Being a deacon ‘has led me into a deeper relationship with Christ’

Ifirst heard the call to the diaconate in 2004 when I was serving as a catechist in our parish RCIA program. At the time I was too young to pursue ordination. When I was able to apply in 2008, I was not accepted for formation due to life circumstances. I had just started a new job in campus ministry, and all our children were still very young. Our family life was chaotic enough without adding the demands of formation.

When I re-applied for the next formation class our family was in a much more stable position. And when I was ordained in 2018 I had 10 years of professional lay ministry under my belt. That was very good for my discernment process, because I knew that I didn’t need to be ordained in order to serve the Church.

Ever since I discovered the beauty and truth of the Catholic faith in college, I have felt a desire to give back to the Church. But the call to ordained ministry is deeper than that. It is a call for “kenosis” (emptying of self), to enter into the servant mystery of Jesus Christ and allow Him to work through you to draw others toward Himself. Diaconal ministry is very humbling and involves both offering your best in the service of Christ and also getting out of the way to let Jesus do the heavy lifting.

Five years after ordination, I’m still doing the same job in campus ministry, but there is a different spirit animating the work that I do, and I feel a strength and assurance that I did not have before. Being a deacon has led me into a deeper relationship with Christ and I couldn’t imagine being anything else at this point.

“If some of you hear the call to follow Christ more closely, to dedicate your entire heart to Him, lik e the Apostles John and Paul...

be generous, do not be afraid,

...because you have nothing to fear when the prize that you await is God Himself, for Whom, sometimes without ever knowing it, all young people are searching.”

-Saint John Paul II

Father Christopher Gober Director of Vocations

(704)370-3353

1123 South Church Street Charlotte, NC 28203-4003 vocationsmail@rcdoc.org