“It’s a journey we have to do together”

 
While their husbands had lessons every Saturday, their wives would come together every other week and they grew closer. Jennifer Brady, the wife of Michael Brady from St. Philip the Apostle, treasures these moments: “It is such a blessing that we have one another—we share the same stories, and we pray for one another.”
 
It was a different moment for each of them when their husbands shared that they felt called to become a deacon. “Brian discerned for a long time,” shares Analisa Iber. “When he brought it up the first time, I was not ready. Five years later, I said, ‘Yes, I’m ready now. It is a journey that you have to do together.” Shanna Larson would not have thought about that when she married Bill: “I’m a cradle Catholic. I went to Catholic schools, but Bill was baptized as a Lutheran.  He would come to Mass with me and later become Catholic, and I am just so thankful to watch this seed grow.”
 
Jennifer’s husband knew his calling for a long time: “He spent 21 years in the Marine Corps, and he always said, ‘I’m going to be a deacon.’ When he retired from the Marines, it was the next step – he said, ‘I served my country, now I want to serve God.’” He had an uncle who was a deacon, and looking at him was special for Jennifer, too: “He treated his wife so well, so I said, I want to be married to a deacon, too.”
 

Grace, the wife of Thomas Gonzalez, Ss. Cyril & Methodius, Corpus Christi

Analisa, the wife of Brian Iber, St. Pius X

Shanna, the wife of William Larson, St. Philip the Apostle, Corpus Christi

Adelaide, the wife of Charles Mendoza, St. Philip the Apostle, Corpus Christi

Jennifer, the wife of Michael Brady, St. Philip the Apostle in Corpus Christi

Each one of their husbands has served for some time – they are used to being men of service. Grace, the wife of Thomas Gonzalez from Ss. Cyril & Methodius remembered one aunt who always told her husband, “You will be a deacon one day.” Now, it is also time for him to dedicate himself fully to the Church – after being an Eagle Scout, serving in the Air Force, and working for the state.
 
Adel Mendoza and her husband Charles always wanted to get to know the priests when they arrived at a new assignment. In North Carolina, one asked her husband about considering the diaconate. “God’s things come from God, and they happen for a reason,” she says. A vocation is never about “just doing it,” but it is a grace in action.
 How did their children cope with the journey? Grace remembers their two daughters being very supportive: “They said, this is what you need to be doing, and they were with us on our journey.” Analisa’s and Brian’s children were still small when they started the formation program, “We always taught them that faith is number 1 in our family. They just said, ‘That’s OK.’” Jennifer thinks it will also be formative for their children: “They can say, ‘My dad is a man of service. Deacons are never in the limelight but serve in the background.”
 
Shanna remembers how they felt after the first meeting: “When we heard about all the obligations and expectations, it was overwhelming. But we said we’ll leave it in God’s hands.” Now, after five years, the journey starts into a new phase. They will most likely get assigned to a new parish with their ordination. “For me, St. Pius X is our home, so it will be an adjustment. But it’s going to be a blessing," says Analisa.
 
They all said that the formation period brought them closer as a couple. They spent more time together praying and talking about the topics of the formation program. Now, they look forward to the big day when their husbands will be ordained. It’s not the end of the journey—it’s only the beginning!