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Home  / News & Publications /  Michigan Catholic News / 2009 /  Thankful priests and parents

by Jared Field of The Michigan Catholic
Published November 20 , 2009

Jared Field | The Michigan Catholic Fr. JJ Mech, pastor of St. Anastasia in Troy, shares a laugh with his parents, Kathleen and John, at the family home in Dearborn Heights. Fr. Mech, who did his thesis in seminary on the sociology of the family, says he’s thankful for all the support he has received from his family throughout his life.

Dearborn Heights - Forgive Fr. JJ Mech for not being surprised when his parents showed up at the rectory with their suitcases earlier this month. They were obviously unaware that retirement is supposed to be a permanent vacation from parenting.

"It's kind of like this is just what they do," said Fr. Mech, pastor of St. Anastasia Parish in Troy. "(In our family) it's just kind of expected that you support one another."

Thanksgiving, Fr. Mech's favorite holiday, has a special significance this year. He has yet another reason to be thankful for the God-given blessing of family.

On Oct. 28, Fr. Mech had outpatient surgery to remove a growth that doctors quickly dismissed as not cancerous. He was in and out of the doctor's office in 30 minutes and fully expected to be back in his parish the same day.

It didn't happen.

Jared Field | The Michigan Catholic Fr. Mech is chased into his childhood home in Dearborn Heights by his new dog, Jerry, so named because he got his new friend on the feast of St. Jerome in September. The pet was a gift from his brother, Patrick, a Downriver veterinarian.

Fr. Mech was saddled with extreme pain from a hematoma that had swollen to nearly the size of a cantaloupe. Four days and two surgeries later, Fr. Mech was laid up in the rectory with a pair of new roommates.

"It was a great experience and we'd do it for any one of our kids," said John Mech, an 84-year-old World War II veteran and father of six.

John and his wife, Kathleen, spent nearly two weeks with their son, taking care of him in his weakened condition. John said the experience of waking up in a new place took some getting used to.

"I'd wake up in the middle of the night and wonder exactly where I was at," he said. "I'm getting old and my bearings aren't what they used to be."

Fr. Mech said that he cherished the time he was able to spend with his parents.

His father, an early riser, would recite his novena in the morning - the same one he's been doing for more than 60 years since he promised the Blessed Mother he would do it daily if she brought him home from Iwo Jima. After, father and son would chat by the fireplace over coffee.

At night, he'd sit with his mother, a night owl, and just talk. Their presence was a Godsend for Fr. Mech, who says he's prone to having "ants in his pants."

And it didn't surprise him when his parish family fell in love with the couple, and took them in just as they had with their son.

"My staff, and it's a large staff, were missing my mom and dad (when they left)," he said.

'I wouldn't trade it for anything'
Fr. Mech's childhood home, the little ranch house on Eton Avenue in Dearborn Heights, is not unlike many homes in the working-class suburbs of Detroit. But, as Fr. Mech is quick to point out, what's inside makes all the difference.

John and Kathleen's home has been lived in, of this there's little doubt. It was built on a firm foundation of love, and has since been layered with the countless shared experiences that always bring the family back to where it started from.

Fr. Mech remembers with fondness growing up with his six brothers and sisters in its crowded confines. It's a closeness that never left his family, even as adulthood sent them in different directions.

"This was the house we all grew up in; we had one shower," recalled Fr. Mech, the youngest of six whose birth precipitated the building of a fourth bedroom. "You just took it for granted. You thought then that this was how everyone lived. It was fun. I wouldn't trade it for anything."

Thinking back, Fr. Mech wishes everyone had the chance to live that way. From a young age he learned the importance of just being there, being a part of a family that supported itself through the peaks and valleys of life.

Fr. Mech credits his family with giving him the guidance and support that he needed to make the biggest decision of his life: Joining the priesthood.

"A lot of priests don't have support from their families, which is really sad. I don't think I could've done this without the support of my family," said Fr. Mech, 42, who was ordained in 1995.

Kathleen, 83, says that her son's decision to enter the priesthood confirmed in her mind that his life was spared for the calling. Her son weighed less than three pounds when he was born and spent six weeks in the hospital before he could be taken home.

"I just felt that God was watching over him for a reason," Kathleen said. "When he became a priest, I just knew that was the reason that God saved him."

To this day, John and Kathleen think back on the Christmas dinner that their son used as a forum to make his life-changing announcement.

John says he was both surprised and elated by the announcement that his son, who was a student at Michigan State University at the time, was going to become a priest.

Fr. Mech says he's eternally thankful for the family that sustained his desire, and the desires of his siblings, to serve God in their own way.

"They nurtured faith in all of us," he said. "It's not unique that I'm a priest. What's really awesome is that we're all living out our faith in the way that God has called us to do.

"Faith and family, those are the two nurturing things that I'm most thankful for."

Sitting comfortably in his armchair in the corner of the room, a slight smile of satisfaction passes over John's face as he listens to his son talk about the days they spent under the same roof. Both John and Kathleen radiate pride as they talk about their children, all of whom remain active in the Catholic community. They're walking tributes to the lives of two good and faithful parents.

"(My family) is everything I've ever dreamed of," John said.

Jared Field | The Michigan Catholic Fr. Sama Muma, associate pastor of St. Paul on the Lake in Grosse Pointe Farms, pictured with his father, Linus Muma, in Detroit. Fr. Muma, who immigrated to the United States from Cameroon a decade ago, says Thanksgiving reminds him of all the things that many Americans take for granted. Linus is holding a picture of him taken in his native Cameroon.

Be thankful for what you have
For many who have immigrated to the United States, the land of plenty, every day is a day of thanksgiving.

Fr. Sama Muma, associate pastor at St. Paul on the Lake Parish in Grosse Pointe Farms, came to this country from Cameroon a decade ago and says he's still surprised at what some Americans take for granted.

He's somewhat miffed at a national economic crisis typified by a 10-percent unemployment rate. In Cameroon, unemployment hovers around 30 percent.

"People maybe aren't as grateful that they have a job," he said. "People have varieties of food ... people just think it's something to be taken for granted. Things like cars sometimes are considered a necessity, but they're a luxury in a lot of places. There are good homes. You can get up in the morning and you don't need to put water on the stove to heat it up for a bath. These are things we just take for granted that people don't have in other places."

And the roads in Michigan?

"They're nice roads," he added.

Fr. Muma's father Linus, who lives in a small house on Detroit's northwest side with his wife, Elizabeth, is thankful to be living in a country so full of opportunities.

"It's a great country," said Linus, the father of nine ranging in ages from 25-46. "America gave opportunities to my children."

Fr. Muma says that he was of two minds when he came to America. He had a serious interest in becoming a pharmacist, but his desire to become a priest was always strong.

As a child he attended St. John Parish in Bamenda, in northwest Cameroon. There, his father says, he was an obedient boy who never missed church and always volunteered his time to help others.

When Linus found out his son was going to enter the priesthood, he was ecstatic.

"It was wonderful," he said. "The whole family was too happy.

"I cannot express my joy."

Fr. Muma, who was ordained in 2008, says that he sees now how the example set by his parents made his priestly life possible.

"I see that my parents have truly directed me to be where I am today with their prayer life and our family life," he said. "I'm a person of prayer because of them. They gave me so much encouragement when I finally chose to become a priest. They supported me wholeheartedly."

He said he's most thankful for the opportunity to be brought up in the faith and for teaching him at an early age that faith should be the most important aspect of life.

"Me being a priest is a dream come true for them, as well as for me," he said.