Jesuit Father Joseph Mueller, a professor at Marquette University in Milwaukee, recently professed his final vows to the Society of Jesus, the same vows St. Ignatius took when he founded the religious order in 1534.

Fr. Mueller joined the Jesuits soon after graduating from Marquette, and his recent final vows come after years of preparation and reflection.

“I realized in college I actually thought the way the Jesuits thought and looked at the world the way they do,” Fr. Mueller said.

Besides the vows of poverty, chastity and obedience that Fr. Mueller took after two years as a Jesuit novice, the final vows include a vow of special obedience to the pope.

“When I make these final vows, they’re again a perpetual commitment on my part,” Fr. Mueller said. “It’s a lifelong commitment. But this time, the condition that was on them before is no longer there. The Jesuits are saying we think you worked out. You’re in.”

According to Jesuit Father James Martin in an America magazine article on final vows, “It’s somewhat like making tenure (you’re already a professor, but now you’re a ‘full’ one). It’s somewhat like making partner in a law firm (you’re already a member of a law firm, but now you’re a ‘full one).”

“I decided to become a Jesuit when I was a student here. I did it because I thought that’s what God wants me to do. I think Marquette students could benefit from listening for that kind of call from God,” Fr. Mueller said.

Read more about Fr. Mueller’s final vows at the Marquette Tribune.

On Friday as I concluded taking my final vows in the Society of Jesus, I read the phrase, “At the altar of St Mary in St Mary’s Chapel, Boston College, Massachusetts, April 20, 2012.”  When I joined the Jesuits in 1993 at Canisius College, Pymble in Sydney, little did I know that I’d be halfway around the world almost two decades later.

On the occasion of my first vows, which were pronounced at the end of the novitiate in February 1995, along with three other men (including Jesuit Brother Kevin Huddy and Father Minh Van Tran), I spoke the words “I vow to your divine majesty, before the most holy Virgin Mary and the entire heavenly court, perpetual poverty, chastity, and obedience in the Society of Jesus. I promise that I will enter this same Society to spend my life in it forever.” At the end of the formula there is another prayer, which entreats God with the words “as you have freely given me the desire to make this offering, so also may you give me the abundant grace to fulfill it.”

They are wise words as the promise made then is that when one is called to final vows many years later one will then be ready to enter the Society completely, to be incorporated as a fully professed member of the Jesuits. Thus, our training and our testing, as envisaged by Ignatius and then experienced by countless generations of Jesuits, can indeed be long and arduous. Little did I know that as I gazed out over the deserts of the Kimberley region during a novitiate placement in 1994 (pictured, right) that I’d then end up being an academic in a Jesuit, Catholic university on the east coast of the United States.

And yet, in a way, this makes perfect sense in a Jesuit world. As we desire to enter the Society, so the Society desires to enable us to be all that we can be, for the good of our mission, which is to serve Christ’s poor and in so doing help build a better and more just world. Our congregations have articulated this desire in ever-more sophisticated (and lengthy!) ways over the past decades and one articulation of this that resonates with me is that we seek to be men on a mission, who seek a faith that does justice.

My Jesuit life has indeed been a peripatetic mission and has seen me live in Sydney, Melbourne, Adelaide and Canberra, as well as Paris, Hong Kong, Beijing, San Francisco and Boston. I’ve also had the opportunity to visit Pakistan, Cambodia, the Philippines, South Korea and Indonesia. My Jesuit journey has truly taught me that the faith that does justice surely also has to encompass the whole world, and as a Society we have to engage with the myriad and beautiful cultures of this world, at the same time as opposing those forces which prevent all people from being the glory and vision of God.

My own training and lifelong interest has focused on China – when it is not focused on watching rugby and other such things of import – and so it is that I am now teaching Chinese and Asian history at Boston College. I get to introduce non-Asians to the beauty and challenges of these cultures and in so doing help build bridges between China and the outside world. In my research I try to reclaim and retell – or even just tell for the first time – the wonderful stories of faith that have been and are being lived out in China and hopefully through that make such lives of faith a little easier, if only through their knowledge of being in solidarity with the universal church.

