Celebrating Catholic Men of Faith
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A Message from Bishop VásquezJune 2024
Dear friends:
As we approach Father’s Day, I am filled with gratitude for the opportunity to celebrate the men of the Diocese of Austin. Their unwavering dedication to their families, communities, and, most importantly, their faith, serves as an inspiration to us all.
Reflecting on the virtues of faith, service, and perseverance, I am reminded of the profound impact my own father had on our family. He was a man of deep faith who loved his family and instilled a deep trust in God that continues to sustain us to this day.
Allow me to share with you the stories of two remarkable men from our diocese who embody the spirit of faith and service: Hoang Ba Thong’s journey from a reeducation camp in Vietnam to active participation at Holy Vietnamese Martyrs Parish in Austin is a testament to the power of hope and perseverance in the face of adversity. His unwavering trust in God inspires us all.
John Gilluly, a dedicated member of Emmaus Parish in Lakeway, demonstrates the importance of faith in family life and community service. His commitment to serving others, particularly through restorative justice ministry, reflects his deep-rooted faith and compassion.
As we honor the men highlighted in this brochure and their stories, let us also recognize the countless other fathers, brothers, sons, and friends who embody the values of faith, service, and perseverance within our diocese. May their examples inspire us to deepen our own faith and strive for lives of holiness and service.
Wishing you a blessed Father’s Day filled with the joy and grace of God’s love.Gratefully in Christ,
Most Reverend Joe S. Vásquez
Bishop of Austin
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Karl Kuykendall
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St. Mary Parish, Temple -
John Gilluly
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Emmaus Parish, Lakeway -
Deacon Ron Walker
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St. Ignatius Marty Parish, Austin -
Hoang Ba Thong
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Holy Vietnamese Martyrs Parish, Austin - Father Jim Olnhausen
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Buzz Gilliland
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St. Paul Chong Hasang Parish, Harker Heights
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Karl Kuykendall strives to “live a life that’s pleasing to Jesus.”
“We’re fortunate to have a very loving and forgiving God,” he said. “My Catholic faith enables me to hopefully live a life that is worthy of his generosity and his many blessings.”
Karl begins every morning with 30 minutes of prayer, reads Scripture twice a day and attends a weekly Bible study at his parish, St. Mary in Temple. Besides Sunday Mass, he goes to daily Mass when he is able, and prays in his parish’s adoration chapel every Friday at 9 a.m.
Karl sees men as earthly fathers tasked with teaching, guiding and leading by example. While that can be a challenge, he is grateful for the role models all around him, like his pastor, Father Will Rooney, as well as other close priest friends.Like God cares for all of us, “we need to try to do the same for others,” he said. “God and family are first. Check your ego at the door and be more of a good neighbor and more concerned about other people.”
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John Gilluly sees men who live out their faith as essential role models—to others and especially to their families.
“Faith is not unilateral to one member of the family or one parent,” said John, a member of Emmaus Parish in Lakeway. “Both parents need to set examples for their kids and others.”
John’s own faith, belief, and trust in God provides him with “a moral compass.”
“It guides me in my thoughts, my choice of words, actions, and my decision-making,” he said. And more than anything else, “faith gives me hope.”
For John, living out his faith includes being involved in parish life and ministries in addition to attending Sunday Mass as a family. For more than 20 years, he has served with restorative justice, letting God work through him to minister to those caught up in the criminal justice system.“For me, prison ministry is a way of giving back to help those less fortunate in our society, “he said. “It’s a ministry of presence perhaps more than anything else. By taking the time to be present for prison inmates, you show respect for their dignity as human beings and by doing so, you give them hope and a purpose for their life.”
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Although all men are essential to the Church, the clergy live out their faith through service and sacrifice in a very particular way.
“A priest devotes his entire life to the Church,” said Deacon Ron Walker, who serves as chancellor and lead in-house legal counsel for the Diocese of Austin and is also assigned to St. Ignatius Martyr Parish in Austin. “The priest forgoes work in the world for monetary compensation and relies totally and wholly on the church for his physical sustenance so he can devote his life to priestly ministry.”
