‘Something more’ set Deacon Bresowar on journey

Knowing “there is something more here” set Deacon Joseph Bresowar on a path of discovery that is leading him to a priestly vocation.

He will spend the next year as a transitional deacon at St. Margaret Queen of Scotland Church in Albany where he will learn the finer elements of serving humanity. 

Bishop Michael G. Duca ordained Deacon Bresowar as a transitional deacon May 28 at St. Joseph Cathedral. He is scheduled to be ordained to the priesthood in May 2023.

A native of Gonzales, Deacon Bresowar grew up in a musically talented, faithful Catholic family. His father was choir director at St. Theresa of Avila Church in Gonzales, and his mother would travel to various churches playing the piano. His sister, Rebecca, was choir director at St. John the Evangelist Church in Prairieville, and she enlisted him to help out with the choir there during his high school years.

While church, itself, was in the foreground, Deacon Bresowar said the familiarity of the church environment prompted him to become complacent. 

But it’s in those “aha” moments in reflecting back that Deacon Bresowar can see the seeds “planted in darkness” led to his call to discern the priesthood.

In the high school PSR program at St. Theresa, Deacon Bresowar was one of the most outspoken and engaged of his peers. He was known as the “teacher’s pet” or “star pupil” and jealous students snickered behind his back. 

But Deacon Bresowar sees how those memories played a part in his vocational discernment.

“When I went (to PSR class) most of the high schoolers were just there because their parents made them be there,” he said. “I saw that and I thought ‘that doesn’t seem quite right, seems like there’s something more here.’

“I like the moreness of it, that there is something more.”

There was a similar occurrence during his time in his sister’s choir.

“It was this thing of ‘I’m taking ownership of this.’ I’m putting myself into this and taking a certain amount of pride in it, giving myself to it, and it’s something that is helping the church,” he said. “It’s something that is a part of what the church does. Just going and making music on Sunday and making beautiful music to help people’s worship experience. 

“There were a lot of moments in (those) that were really kind of watershed moments.”

Deacon Bresowar thought if everyone in the church was engaged with the Mass as he felt he was, they would have vibrant faith.

“Singing for Mass you have to be engaged with what’s going on,” he said. “You have to know what’s coming next. Even that simple act of ‘Okay, I’m paying attention to what’s going on because I’m interested in what’s about to come because I might have to sing something and I should be prepared for that.’ ” 

As he sat with the choir and listened to the homily, he found himself pondering the readings and rewriting the homily in the way he would give it.

“I had these thoughts sometimes that ‘It’s a shame that I’m not going to be a priest because (the inspirational thoughts he had) would make a really good homily,’ ” said Deacon Bresowar, who grinned about “God’s sense of humor.”

Family members asked him if he considered becoming a priest. From the time he was 12 years old his cousin, a priest in the Diocese of Birmingham, Alabama, asked him, “Joseph when are you going to be a priest?” 

He usually “wrote him off” because he believed it was coming from the perspective that any young, single Catholic man with a pulse should consider being a priest rather than there was “anything special” about him. But he agrees it’s healthy for young men to consider the priesthood to discover their true vocational call.

His sister Rebecca, who profoundly influenced his vocational call, asked him “out of the blue” one night if he had considered the priesthood. He gave the standard answer: “No, I don’t think so.” 

She didn’t push him but said, “Well, maybe you should think about it” and encouraged him to discuss it with someone because “you will never know if it’s for you if you never ask.”

While he wasn’t ready to “sign up yet” there was a bit of excitement and curiosity and sense that maybe the priesthood could be fulfilling.

After a couple of days, Deacon Bresowar went back to “Plan A,” which was to get a college degree, marry and have a family.

However, it was during his college years while attending  Christ the King Church and Student Center in Baton Rouge that his call to discern a priestly vocation came into clearer focus.

“I was getting more involved in my faith (at CTK) and experiencing a vibrant faith community populated with people my own age who actually cared about the faith more than I did. That was new for me. I hadn’t experienced that before,” said Deacon Bresowar.

He said CTK caught him at the right moment when he was ready to say, “I need more of Jesus in my life.” The call to priesthood came to the forefront and he knew he “had to deal with it, because otherwise, nothing made sense until he dealt with the fundamental question.”

The first person Deacon Bresowar talked to about his possible call to priesthood was Father Matthew Graham, who at that time was parochial vicar at CTK. Between his junior and senior years at LSU the process bore fruit and he was ready to talk to Vocations Director Father Andrew Merrick, who was then parochial vicar at CTK.

After finishing his bachelor’s degree in civil engineering in 2017, Deacon Bresowar entered seminary at St. Joseph Seminary College in St. Benedict.

There he found the peace and sense of community he had longed for.

“What seminary has to teach me is not just pertaining to knowing my vocation to the priesthood. It also teaches me about humanity and that each human person is created in the image of God,” said Deacon Bresowar.

He expressed excitement about his assignment at St. Margaret.

“I’m looking forward to stretching my wings,” said Deacon Bresowar. “I’m looking forward to seeing what formation has done for me in terms of how I am able to take everything I have been given and give it in an authentic, pastoral way to the people that I am going to serve.”