Another cool "Deacon story"

Thomas Flowers, SJ, Ordained a Transitional Deacon

By The Valley Catholic -

April 24, 2018

Deacon Thomas Flowers, SJ and Deacon Phil Flowers in front of the tomb of Saint Ignatius, Church of the Gesù, Rome. (Photo credit: Sarah Flowers)

Thomas Flowers, SJ, son of Deacon Phil and Sarah Flowers of Morgan Hill, was ordained a transitional Deacon at the Church of the Gesù in Rome on April 3 by Cardinal Walter Kasper. The younger Deacon Flowers was ordained along with fifteen other Jesuits, his classmates at the Collegio Internationale del Gesù, in the presence of Father Arturo Sosa, the General Superior of the Society of Jesus (Jesuits). Deacon Flowers and his classmates represent ten different countries, including Canada, Cuba, Croatia, India, Thailand, and Portugal. They are all studying theology at the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome and will be ordained priests over the coming year.
Deacon Flowers will be ordained a priest in San Diego on June 9. He grew up in Morgan Hill and attended Bellarmine College Preparatory in San Jose. At Saint Catherine parish in Morgan Hill, he was an altar server and a member of the high school Confirmation team. He entered the Society of Jesus in 2007. During his formation as a Jesuit, he studied philosophy and history at Saint Louis University, taught world history and religion for two years at Bellarmine, and worked for a year on the U.S./Mexican border with deported migrants at the Kino Border Initiative before being sent to Rome for theology. He is also the author of two books: Walking Humbly: Scripture Meditations in Verse and God’s Invitation: Meditations on a Covenant Relationship.
After his ordination as a priest, he will serve at Most Holy Trinity parish in San Jose for the summer, before going to England in the fall to complete his doctorate in history at the University of York.
Thomas Flowers’ parents went to Rome for the ordination. His father, Phil, a permanent deacon of the Diocese of San Jose, participated in the liturgy, including vesting his son in his new deacon vestments.
“Our vocations developed separately, and have taken different paths,” says Deacon Phil, “but it was wonderful to celebrate together our shared service to the people of God.”