Ordinations

I believe the seed of the vocation was planted toward the end of my five years with the Companions of Christ, an archdiocesan association of priests. I knew I was not called to be a priest, but there remained this pull on my heart to be near the altar.

The word “surrender” has been a big part of what I am called to — surrender to his will and not my own.

My wife has always been my inspiration. A strong role model for me was my dad, a daily communicant with a strong devotion to the rosary.

I attended a Christ Renews His Parish retreat in March of 2016 that included the sacrament of reconciliation. I remember preparing well prior to participating in the sacrament, and then I made a thorough confession.

This has always been in the back of my mind my entire adult life. A serious back injury about 10 years ago brought everything into sharp focus in that it caused me to rethink how I see myself — not as success/failure, but as a son of God.

Leading a retreat program at my parish, I recognized my passion for growing deeper in my faith and accompanying others on their own faith journey. During this time, I began noticing that God was placing a desire to continue this trajectory through the diaconate.

Throughout my adult life, I have felt a desire to serve other people and to serve God. The opportunity to serve as a deacon in the Church has been on my heart for 20-plus years. I am very excited to fulfill this call.

The initial spark of inspiration was lit by the late Father Bill Martin. I admired him for being welcoming, accepting, friendly, kind, humble and very caring. I’ll never forget when, after months of formation in the RCIA, when he baptized me at the 2005 Easter Vigil, I made a statement (paraphrasing) “Now that it’s done, I can relax.” To which he replied, “No son — you’re a disciple now, and your work is just beginning.”