As the Catholic Church in Australia marks National Vocations Awareness Week (2–9 August), we speak to our new Director of Diaconate Vocations, Deacon David Dowling about his calling and his vocation.
Deacon David serves at the Thanksgiving Mass for 40 years of the Diocese of Parramatta.
1. Can you share how you first recognised God’s call to become a deacon, and what helped you say “yes” to that vocation?
Believe it or not, I knew nothing about the Permanent Diaconate until about six months before I began the discernment process.
My wife brought me a pamphlet she picked up at church and told me she thought this was something that would really suit me. I read the pamphlet and saw there were three major parts to the Diaconate: Serving the Altar, Serving the Word, and Serving the Heart.
My journey in ministry had been largely through lay ministry – youth ministry, young adult ministry, Alpha Group and more. But I had never been an acolyte. So, serving the Altar was not something that resonated with me, but scripture had always been a key part of my faith journey, and so had serving at the margins. Based on that, I began the discernment journey and as I went on, everything that I learned about the Diaconate just made it feel more and more like it was God’s calling for me.
Deacon David attends the 2026 Wrapped with Love Homeless Memorial Service. Image: Parramatta Diocese
2. What was the formation process like – what were some of the challenges and joys?
Balancing academic studies, formation, work and family was a huge challenge. Only God’s grace carried me through. The community formed with the other men in formation and their wives was a great joy, and the academic studies opened up my faith in the most incredible way. There were so many aspects of my faith that I had no idea about. It was a wonderful (albeit hugely challenging) journey of education and enlightenment.
3. What has been the greatest surprise of serving as a deacon, and why?
The greatest surprise for me was how serving at the Altar has given me a far more profound experience of participation in the Eucharist. The other great surprise was the tremendous joy and privilege of being asked for blessings from people. People invite us into the most intimate parts of their lives and we get to pray with and for them in such a personal way.
Deacon David serves at the Thanksgiving Mass for 40 years of the Diocese of Parramatta, 2026. Image: Parramatta Diocese
3. How has being a deacon shaped your faith and your relationship with Christ?
Every day my vocation brings me into deeper relationship with Christ. When I serve the Altar, I feel a deeper connection to, and worship of, Christ. When I prepare and deliver a homily, I feel the Holy Spirit illuminating and challenging my life to be more and more Christlike. When I serve at the margins, I feel Christ’s love for the poor, the sick and the lonely.
Deacon David serves at the Altar at St Patrick’s Cathedral Parramatta. Image: Parramatta Diocese.
4. What do you think people most misunderstand about the vocation of the diaconate?
The biggest misunderstanding is that people think we are some sort of assistant Priest but without the faculties to say Mass and take Confessions. They don’t understand that it is a completely different vocation. In very simple terms, a Priests’ calling is sacramental, and their focus is their flock. A Deacons’ calling is to service, and their focus is at the margins.
5. What role do you believe deacons play in helping build vibrant parish and community life today?
Deacons are men with families and jobs. They have had to live out their faith in the context of relationships, kids, mortgages etc, so they ought to be very relatable to the people in the congregation.
Deacons have lived their lives of faith in the very same circumstances as most people in the congregation. That allows Deacons to help people see that every person is called to holiness, and to describe the challenges of discipleship in examples that are (hopefully) meaningful to the congregation. The more that people step deeper into living out their faith, the more vibrant our parish and community life will become. A healthy parish is one where every person serves, and every person is served.
Deacon David with his daughter. Image Parramatta Diocese.
6. What does your role as Director of Diaconate Vocations involve? How long have you held this role?
I’ve been in the role for over a year now. I work with a wonderful team of people – two deacons and two deacon’s wives. We meet with enquirers and their wives, and educate them about what’s involved in the Permanent Diaconate. If they continue to be interested, we then engage with them and their wives in a well-developed and fairly rigorous year-long process of discernment, to conclude one way or another, whether we all believe they have a calling to this vocation.
7. What advice would you give to someone who feels God may be calling them to ordained ministry but isn’t sure what to do next?
Firstly, I would advise them to vigorously explore the possibility – if they are truly called, then that vocation will offer them a wonderful, fruitful life. They should go to the Diocesan website and read up on the vocations of Priests (if they are single) and Deacons (if they are married), and if they continue to feel a curiosity, to contact the people responsible for each vocation listed on the website. The people involved will assist them to discern if they truly have a calling to ordained ministry.
Deacon David on his ordination, 2022.
This National Vocations Awareness Week (2-9 August 2026), may these stories inspire all of us to listen more deeply to God’s call, wherever it may lead.
Vocations Awareness Week aligns with the Diocesan Pastoral Plan priorities of Prayer and Formation. To learn more about responding to God’s call, visit Discern My Vocation.
