Archive for the ‘Vocations’ Category

On the Feast of the Epiphany, Pope Benedict XVI announced that 22 new cardinals would be created at a consistory, which was held this past Saturday. The list of new cardinals included Jesuit Father Karl Josef Becker, a longtime professor of dogmatic theology at the Pontifical Gregorian University.

“The new Cardinals are entrusted with the service of love: love for God, love for his Church, an absolute and unconditional love for his brothers and sisters, even unto shedding their blood, if necessary, as expressed in the words of placing the biretta and as indicated by the colour of their robes,” said the Holy Father.

Jesuit Father James Martin wrote about Cardinal Becker’s elevation, especially in light of him being a Jesuit:

“Normally the pope names (or, technically, ”creates”) cardinals from the ranks of bishops and archbishops (as with Archbishop Dolan) and these men are often heads of the larger archdioceses.  But occasionally the pope names a priest, to honor the man for his life’s work.  (Normally they are over 80, not named a bishop so as to spare them from the sacramental duties of a bishop, and are ineligible to vote in a papal conclave.) Avery Cardinal Dulles, SJ, the American Jesuit theologian, was a recent example.”  (An interview with Cardinal Dulles a few months before the consistory, including his thoughts on becoming a cardinal, is here.)

[The City and the World / America Magazine]

Jesuit Father Roc O’Connor has been a member of the Society of Jesus since 1967. For more than 25 years of those years, he has planned, performed and written liturgical music. Fr. O’Connor was a part of the St. Louis Jesuits, considered by many to be the fathers of contemporary American liturgical music. Along with the other members, he received four Grammy nominations in late 1970s. Today, O’Connor teaches theology at Creighton University and consults on liturgical matters for St. John’s parish in Omaha, Neb.

In this video piece below, O’Connor discusses his own vocation path and how music has become instrumental in his life as a Jesuit.

(L-R) Gregory Ostdiek, Kevin Embach, Kyle Shinseki, Matthew Lieser, Trevor Beach, and Joshua Peters

A Jesuit professes first vows after two years in the novitiate and before entering first studies. Kneeling before the Blessed Sacrament, the man promises to become poor, chaste, and obedient with God’s help. Each novice then receives a crucifix—a symbol of his dedication to following Christ on the way of the cross—which will remain with him throughout his life.

On August 13, 2011, six Jesuits from the Chicago-Detroit Province professed first vows at St. Thomas More Catholic Community, the Jesuit parish of the Twin Cities in Minnesota.  Read on to learn more about them and why they love being Jesuits.

“During my time in the Navy, I realized that my vocation really was to be a priest. So I started looking around and discovered that the Jesuits were the best fit for me. . . . There are a lot of good guys in the Society. . . . There’s a lot of study, but it’s fun learning and training yourself to help other people.” — Gregory Ostdiek, Beavercreek, OH

Greg has a BA in English and a BS in mechanical engineering from the University of Dayton, and an MA in English and an MS in mechanical engineering from Penn State. He served in the navy for 14 years, including several tours in the Middle East. Greg taught physics at the University of Detroit Jesuit High School & Academy before joining the Society.

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God’s invitation to the priesthood or religious life reaches us through parents and family, teachers and friends, and through the many events and experiences that each of us encounters in life. This includes military service. St. Ignatius Loyola was a soldier wounded in action. As he read the lives of the saints while he recovered, God invited him to reconsider his goals in life.

Here are the stories of three men who entered the Society of Jesus after serving in the military.

Missioned in a New Way
By Thomas Simisky, SJ

“How could you go from being a Marine to a Jesuit?” This is the question I am always asked when people hear a little about my past. I asked myself, and God, the very same question many times throughout my discernment.

Having been a Marine artillery officer for four years after graduating from Assumption College, Worcester, Massachusetts, with a political science degree, I had already received a strong formation that shaped my character in many lasting ways. And in spite of growing up active in our local parish and attending St. John’s High School, I had slipped away from regular Mass attendance. All of this led me to wonder if I was worthy, or even capable, of a priestly vocation.

I was finally able to listen to Christ’s call when I was a graduate student at Boston College. While on a five-day Ignatian retreat, I reflected back on when God was most present in my life and when I felt most alive and fulfilled. Strangely, I thought of my deployment to the Persian Gulf in 1995.

I realized that I enjoyed working with and teaching the young Marines in my unit, many of whom came from difficult family backgrounds. I also felt inspired by the sense of being sent on mission, doing something greater than myself in which it was understood that we had to sacrifice our individualism for the greater good. And I enjoyed living in community (as shipboard and barracks life really is). All of this allowed me to see that my missionary vocation as a Jesuit was actually always present.

Many close friends were surprised (though always supportive) when I told them I was entering the Society of Jesus. Over time, the response inevitably becomes, “It makes total sense.”

Vowed life permits me to be missioned in new ways. My eight years in the Society have been filled with many travels and assignments. But fundamentally it continues allowing me to grow in faith, increasingly free to follow Christ with greater courage. SEMPER FIDELIS!

Thomas Simisky, SJ, is a first year theology student at Boston College School of Theology and Ministry.

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Jesuit Brother Guy Consolmagno is the curator of meteorites at the Vatican Observatory at Castel Gandolfo, the Papal summer residence.  His research explores the connections between meteorites and asteroids, and the origin and evolution of small bodies in the solar system. Prior the joining the Jesuits, he obtained his Bachelor of Science and Master of Science in Earth and Planetary Sciences from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and a PhD in Planetary Science from the University of Arizona.

After speaking at the Jesuit Brothers Institute on Jesuits in the Sciences, Br. Consolmagno took some time out to sit down with National Jesuit News and share the story of his vocation: