Jesuits In Their Own Words

Becoming a Jesuit Brother

posted by: jcad on Tuesday, March 13, 2007

They say the Jesuit vows of poverty, chastity and obedience are a radical sign in an age of materialism, sexual excess and rebelliousness. To take those vows as a Brother adds yet another radical renunciation; we become totally dependent upon the others in our community for something as basic and important as daily Mass. In many ways, a Brother in a community reminds everyone that we are a community, all dependent on each other, and not just a boarding house for peripatetic priests.

At the same time, being “Brother” means that sometimes we can reach out and share Christ with those who might be intimidated, or put off, by talking to a “Father.”

As Brothers we share the same home, the same life, the same vows, the same work as our fellow ordained Jesuits, but we add our own flavor to the mix. Being a Brother today is no longer a matter of “not enough education to be a Priest.” Speaking for myself, I had Latin and Greek and a science Ph.D. when I entered! Nor is it the “normal” or “expected” way to become a Jesuit. For that reason, becoming a Brother is all the more clearly a response to a call, an invitation, from God; and to feel that one has been called by such an Inviter is the most glorious honor I could ever imagine experiencing.

Br. Consolmagno is an astronomer at the Vatican Observatory, located in Tucson, Arizona and Rome.