Father Daniel Bowen: His Story of Faith and Discipleship

Father Daniel

In 2012, after a "difficult time" in my own life, I met Father Daniel Bowen. On a search for a new spiritual director and with many questions of faith, I found the Monastery of Our Lady of Mercy in a local Catholic directory. Although Father Daniel did not wind up becoming my spiritual director, he was the initial person I met upon being introduced to the order.

Not knowing what to expect, the first person I spoke to was then "Deacon Daniel", as he was not ordained into the priesthood yet. Father Daniel opened the doors to me, someone who knew nothing about the Mercedarian Religious Order. I am forever grateful that God led me in the direction of this order as meeting the Mercedarians has been a healing experience in my faith journey. "Deacon Daniel" was kind, open and hospitable to me with my many questions, and he referred me to a spiritual director.

Years later, I now serve as director for the St. Raymond Nonnatus Foundation for Freedom, Family and Faith. The blessings I have received from the Lord as a member of the Third Order of Mercy and the helping others in ministry is a an honor right from God.

Here is Father Daniel Bowen's own words, the story of his life and faith.

A Life of Blessings and God's Love

"I was born and raised in Mayfield Heights, an eastside suburb of Cleveland, Ohio; the middle son of the three boys born to Albert and Jean Bowen. Many of you may be surprised to learn that I am a convert to Catholicism. With Father Francis Van Bergen, I completed my RCIA catechesis and was baptized, confirmed, and received first Holy Eucharist (a.k.a. received into the Church) on Easter Vigil 1994 at Saint Gregory the Great Parish, South Euclid, OH. I will never forget that glorious evening, and that is also why the Easter Vigil Mass is still my favorite of the year. Sadly, like so many who do not take their faith seriously or take it for granted, within a few short years of that great occasion I had stopped going to church.

Thankfully, our Lord never gave up on me. He kept sending to me, through many friends and situations, invitations to return to an active faith relationship with God. Finally on Easter 2003, empty and alone, I finally woke from my selfish brokenness, and simply let God love me. Following a youth retreat I made in the summer of 2003 where I went to the Sacrament of Reconciliation after many years of not going, I was set free and returned to the regular reception of the Most Holy Eucharist. Following that great renewal of my faith in 2003 I began to see the importance of always putting my faith and faith community first in my life.

This renewed love of my relationship to Jesus Christ and the Church He founded caused me to desire to become involved in the many wonderful opportunities at my home parish. These opportunities to give back to God for all He has done for me included becoming a member of the Holy Name Society, Catholic Men’s Fellowship, serving as a Lector, an Extraordinary Minister of Holy Communion, a volunteer at the pizza-sausage booth during my home parish’s annual summer festivals, and as a daily communicant (the profound blessings of going to Daily Mass really should be known by all). It was later in that same year and through my growing love of God and neighbor that I began to experience and eventually respond to a call to the priesthood and religious life.

Following two years of discernment in August 2006 I left my career, possessions, friends, and family and entered the Order of the Blessed Virgin Mary of Mercy (Mercedarian Friars) www.orderofmercy.org. The Order of the Blessed Virgin Mary of Mercy, founded in 1218, is an international community of priests and brothers, who live a life of prayer and communal fraternity based on the Rule of Saint Augustine and the Constitutions of the Order. From this life flows the apostolic work of the Order that seeks to carry on the work of our founder, Saint Peter Nolasco, who in imitation of Jesus the Redeemer, offered even his life for those Christians in need of redemptive love.

We Mercedarian religious strive to live the following spiritual values:

• Example and model of Christ the Redeemer

• A life centered on our Blessed Mother and the Eucharist

• Daily Mass, Liturgy of the Hours, Meditation, and Rosary

• Weekly Eucharistic Exposition and Benediction

• Faithful to the Magisterium of the Church

As Mercedarians we serve in the following ministries:

• Parishes and Parochial Education

• Hospital and Prison Chaplaincies

• Foreign Missions

As a Mercedarian friar, I am dedicated to the mission of visiting and redeeming Christians captives, who find themselves exposed to the abandonment of the practices of the Christian life and to the loss of their faith. For this cause I am prepared to surrender my life, should it be necessary, in imitation of our Redeemer.

We commit to this by making public vows. This is why it is known as the vowed religious life. It was on July 9, 2008 in the Chapel of Saint Raymond Nonnatus in Mercygrove, Le Roy, NY that the Church received my first simple vows to God and to the Order of Mercy of chastity, poverty, obedience, and redemption. These vows are called “simple” in that they are temporary and are required to be renewed annually. These vows are renewed for a period of three to nine years to allow ample time to discern the calling, after which one professes solemn, perpetual vows which are permanent and life-long.

In May 2013, after completing six years of philosophy and theology studies for the priesthood, I was granted a Masters of Divinity, and a Master of Arts degree from Saint Charles Borromeo Seminary in Philadelphia, PA. God is so good! While in Philadelphia I resided with my brother friars at The Monastery of Our Lady of Mercy which is the House of Studies for our religious community here in the United States. It was then that I was given the assignment of Director of Religious Education at Our Lady of Mercy – St. Brigid Parish, and moved from Philadelphia to Le Roy, New York.

While being Director of Religious Education there I continued my discernment with the Mercedarians, and my calling to the holy priesthood. It was there, on May 6, 2014 at Our Lady of Mercy Parish in Le Roy, New York that I professed my solemn, perpetual vows to God and to the Order of Mercy of chastity, poverty, obedience, and redemption. I was ordained to the transitional diaconate by Bishop Edward Grosz, the auxiliary bishop of the Diocese of Buffalo in November 2014. And then, finally, by the grace of God, on Saturday, August 15, 2015 – the Solemnity of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary, I was ordained a priest in my home parish of Sacred Heart of Jesus (formerly Saint Gregory the Great) by Bishop Richard Lennon of Cleveland, Ohio.

My first priestly assignment was as parochial vicar to Sacred Heart Catholic Church located in Pinellas Park, Florida. My brother Ron reminded me that it had been a dream of mine since high school to move to Florida. But by the grace of God, go forth do I!

My entire journey thus far is all the most wonderful of gifts and I really cannot put into words all that my vocation means to me, other than to say that I am eternally grateful. I love being a Mercedarian religious priest. I thank God for everything, our Blessed Mother, the saints, and I thank all my beloved friends in Christ, for all the prayers and support that allows me to be a good, faithful and holy priest, a servant to God’s servants, joyfully helping to free the captives, and assisting them to embrace all that our Almighty God desires for us. May we always bring the joy of the Gospel to everyone we meet."

Thank you Father Daniel

As you have read, Father Daniel has had an amazing journey of faith, love, and commitment to his vocation and to Our Lord.. Please keep the Mercedarian Religious Order and all those they pray for and serve in your prayers.

The St. Raymond Nonnatus Foundation

The St. Raymond Nonnatus Foundation for Freedom, Family, and Faith will be praying for your intentions. Feel free to let us know how we can best pray for you. You can reach us at our website at nonnatus.org. God bless you and your loved ones. We care about you and your faith journey We hope to hear from you.

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