Archive for the ‘Vocations’ Category

Jesuit  Father Chuck Frederico, vocation director for the Maryland, New England and New York Provinces of the Society of Jesus, was a recent guest on “The Busted Halo Show with  Fr. Dave Dwyer” on Sirius Radio.

In addition to discussing the Jesuit formation process, Fr. Frederico shared his own vocation story.

Fr. Frederico explained that after high school he went to the Culinary Institute of America in New York, which had previously been a Jesuit novitiate, St. Andrew-on-Hudson.

Before attending, one of Fr. Frederico’s high school teachers, a diocesan priest, told him to do three things when he arrived. One, to take notice of the “AMDG” — which stands for Ad Majorem Dei Gloriam (“For the greater glory of God”),  the motto of the Society of Jesus — written on the front door. Fr. Frederico recognized this from his grade school days. “I’d been writing that on the top of my loose leaf since first grade because the nuns I had, the sisters of St. Joseph, were founded by the Jesuits.”

His teacher also said in the small chapel there would be a window of St. Aloysius Gonzaga receiving first communion from St. Charles Borromeo. Fr. Frederico recognized this from his grammar school days as well, as he attended St. Charles Borrmeo.

Third, his teacher asked Fr. Frederico to read a book on Jesuit philosopher Pierre Teilhard de Chardin, and Fr. Frederico was fascinated by his life.

After culinary school, he went to Saint Joseph’s University in Philadelphia to study food marketing. “I  met the Jesuits in spirit at the Culinary Institute and in the flesh at Saint Joe’s,” Fr.  Frederico said.

Fr. Frederico was planning to have his own restaurant, but God had different plans.

“I was fascinated by these guys [the Jesuits]. I had six different Jesuits in the classroom, and each of them taught with such passion,” he said.

By his senior year, Fr. Frederico was applying to the Jesuits. Listen to the whole segment with Fr. Frederico online.

This month, 40 men entered the Society of Jesus in the United States as novices. Their path to priesthood — called formation — can take upwards of ten years and begins at one of four Jesuit novitiates across the country.

Oregon Province Jesuit Father Tom Lamanna has been the director of novices at Ignatius House, a novitiate in Culver City, Calif., for the past decade.

He says that one of the graces that comes with his job is “being able to walk very closely with people in their relationship with Jesus. That’s very holy ground.”

According to Fr. Lamanna, the community dynamic at the novitiate is unique because it’s the first stage of formation and the novices are asked to pull back from their previous lives.

“We give them an experience of Jesuit community and a study of the life of Ignatius and the founding documents of the Jesuits,” says Fr. Lamanna. “Then the novices and the Society can decide if it’s the right fit,” he explains.

For Fr. Lamanna, the most life-giving aspect of his job is guiding men through the Spiritual Exercises. “To watch the spirit and Jesus at work with them at a very deep level is a real privilege,” he says.

To learn more about Fr. Lamanna’s job as director of novices, view the Ignatian News Network video below.

After two years of Jesuit formation, which includes living in community and making the Spiritual Exercises in a 30-day retreat, this month second-year U.S. Jesuit novices pronounce their first vows—perpetual vows of poverty, chastity and obedience.

On August 18, New York Province Jesuits Doug Ray and Jason Downer and New England Province Jesuit Timothy Casey will pronounce their first vows in Syracuse, N.Y. In advance of the vow ceremony, the novices reflected on the significance of this event.

Doug Ray said, “Part of me thinks I should be nervous about this … but really what I’m feeling is a great deal of peace … I’m recognizing this is what I’m supposed to be doing with my life.”

Jason Downer expressed his excitement. “This idea of giving my life to Christ and to God and these vows is something that has grown deeper and deeper inside of me over the past two years. I can’t wait, and I’m humbled to be called a Jesuit, men that I’ve looked up to for 15 years of my life.”

Tim Casey felt at peace with vows on the horizon. “Walking with him [Jesus] is our ultimate purpose; it’s why we’re here. It’s what gets us out of bed in the morning. It’s what drives our work.”

For more of Ray, Downer and Casey’s thoughts on first vows, watch the video below.

Fr. Bob Fitzgerald, SJ

Jesuit Fathers Bob and Jim Fitzgerald were born just 20 minutes apart in 1935. Eighteen years later the brothers would again share an important experience as they decided simultaneously to join the Society of Jesus.

Both graduates of Creighton Prep in Omaha, Neb., the brothers were profoundly influenced by the example of their Jesuit teachers.

Fr. Bob Fitzgerald recalls, “Like anyone, I wanted to be happy, and I saw the Jesuits as having that. As I progressed through formation, my understanding of where that [joy and satisfaction] came from deepened.”

Fr. Jim Fitzgerald adds, “When I was thinking about entering, I was impressed by the dedication of the Jesuits who were teaching us. They were consistently supportive, even though they were very demanding. They worked hard; they were sincere; they were a team; and they cared for us.”

The Fitzgeralds entered the Jesuits together on the same day, but over the years, their assignments led them to different ministries.

Fr. Jim Fitzgerald, SJ

Fr. Bob Fitzgerald has been a writer, and he founded the substance abuse program at St. Francis Mission in South Dakota. He has also served as a chaplain at Creighton University Medical Center and taught English at Marquette University High School and Creighton Prep.

Fr. Jim Fitzgerald has been involved in fundraising, alumni relations and campus planning at both Creighton University and Marquette University in Milwaukee. He also served as assistant to university presidents at Creighton and Saint Louis University.

Today these twin brothers have come full circle and spend time with each other as part of the St. Camillus community for elder Jesuits in Wauwatosa, Wis. [Wisconsin Province]

Jesuit Vincent Strand (right), with his brothers Fr. Luke Strand (left) and Fr. Jacob Strand (center).

Jesuit Vincent Strand, a regent currently studying German in Austria, was recently featured in an Associated Press story because he and his two brothers, Luke and Jacob, all have a calling to the priesthood.

Vincent Strand’s older brother Luke and younger brother Jacob are already ordained, and Strand is on the path to ordination.

According to Strand, his original plan was to become a neurologist, get married and start a family. He said he remembered thinking, “Oh, good. [Luke's] going to be the priest. I don’t have to now.”

But while at Marquette University he found his calling. Strand said a theology professor showed him “God was real in a way I hadn’t [realized] before.”

Strand told the AP that he thought about devoting himself to God even if he got married but decided to “completely empty” himself and pursue his calling.

“The celibacy and that vow of celibacy has been one of the real things I love about the life and one of the very freeing things about the life,” Strand said.

Read the AP full story on Strand and his brothers.