My name is Fr. Tim Mouton.  I am very excited to be joining the Vocations Office for the Congregation of Holy Cross.  I am originally from Houston, Texas.  I am the first son of Marty and Paula Mouton.  I am blessed to have five wonderful siblings (four sisters and a brother), three in-laws, and six nieces and nephews.  I am a third generation Holy Cross priest, following in the footsteps on my Great-Uncle Fr. Daniel Panchot, C.S.C. (1965), and my uncle Fr. Jeffrey Allison, C.S.C. (1996). My story begins and ends with family.  It was because of the love and faith of my family, and especially my parents, when I was a young boy that helped me to know God, to love God, and to always know that God loved me.  When I started to discern that God may be calling me to follow him and serve as a priest, I turned to the two priests I knew best, my uncles.  Their gentle guidance and invitation (and the occasional nudge) helped me to take the step to enter seminary formation. 

I began my time in the seminary in the fall of 2006 following my senior year of high school, I had my reservations and fears, but felt God drawing me to himself.  Throughout the next nine years, I received some of the greatest blessings of my life.  I was able to make life-long friends both with the men in the community and with our colleagues and classmates; I was able to grow in my own sense of myself – growing in maturity, confidence, knowledge, and spirituality; and most importantly, I was able to grow in my relationship with our Lord Jesus Christ.  As I mentioned above, I knew Jesus before I entered the seminary – my parents had been tremendous educators in the faith, both by their prayer and their lives – but the seminary gave me the opportunity to dive deeper into my relationship with God and to try and listen to where he was calling me to be.

After nine years of growth, successes, and failures, I was approved to profess forever the vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience in the Congregation of Holy Cross.  This band of men has become my family, a family of priests and brothers striving to make God known, loved, and served.  Following my final vows and ordination, I was privileged to be able to serve in ministry at Stonehill College in Easton, Massachusetts.  Founded in 1948 by the Congregation of Holy Cross, Stonehill is a Catholic Liberal Arts College that strives to educate students to be able to “think, act, and lead with courage towards the creation of a more just and compassionate world.”  I have served at Stonehill for the last three years as the Campus Minister for Faith Formation and the Athletic Chaplain.  I was also fortunate enough to be able to coach on the Varsity Baseball team. 

I am very excited to begin my work in the Vocations Office.  My own experience of listening to God’s call and trying to discern if I was being called to this life was a tremendous experience for me; I am humbled to be able to walk with young men as they strive to quiet their hearts to be able to hear God’s voice in their lives.  I ask for your prayers for me and for the young men discerning God’s call to priesthood and religious life.  Please know of my prayers for you.