Friar Highlight- Father Ian Bordenave
Southern Dominican Province Friar, Father Ian Bordenave, says preaching is his passion and the more he lives his vocation as a Dominican, the more he believes in and is inspired by St. Dominic’s vision of preaching for the salvation of souls.
Father Ian did not find his path to being a Dominican quickly having selected several paths prior to finding his true calling. He started off with the goal of being a fireman and then a doctor until he found out that seeing people’s blood and guts would probably be a part of the training. The next path he tried was to be a chemist and he actually went on to receive a bachelor’s degree in chemistry. Without a real interest in the field of chemistry either, Father Ian became a Dominican friar and know that his is his chosen profession.
Father Ian recognized the calling when he read a short biography on St. Dominic by Simon Tugwell OP, he says he “was smitten” with St. Dominic’s spirituality, which has its roots in monasticism and which stresses study as a pathway toward union with God. He immediately desired the same kind of spirituality for himself.
During his first year of studies in initial formation, Father Ian had an “a-ha” moment when he realized he would be praying the Liturgy of the Hours and celebrating Mass practically every day for the rest of his life. He knew that communal prayer was something he was seeking when he chose to enter the Dominican Order. It’s only that it dawned on him soon after professing simple vows how often he would be praying. Still, he loves how the Scriptures and the Eucharistic liturgy have come to shape his life and will continue shaping his life as he develops in his calling.
In his spare time, Father Ian is learning French once again, after he studied it in both high school and college. This time around he is taking classes at the Alliance Française of Houston and really enjoys the classes as he hopes to put his French to use by traveling to France with his mother.
Father Ian is not a TV watcher and it usually takes him quite some time to get through a book cover to cover. In 2005 he started two books and would like to finish reading them…some day. Those two books are the Iliad by Homer and Confessions of a Philosopher by Bryan Magee.
The last movie he saw was reminiscent of his childhood, the 1968 movie Yours, Mine and Ours, starring Henry Fonda and Lucille Ball.
If he could have a super power and be a super hero he’d like to be Gam from the old TV show The Space Giants about a boy who can turn into a rocket, fly around, and fight off dinosaur-like monsters and an outer space villain named Rodak. This super power is perfectly matched with Father Ian’s love for flying.
Father Ian’s favorite passage is: “But how can they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how can they believe in him of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone to preach? And how can people preach unless they are sent? As it is written, ‘How beautiful are the feet of those who bring (the) good news!’ ” (Rom 10:14-15).
