Oh brother! There’s a priest in the family
Laura Keener
Editor
Nobody knows us better than our siblings, especially when siblings are close in age. In the course of playing, living and growing up together, siblings have a front row seat to our worst flaws and our best virtues. They are our ultimate critics — knowing we’re far from perfect, routinely making a point of it and yet quick to defend if anyone else dares to challenge us.
So, what’s it like when your brother becomes a priest? We reached out to Sean Kunath, brother of Father Conor Kunath, to gather some insights.
Sean, his wife Sarah and three young children are parishioners of St. Anthony Parish, Taylor Mill. He is two years younger than his brother, Father Kunath. The brothers are part of a large family. Their parents, Dr. Arthur and Colleen Kunath, have seven children and 28 grandchildren and counting.
Father Kunath was ordained a priest for the Diocese of Covington on June 1, 2019. In addition to being pastor at Sts. Boniface and James Parish, Ludlow, Father Kunath is also vocations director for the Diocese of Covington and chaplain for Notre Dame Academy, the Serra Club for Vocations Northern Kentucky and the Couple-to-Couple League of Northern Kentucky.
Mr. Kunath said that Father Kunath’s vocation to the priesthood came as no surprise.
“For as long as I can remember, Conor had always expressed the firm intention of becoming a priest,” said Mr. Kunath. “I think he, himself, has stated that he felt called to the priesthood as early as seven or eight years old.”
That early priestly calling did not interfere in the typical brotherly relationship that the two shared growing up or have now.
“I don’t think our relationship as brothers has changed too dramatically. It honestly doesn’t feel like we’ve changed much in the way we interact or converse,” said Mr. Kunath. “At the same time, I am aware of a new and deeper reality that is present in my brother. I recognize the fact that he has been transformed by Christ at his ordination to be a particular instrument of God’s grace and mercy. Whenever I see him administer the sacraments, I am aware of this deeper reality of his person. In those moments, it’s not really my brother Conor anymore, but Christ Himself before me, pouring out His grace and mercy through my brother. In that way, it’s really something amazing to see, but it’s not like I’m going to tell him that to his face. Humility is a virtue after all.”
Mr. Kunath also finds it amusing when people share their admiration for his brother, the priest. But he appreciates and has a deep understanding of the priestly vocation as being set apart from the vocations of marriage and single life.
“Well, I do think it’s funny to hear how complimentary people are about him. It’s not surprising, since he is a good priest (so far as I can tell), but it’s sometimes incongruous to my own experience of him as a brother: the smack talk, the derision, and so on. I think anyone who has a sibling can relate to that,” said Mr. Kunath. “I do think that, generally speaking, people have a hard time understanding the priesthood and its meaning. I remember in college that a number of people bristled when told that the religious life was a higher calling than the married life. I assume that’s more or less derived from the general American egalitarian disposition. It honestly never made much sense to me. We see in Mary and Martha that there is a hierarchy of vocations. While we should desire to pursue the highest vocation, we should also be aware that God calls some to a higher place and some to a lower place, and that our pride is what is injured when we hear that. The archangels and angels do not complain that they are not Seraphim and Cherubim but rather glory in the work that God has set out for them, despite it being of a lower order. Why should we do otherwise?”
Given Father Kunath’s multiple priestly assignments in addition to the demands of being readily available to minister to God’s people, it’s expected that he would have less time for his family. That fact doesn’t diminish the desire to be close from the people who love him most — his family.
“While I do think that his vocation has introduced some amount of friction, it’s not altogether surprising to me,” said Mr. Kunath. “By responding to God’s call, Conor has put his hand to the plow, and as his family, we shouldn’t expect to be the primary focus of his time, energy, and attention.”
Those “frictions” said Mr. Kunath are a part of all vocations.
“In all honesty, we should always expect a vocation to introduce some friction in our lives,” Mr. Kunath said. “Christ Himself says that He came to bring division (Luke 12: 49-53). When we respond to God’s call in our lives, there will always be others who will question it, who will push back against it, who will fight it. Often this opposition is borne out of a genuine goodwill and love, but that goodwill does not prevent the pain and confusion that ensue. When my brother was ordained, he was set apart for the work of the kingdom of God and that must always come first in his life now.”
