‘God doesn’t call the qualified; he qualifies the called’

By Deacon Mark Bowman

I believe my journey to the diaconate started in earnest in 2012. This was when I was asked to attend a “That Man is You” program that was just getting started at St. James, my home parish. I remember that I couldn’t find a good excuse to say no to the personal invitation to attend. So I went, and I kept on going. During those first couple of years, my Faith seemed to really come alive, and I was like a sponge trying to soak up as much as I could. I couldn’t get enough “Catholic food” to fill me up!

I could feel myself changing and knew that God was working on me, and I think I just kept saying yes and being open to the changes that were taking place. I know I was happier at this point in my life than I had ever been.

If my wife, Mary, would be telling you this story, she would also agree that I was changing for the better. I was becoming a much better husband, father and lover of Christ.

Our youngest daughter was the only one left at home at this time, and she would also tell you that she could see some changes happening. She would ask me every Thursday how my “bro group” was that week. We had some great conversations talking about what I was learning.

Then probably about four years into this men’s group, I was approached by one of the participants and he asked me – “Mark, have you ever thought about becoming a deacon? I think you would make a good one.” Hopefully, I held it together externally because inside I was laughing hysterically! Who? Me? You apparently have the wrong guy, I thought. There is no way God is calling me to be a deacon.

I remember this so vividly as I couldn’t get to my truck fast enough to call Mary. I knew we would have such a laugh about this together. I told her what I had been asked and awaited her laugh and then something happened – she didn’t laugh. Instead, I heard, “Yeah, I can see that happening. I think you would make a good deacon." What just happened? Now the call was in my head. What was I supposed to do with this? I thought, “I know, I’ll call Father Jim (now Bishop Jim), he knows me well. Again, not the answer I expected. He told me, “I think someone’s talking to you. You should pray on it.” OK, whatever. Now I call Father Matt. He knows me well and, surely, he will tell me what I want to hear. His response was, “Mark, God doesn’t call the qualified; he qualifies the called. Please pray about this.”

As I prayed about this, I just couldn’t get rid of it. It was always in my head. I hadn’t said anything to any of my kids, so one night on a family trip together, as we were all sitting around the table, I told them that someone had asked me to consider becoming a deacon. I was sure this would get them laughing, but again their response was not what I had expected. They responded that they could see me doing this.

After that encounter, I went ahead and contacted Father Hock at the Vocations Office and started the application process. My cohort began their year of discernment in the fall of 2017 and five of us were ordained on May 20, 2022.

My diaconate formation continued my study of the Catholic Faith. It also brought my prayer life to a whole new level. My marriage has also benefited greatly and our prayer life as a couple has also been a great blessing. I am so grateful to my wife, Mary, who has walked and continues to walk this journey with me. We are definitely a deacon couple, and I am blessed she is such a big part of this ministry.

These past two and a half years since my ordination have had many blessings. The day after my ordination, I was blessed to baptize my granddaughter, Jordan. Since then, I have been blessed to baptize my other grandchildren, Eliza, AJ and Samantha. 

I am also blessed with being able to take Communion to the hospital patients once a week and provide a communion service weekly to the Central Nebraska Veterans Home. It is my great joy to be called to serve at baptisms, witness weddings, preside at funeral vigils and committal services. God is also using me to visit some of the inmates at our local detention center.

I am so grateful that God has called me to serve his church as a deacon. It has gone from being in my head to being a part of my heart. I heard this saying once, “Say yes to God in everything.” A verse I strive to live by is Colossians 3:2: “Set your mind on the things that are above, not on earthly things.”