Configuration IV

Parish: St. Mary of the Immaculate Conception, Greenville
Birthday: September 16
Seminary: St. Francis de Sales Seminary
3257 S. Lake Drive
St. Francis, WI 53235-3702

ja9bovee@gmail.com

What kind of music do you like to listen to?
I like many genres. My favorites are alt-rock, ska punk, symphonic metal when I’m
feeling energetic, and folk rock or outlaw country when I want something calmer.

What is your favorite liturgical season and why?
It is hard to pick, but probably Advent. I like the element of anticipation. As a great
lover of history and tradition, it makes me happy that it is the time of year that old
traditions and family history seem to hold the most sway over our hearts.
What is one small thing that almost always makes your day better?
Being around chickens. We always kept a flock of them as I was growing up, and I
was their designated caretaker. They would follow me around the yard whenever I let
them out. I like to imagine that they enjoyed my company, but I must admit that the
food scraps I tossed to them probably did the heavy lifting of endearing them to me!
I just get such a kick out of them.

What advice would you give to a young man discerning a priestly vocation?
We need you. There’s a lot of work to be done, and if you are called to be a priest, we
need you to become one. Even if you do not think you have what it takes, consider it.
The only thing God asks for is your commitment. He will provide the rest. Perhaps you
are afraid that you are too different from the priests you know. Good. It means you
will fill a niche that they cannot. The only thing that matters is whether God is calling,
and if He is, you will never be satisfied until you answer.

Our diocesan patron saint, St. Francis Xavier, is also the patron
saint of missions. How do you seek to live as a missionary disciple?
I try sincerely to spread the faith to all those around me who do not know or understand
it yet. To me, this means continuing to make and develop friendships with
those who are not Catholic in the hopes of drawing them into the faith. I have often
been frustrated at how often Catholic social groups become insular and exclusive,
consisting of only other Catholics. There are many wonderful people who have not
yet embraced the faith, so I work hard to build up social connections with them to
connect them with other good people. I hope that those connections will provide the
opportunity to welcome them fully into the Church.

Pope Leo XIV's first encyclical is entitled Magnifica Humanitas (literally
‘Magnificent Humanity’). For you, what does it mean to be human?
To be human is to be made in the image and likeness of God. This means that to be
human is to be of immeasurable worth. It means irreplaceability, distinction, mystery,
and loveliness. To be human is to be worthy of love because with love the reality of
each person unfolds before another to reveal ever greater depths. The deeper one
plunges into knowing another, the greater the beauty and the goodness that is within
that person is revealed. This isn’t so with any other creature. A dog, no matter how
much it is loved, has no hidden depths. The entirety of its being is bare to see. On
the other hand, a person has many hidden layers and can experience interior growth.
Much of this growth comes through being loved by God or others. To be human is
also to yearn for mystery. There is the desire to uncover and explore the mystery in
others and the even greater desire to plunge the depths of mystery in God. We want
to understand, to know why He made things as He has, to know who He is, and to
know why we are as we are. To me, it is that desire and that capacity for growth which
make us human.