Deacon Joe was born in Woodside Queens, NY, but grew up in Commack, NY.  He has 3 sisters.  He and his wife, Karen, have 9 children: Jose D. Jr., Phillip M., Kimberlee N., Stacey, Lauren A., Teresa L., Christine M., Peter A., & John M. Guzman. Jose Jr is married.  His wife's name is Lisa.  Stacey is married to Matthew Halbach.

He attended Diaconate training in the Diocese of Tulsa through the Seminary of St. Meinrad (Indiana).  He was ordained in Tulsa at the TU Reynolds center on May 26, 2007.

From his words about his calling:     

I thought about the priesthood as a young boy. The thought of serving Christ’s Church as one of her ministers has stayed with me since. The busy-ness of family life and career helped suppress those thoughts until my involvement with the Chrism Institute in 1994. Soon after, I began to give serious consideration to investigate the Diaconate. I am still uncertain that God is calling me to serve as one of His Deacons, but I do trust that He will continue to gently guide me along this path and continue to reveal his will for me.

Concerning the formation process: 

I am so grateful to the Bishop and his Vicar for Deacons for putting together a comprehensive formation program which included academics, pastoral work, spiritual direction and personal development. The process allowed me to begin to discern God’s will for me, to enter more deeply into who a deacon is and to understand how I might serve as one of God’s Deacons. It sometimes seemed as though the process would never end and that ordination was so far off. Now that ordination is at hand, I allow myself a moment of reflection to say that I am truly indebted to all those individuals who gave up so much of themselves in order that I might pursue this great endeavor, especially my family and most importantly, my wife. Karen. It was she who was both mom and dad to my children while I devoted a great deal of time and energy to the formation process.

His aspirations for the ministry:

I am anxious to serve God’s people on the altar, in the Word of God, and as the minister for charity. In whatever parish I am assigned, I pray to foster a genuine spirit of charity among the members of the parish community so that the poor, sick and suffering might know God’s love through us.

I also hope to share some of the mysteries of God’s own revelation in Christ that we learned in theology by teaching and preaching in what ever parish I am assigned.

Favorite Scripture: Not my will, but thy will be done. Mark 14:36

Sincerely Yours in Christ,
Rev. Joe Guzman