Deacon Bors follows unusual path to the priesthood

Note: Archbishop William E. Lori will ordain five men to the priesthood June 18 at 10 a.m. at the Cathedral of Mary Our Queen in Homeland. The following is a profile of one of those future priests. Click here to read profiles of the other new priests. 

As a midshipman at the U.S. Naval Academy more than four decades ago, Deacon James Bors saw something in his Protestant friends that was missing in his own life: a personal relationship with Christ.

Although Deacon Bors grew up in a Catholic family, attended a parish in Prince George’s County and had good faith examples in his parents, his commitment to his religious beliefs wasn’t on the same level as the Protestant midshipmen he encountered in Annapolis.

At their invitation, Deacon Bors joined Bible studies and began deep conversations about what it means to be a Christian. His heart was set on fire for the love of Christ in a new way, he said.

“My Protestant brothers at the academy were very serious and very deliberate about their relationship with Christ and their love for the Scriptures,” remembered Deacon Bors, who left the Catholic Church for about a year and a half while at the academy. “They helped my faith really grow by leaps and bounds.”

Despite his new enthusiasm, Deacon Bors was not entirely comfortable as a Protestant. The faith of his childhood tugged at him and he eventually returned to his Catholic roots. After being challenged by a Protestant friend to defend Catholic teachings some 15 years after graduating from the academy, he devoted himself to studying doctrines on the Blessed Virgin Mary, the papacy and the sacraments.

The more he learned, the more he fell in love with Catholicism. The commitment grew so strong that Deacon Bors decided to devote the rest of his life to serving God and the church. He will be ordained to the priesthood June 18 at the Cathedral of Mary Our Queen in Homeland.

“One of the main reasons I felt called to become a priest was this knowledge and assurance that the Catholic faith is rooted in Scripture, history and tradition – and in logic,” he explained. “It just all fits together. It’s organic. It’s integrated. It’s one.”

Deacon Bors acknowledged that he took an unusual path to the priesthood.

As a naval officer, he did classified work on the USS Birmingham SSN 695 submarine. He was a classroom instructor at the academy and spent 25 years in manufacturing and consulting.

He and his wife, Shirley, raised two sons at St. Andrew by the Bay in Annapolis, where Deacon Bors was involved in everything from Bible study to faith-sharing programs.

Then, after his wife took her own life in 2010, Deacon Bors discovered a new level of spiritual support from his fellow parishioners who offered consolation and encouragement.

“It was the parishioners themselves who started asking me to think about and pray about the priesthood,” he remembered. “After a few years of discernment, it just became clear that the Lord was calling me.”

As he began studies at Mount St. Mary’s Seminary in Emmitsburg, Deacon Bors noticed parallels between his military life and the religious life.

“Both the Naval Academy and the seminary are very focused on formation,” he said. “One shapes you to serve your country and the other shapes you to serve God.”

Deacon Bors said he is indebted to his Protestant friends for helping him deepen his faith. He’s looking forward to sharing his love of God with others as a priest – and he is devoting his priesthood to his wife’s memory.

“I just want to take them deeper in their walk with the Lord,” he said, “to help them to know and understand him deeper in the Scriptures and to help them be faithful witnesses.”

Email George Matysek at gmatysek@CatholicReview.org

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