Father Malachi Clark overcomes challenges on his way to the priesthood
By Eileen Jevis
Staff writer
This is the third and final interview of a three-part series that offers a better understanding of the joys and challenges our priests experience as servants of God. We are deeply grateful for their service to God and His people, particularly as parishioners in the seven counties that comprise the Diocese of Syracuse.
Fr. Malachi Clark first felt the stirring to become a priest when he was just 3 or 4 years old. He started to seriously discern a call to vocation during his teenage years, and in 2012, he entered the Cathedral Seminary in Douglaston, NY, graduating with a Bachelor of Arts in Philosophy at St. John’s University three years later. He went on to St. Mary’s Seminary and University in Baltimore, Md., graduating with an M.A. in Theology.
His journey to the priesthood was not without challenges. In 2017, soon after beginning his pastoral year of service at Holy Family Church in Syracuse, Father Malachi was diagnosed with cancer. After multiple surgeries, weeks of chemotherapy, and countless prayers, he was deemed cancer-free. Eager to get back to his studies, Fr. Malachi was again sidelined due to the pandemic. His final semester at St. Mary’s Seminary was cut short, so he returned to his ministry at Holy Family and completed his studies online. He was ordained to the priesthood in 2020.
After serving at Holy Family, Fr. Malachi was appointed parochial vicar of St. Mary’s Church and St. Anthony’s Church in Cortland, St. Margaret’s Church in Homer, St. Lawrence Mission in DeRuyter, and St. Patrick Oratory in Truxton. As of July 1, he was appointed administrator of these same parishes as well as sacramental provider for SUNY Cortland Newman Center. Fr. Malachi took time from his busy schedule to answer a few questions.
Q. Since your ordination in 2020, how has your ministry been going? What has been unexpected, and what is the most fulfilling?
A. I will say that this has been a beautiful and amazing adventure of service as a priest. There have been lots of surprises, especially the wide variety of situations I have been called to serve and be present in. Through it all, the Lord has been good to me, teaching me to trust him one day at a time, and to be more and more of a shepherd and guide. In addition, there was a personal spiritual crisis early in my priesthood, where I was reminded that I had to trust the Lord and His Mother more and more, so I could be a better shepherd for others.
Q. What is a typical day for you as a priest and administrator of multiple parishes and as sacramental provider for the SUNY Cortland Newman Center?
A. Every day, I spend about an hour in personal prayer and reflection (typically including the Divine Office, meditation, Rosary, and spiritual readings). Prayer is essential for me to live my priesthood in union with Christ. Typically, my days and weeks include celebration of daily Mass and Reconciliation and the other Sacraments, interacting, and working with the wonderful staff of our different parishes. We have about 90 funerals per year between our parishes, and a good number of baptisms in our parishes.
I also serve as a confessor and spiritual guide for a religious community of sisters in our Diocese. There are also different events that arise regularly. I call those events “God’s surprises.” They include hospital calls and ministering to people preparing for death and their loved ones. I am periodically called on to minister to the parish school community at St Mary’s.
Q. In your new role as administrator of the five parishes, how will you juggle multiple responsibilities and the expectations of your parishioners?
A. I haven’t been an administrator before, and I have no idea as to what this new adventure will entail. In God’s good time, the methods of juggling and the balancing of the different assignments will emerge if I am open to Christ and take one day at a time.
Fr. Malachi Clark joyfully baptizes his niece Charlotte Rose Clark at St. Anthony’s Parish in Cortland (photo Fr. Malachi)
Q. As the number of priests declines, can you talk about the importance of deacons and lay ministers who assist you?
Deacons and lay ministers are needed, not only to help us priests in our ministry with our shrinking numbers, but also because they have gifts to share. Perhaps this is an opportunity for us to discover ways to use the gifts that we have (in our different callings and roles in life) in order to live and preach the Gospel in ways that are faithful, creative, and new. The roles of the Deacons are crucial as they cover many ministerial activities such as preaching, baptisms, wakes, and burials. We are grateful, too, for the amazing work of the lay ministers in our parishes.
Q. How do you rapidly change focus throughout the day/week, etc.?
A. All I can say is that I am invited to enter into the present moment of each precious day, and that, when Christ’s surprises come into my days and weeks, I have to be flexible. In this way, I can make room for those surprises, while not neglecting my other tasks.
Q. Who inspired you as you discerned the priesthood?
A. Fr. John Mikalajunas, who was my pastor growing up, and Msgr. Michael Meagher, who was my pastor as I started to actively discern the priesthood, had a significant impact on me. My family and I went to daily Mass, and I looked up and saw what Father did at the Altar and thought, “Maybe that’s what I want to do with my life.” There was a brief hiatus during my teenage years, but even then, thoughts of the priesthood were in the back of my mind and deep in my heart.
Q. In addition to the challenges of finding enough time for all that you do, what other challenges are there?
A. Some other challenges include the parochialist separatism evident in some of the parishes I serve in, as well as the thinking still evident in some of these parishes that the priest needs to do everything.
Q. What do you do for relaxation?
A. I enjoy reading (mystery novels and other good works of literature, works of history, theology, and spirituality), writing (I am waiting to hear from the publisher about a book I wrote), hiking, walking, swimming, fishing, listening to music of all kinds, singing, watching movies, cooking, baking, and enjoying the great outdoors.
Q.Who do you look to for guidance?
A. I pray every day to the Lord for His guidance for my days, and I seek the advice of my brother priests. My family (my parents, my six brothers and one sister, and my 74 nieces and nephews), my spiritual director, my counselors, and friends help keep me grounded and rooted in who I am as a man and as a priest of Christ. They help me not to take myself too seriously.
