilege to serve. I am part of a two thousand plus history of service to God’s people and I look forward to carrying that on,” said Fr. Hatfield. “I look to the example of St. John Vianney as a model for my priesthood for his humility, and his willingness to sacrifice for others. I look to Jesus as the ultimate example of the priest and a spiritual father.”