GRIDLEY, CA (MPG) - On Saturday, June 25, Bishop Jaime Soto ordained 17 men to the diaconate at the Cathedral of the Blessed Sacrament for the Catholic Diocese of Sacramento. Included among those men was Gridley’s Adam Bowers, whose wife is Dr. Maralee Bowers.

Deacon Adam is assigned to serve Sacred Heart Parish, which also includes Our Lady of Guadalupe church in Live Oak, under the supervision of its pastor, Father Roland Ramirez.

In the Catholic Church, there are three “ranks” of ordained ministers: bishops, priests and deacons. Bishops (including the Pope as the Bishop of Rome) are the highest rank as the successors of the Apostles of Jesus Christ. Priests assist the bishop of a particular territory (known as a diocese) as pastors and associate priests of parish churches. Bishops and priests are almost always unmarried, or “celibate”. Without them, there would be no Holy Mass or sacramental confession.

The third and lowest “rank” of ordained ministers is that of deacon, which comes from the Greek word diakonia, and means “servant”. In Acts, Chapter 6, Stephen was among the seven men chosen for diakonia. A deacon in the Catholic Church serves at the altar and proclaims the Gospel. He also serves the people through works of charity. Deacons are permitted to preach at Mass, perform baptisms, celebrate weddings, preside at funeral rites and lead the people in public prayer.

All bishops and priests are first ordained as deacons, then are subsequently ordained to the higher ranks. For some, including Deacon Adam and the men of his class, they are ordained as “permanent deacons”, meaning that they have received a particular call to service and will remain deacons throughout their ministry. “Permanent” deacons are often married, have families and outside jobs, and are generally assigned by their bishop to serve a parish and assist its pastor in assorted parish ministries.

A few experiences led Deacon Adam to begin discerning if he was being called to the diaconate. On a mission trip to Guatemala, there were encounters with people who were exceedingly poor in the material sense and yet lived joyfully, heralds by word and example of the love of Christ. During trips to China, there was the experience of the “underground Church” there, and faithful people risking their lives and freedom for Christ. At home, service to the poor through Sacred Heart’s Society of St. Vincent DePaul and service to the parish through various ministries further nourished Adam’s vocation.

After a period of inquiry, in 2018 Deacon Adam officially entered diaconate formation, which involves preparing a candidate for ordination by development in the human, academic, pastoral and spiritual dimensions, through classes (on scripture, theology, philosophy, liturgy, canon law, preaching, etc.), ministry work (ministry to the poor, hospital ministry, ministry to the incarcerated, etc.), building relationships with people of other faith backgrounds, service to the parish, deepening the life of prayer, spiritual direction, and work in Spanish. Overall, the formation process was over five years long.

According to Deacon Adam, “My vocation story began as a call to marriage and family life. For Catholics, the family is the ‘domestic church’, through which we are invited to recognize and encourage in one another the gifts we have been blessed by God to receive from Him. The gifts we receive from the domestic church we bring to the greater church community as an offering of service.” Adam explains, “As a deacon, I hope to be of service to our parish and pastor, by listening and accompaniment.”