“What a great road lies ahead”

Before leaving for college, Deacon Zachary (Zak) Boazman and his mom Janette were in a car running errands. His mom asked if he still planned to study science and possibly enter the medical field. His response: “I think I am supposed to be a priest.” 
 
“At that moment it became very real, he meant it, he thought he was supposed to be a priest,” Janette Boazman said.
 
The priesthood always seemed like a possibility for Boazman. He attended Cistercian Preparatory School, in Irving, Texas, and during eighth-grade, he thought becoming a monk would be “an interesting way to live my life.” As a high school senior, he began attending daily Mass and that’s where his future came into focus.
 
“My daily encounter with the Eucharist and the priest as minister of the Blessed Sacrament: that’s where I heard the call. I didn’t really even know what it all meant, but by the end of my senior year in high school, I was convinced it was for me.”
 
In August 2010, Boazman went to the University of Oklahoma as a national merit scholar. He arrived at OU the same time Father Jim Goins was assigned to Saint Thomas More University Parish; something Boazman said was “God’s providence.”
 
Boazman shared his calling to the Cistercian monastery with Father Goins, and in turn Father Goins asked, “Have you ever thought of diocesan priesthood?” Boazman said he rejected the idea for a year, but Father Goins was persistent and continued to encourage him to discern.
 
“I've always tried to impress on Zak how incredibly powerful and beautiful it is to say a Mass, to act ‘in persona Christi.’ I've also advised him to remain close to Our Lady. And, I always remind him to visit the sick. In fact, he often has accompanied me on sick calls,” Father Goins said.
 
In addition to the mentorship from Father Goins, there are two events that drove Boazman to apply to be a seminarian for the Archdiocese of Oklahoma City. The first event was a 2011 trip to the Camino de Santiago.
 
“I believe the Holy Spirit worked to open my heart there to allow me to hear God’s call, which he had been communicating during my whole time at OU.”
 
The second event was hearing Archbishop Coakley tell his vocation story.
 
“Something clicked in me. I resonated with his desire for a contemplative monastic priesthood, but his choice ultimately in following God’s call to pursue diocesan priesthood. Almost immediately after that evening, I talked to Father Jim, I called Father (William) Novak, and began the application process.”
 
Boazman earned a bachelor’s degree in mathematics from OU in 2012 and entered Saint John Vianney Theological Seminary in Denver. He will earn a bachelor’s degree in sacred theology and a master’s degree in divinity.
 
“I feel so proud of Zak. He has taken seminary formation seriously. His spiritual and intellectual growth has inspired me. In a very real sense, his journey to priesthood has made me a better priest,” Father Goins said.
 
Janette Boazman said she and her husband, Mike, thought their son would get to OU and his calling would fade.
 
“But, it didn’t. It only strengthened once he met Father Jim and the parishioners of Saint Thomas More. It certainly was a time when I witnessed God’s hand at work.”
 
Deacon Boazman added, “In many ways, ‘father’ is such an appropriate title for Father Jim, as he has been a spiritual father to me.”
 
The seven years of formation Boazman has spent in Denver have been a great blessing, a time of growth and a challenge, he said.
 
“I am forced to recognize my own faults and failings and need for God’s mercy and grace. Nevertheless, I’ve been blessed to be surrounded by many priests and other men studying for priesthood who have helped me grow along the way, not the least of whom is my classmate and great friend, Alex Kroll.”
 
Kroll will be ordained to the priesthood along with Boazman in June.
 
Deacon Boazman said he looks forward most to celebrating Mass.
 
“I have gone to daily Mass almost every day since I turned 18. To be able to offer the sacrifice of the Mass is a very meaningful transition in my spiritual life. So, my first Mass of Thanksgiving will be a big moment.”
 
Father Goins said Boazman’s faithful prayer life and his work ethic will serve him well as a priest and in attracting more young men to the priesthood.
 
Janette Boazman said her biggest hopes for her son are that he has lifelong happiness, a spirit of hopefulness in his life and his work, that he is a strong leader for his parish and parishioners, that he finds fellowship and brotherhood in the presbyterate and that his relationship with Christ grows stronger each day.
 
Boazman will be ordained into the priesthood at 10 a.m. June 29 at Saint Mark in Norman.
 
His advice to young men discerning a call to the priesthood is to be generous and patient. His words to the four other transitional deacons who will be ordained in June are, “I can’t believe we made it! What a great road lies ahead.”
 
Dana Attocknie is managing editor of the Sooner Catholic.