Deacon Will Rooney says prayer, community, service are keys to discernment

By Mary P. Walker | Senior Correspondent

Deacon Will Rooney, 28, first considered becoming a priest around the time he made his first Communion. He is the oldest of three boys. His parents are Megan and Bill Rooney who have long attended St. Thomas Aquinas Parish in College Station, where Deacon Rooney was an altar server and active in the youth group.
He is grateful that his mother “forced” him (a young teenager) to go on a retreat during which he grew in his love of Jesus and desire to be a disciple. He also had a powerful experience of receiving the Lord’s forgiveness through the ministry of a priest during the sacrament of reconciliation.
“(This) encounter radically changed the course of my life,” Deacon Rooney said.
In high school, he was in the 4-H Club and FFA and raised turkeys, chickens and steers. In addition, he participated in robotics competitions. He went on to Texas A&M University and graduated in 2013 with a degree in biological and agricultural engineering.
While at A&M, he was active at St. Mary Catholic Center and served as the Grand Knight for the Knights of Columbus Council #10624. He worked in an engineering lab and was the middle school youth coordinator at St. Thomas Aquinas Parish. During this time, the late Father Wade Russell (who died in 2018) served at the parish.
“He had a great impact on me. Because we worked together, he allowed me to see a priest’s life up close. This influenced me to consider the priesthood in a whole new light,” Deacon Rooney said.
After graduation, he studied at Holy Trinity Seminary in Irving and then at St. Mary’s Seminary in Houston. The challenges included moving frequently and the sacrifices of community life. However, community life also brought great blessings, he said.
“Living with a group of men who are passionate about proclaiming the Gospel and pursing the priesthood was a wonderful gift in my life,” Deacon Rooney said.
Other blessings were the opportunity to study in the Holy Land for six weeks and spend the night inside the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, the site of Jesus’ empty tomb. A trip to Honduras, where he accompanied a mission priest to remote villages to celebrate Mass, taught him about the universality of the church. There he grew in a sense of gratitude for his call to bring the sacraments to others.
Deacon Rooney is also grateful for the encouragement he received from his family and home parish. He said Chris Bartlett, the youth minister at St. Thomas Aquinas when Deacon Rooney was in high school, served as a leader, mentor and friend. During his pastoral year at St. Louis King of France Parish in Austin, Fathers James Misko and Doug Jeffers demonstrated the day-to-day life of a priest in inspiring ways.
As a priest, Deacon Rooney looks forward to celebrating Mass and bringing the forgiveness of Jesus to others through the sacrament of reconciliation. He also feels privileged to accompany people in their walk with the Lord.
For those who are considering whether God is calling them to the priesthood or religious life, Deacon Rooney believes prayer, community and service are vital in discerning this call. Speaking and listening to God, family and friendships grounded in love and honesty, and service to others will help to hear God’s voice and give one the grace to respond to his plan, he said.
He will celebrate Masses of thanksgiving June 28 at 11 a.m. at St. Thomas Aquinas Parish in College Station,  July 4 at 5:30 p.m. at St. Mary of the Visitation Parish in Lockhart and  July 5 at 9:30 a.m. at  St. Louis, King of France Parish in Austin.