They image Christ in all aspects of their lives and are essential to the traditions of the faith and for the church to offer the sacraments.
Deacon Ron, who was ordained to the permanent diaconate in 2000, counts the priests of the diocese among his role models. “I’ve learned so much from so many of them,” he said. “They have all these great talents.”Through his own ministry, Deacon Ron aims to live out his faith in the same way, in every single moment. “Without it, I wouldn’t be alive, nor would I sense the joy that God bestows on us,” he said.
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Without faith, we live “a life without purpose,” said Hoang Ba Thong.
A one-time seminarian in Vietnam, Hoang spent 13 years in the military. After the fall of Saigon, he was sent to a reeducation camp, where he labored for another 13 years, unsure if or when he would see his family again. “I always pray and have hope in God,” he said.
When the United States offered Hoang and his wife visas, allowing them to join their children in 1992, they settled in Texas at the encouragement of a former seminary classmate, Msgr. Joe Van Nguyen, and became active members of Holy Vietnamese Martyrs Parish in Austin. He set up and attended daily Mass and served as a eucharistic minister and on the parish council.
“I try to remind my children and grandchildren to participate in parish activities and strive to set a good example for them to follow,” he said, noting that they are involved with religious education, youth ministry, the choir and the pastoral council.
Now retired and widowed, Hoang takes care of his grandchildren while their parents are at work. He is fortunate to live near his parish and continues to attend Mass daily.“I found God in my happy days and my challenging days, and I learned to understand that God loves me with unconditional love,” he said.
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For Father Jim Olnhausen, faith is the “oxygen of my soul.”
“It helps me breathe all that God has revealed,” he said. “It is the fabric of my spirit. It guides me, protects me. Without it, my life would have no meaning.”
Father Olnhausen retired in July 2016 as pastor of St. Margaret in Giddings and its mission parish, St. Mary in Pin Oak. Through his vocation, he has lived out his faith in a formal way that mirrors what ordinary Catholic men also do in an extraordinary way. He preaches and teaches, prays over God’s people and blesses, counsels and consoles them, and attends to the sick and the dying.
During his senior years, Father Olnhausen lives out his faith daily through prayer and service to those in need, especially the poor. In addition, he continues to deepen his faith through prayerful reading and study, so he is always prepared to “share it, giving witness to its beauty and wisdom.”“I try to be an agent of connectivity uniting people for the purpose of building the Kingdom of God on earth,” he said.
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When Buzz Gilliland serves as an extraordinary minister of the Eucharist at Mass, he thinks about what his former pastor, Father Richard O’Rourke, always emphasized. “I need to be reverent,” he said. “I’ve got the Body of Christ in my hands.”
He cannot help but reflect on Simeon holding Christ in his arms, and how special he must have felt, knowing he was holding the Messiah. “In some ways, I’m doing that when I am holding the Savior at Mass,” he said. “That’s a special grace.”
A member of St. Paul Chong Hasang Parish in Harker Heights, where he is the business administrator, Buzz continues to learn about his faith. He is grateful for the opportunity to attend daily Mass; he also begins his day in prayer and reads the Magnificat and books about the saints and Catholicism.
“My faith keeps me centered and gives me a purpose in life,” he said. “Our belief in salvation is something that makes me know that if I live my life as I should and according to what God has given us, that someday, please God, I’ll be in heaven with God and with my family and friends. And that’s the comforting feeling that helps get me through my days.”
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Karl Kuykendall
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Most Rev. Joe S. Vásquez
“Reflecting on the virtues of faith, service, and perseverance, I am reminded of the profound impact my own father had on our family. He was a man of deep faith who loved his family and instilled a deep trust in God that continues to sustain us to this day.”
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Prayer to St. Joseph
Hail, Guardian of the Redeemer,
Spouse of the Blessed Virgin Mary.
To you God entrusted his only Son;
in you Mary placed her trust;
with you Christ became man.
Blessed Joseph, to us too,
show yourself a father
and guide us in the path of life.
Obtain for us grace, mercy, and courage,
and defend us from every evil.
Amen.
(Pope Francis, Patris Corde)
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