It is not where I imagined I’d be twenty years after driving in the front gates of Pymble all those years ago, and the physical distance from my Australian family and friends never gets any shorter (which is hard for all of us), but it’s been a great life. No life is ever perfect and full of laughter all the time, but I can safely say I’ve always been happy to be a Jesuit, a companion of Jesus.

The graces I’ve received through the people I’ve lived with – the Jesuits who’ve been my formators and companions along the way – and through the people I’ve been lucky enough to serve as a novice, a scholastic and now a priest, have indeed been abundant enough for me to fulfill my desire to enter the Society of Jesus as a fully professed member.

And so it was that on Friday, I did so enter the Society (pictured, below). Given the importance of that, the Mass was solemn yet celebratory. Tina Grant, an alumna of Boston College, wife of an ex-Riverview student Charlie Grant, and well-known to Australian Jesuit visitors to Boston because of the great hospitality the Grant family offers to all stray Aussies, read the first reading.

Then my brother Jesuits from Africa processed the gospel up the front chanting in Swahili where a Chinese Jesuit then proclaimed the gospel in Mandarin. (These men are all in graduate studies here at Boston College). Jesuit Father William Clark Russell, a New England Jesuit, preached the homily.

Much of the music was written by Australian Jesuit Father Christopher Willcock (the 2011-2012 Gasson Professor at Boston College), including a piece that was written for my diaconate ordination in 2001 (when I was ordained deacon with Fr. Minh Van Tran). A small schola of Jesuits and musicians associated with Boston College helped with all the music. The principal celebrant was Jesuit Father T. Frank Kennedy, superior of the Boston College Jesuit community, and the Provincial of New England, the Jesuit Father Myles Sheehan received the vows. We were joined in prayer by many Jesuits and some lay colleagues and friends, both from Boston College and from other places, and after dinner Jesuit Father Gregory Kalscheur gave a toast.

For me, it was not the ending of a journey but rather a wonderful and joyous celebration of a grace-filled vocation. It is my privilege to be but a small part of this least Society and for that I am grateful beyond words.

Photos:

Top: Fr. Jeremy Clarke at Balgo, Western Australia, in 1994. (Courtesy of Jesuit Father Harvey Egan)

Bottom: Fr. Jeremy Clarke pronouncing his final vows in Boston. (Courtesy of Jesuit Father Harvey Egan)

Jesuit Father Ron Gonzales pronounces his final vows to Provincial Mark Lewis.

Jesuit Father Ron Gonzales share his thoughts on Final Vows:

Taking final vows in the Society of Jesus reminded me of something Yogi Berra of the New York Yankees once said, “It’s déjà vu all over again.” Well in some ways it was just that but a lot more, much more. Even though we Jesuits take first vows after two years in the novitiate, we still remain officially in formation up until the time we are invited to take final vows (sometime after ordination and tertianship). Although the process of formation can seem long and cumbersome to some observers, without a doubt each and every phase contributes to the overall spiritual formation of the Jesuit. Of course with a longer formation period also come the opportunities for self-awareness and hopefully experience and wisdom.

I explained final vows to my parishioners, some of whom thought I was being ordained as a priest! Think of it as the Society of Jesus saying to itself, “You know we’ve had this fellow, Ron Gonzales, with us for about 18 years. Why not keep him?” When I took my first vows back in 1994, my intention and hope was to continue in the formation process until such time when the Society would say, “We, too, fully accept you.” Being fully accepted as a Jesuit is truly a great feeling of belonging and completion, in spite of my human weakness.

There is also a keen sense of humility knowing that our superiors and our Jesuit companions are quite aware of both our strengths and weaknesses. I liken it to a marriage covenant between spouses in which each one feels a peace and acceptance knowing that there is a commitment as well as an acceptance of one another, no matter what happens. Perhaps some in academia would appreciate another analogy, namely that of tenure. We recognize the work and effort that precedes tenure, yet we know the hard work continues long after final vows and even after retirement age. It is not a time to “rest on our laurels” as there is much work to be done.

Another feeling for me was one of poignancy, in that the stages leading towards final vows are officially complete. One of the things I loved especially during these 17 years of formation was looking forward to the next stage, such as philosophy studies in Chicago immediately after novitiate. In each stage I knew that I would have wonderful and challenging experiences, live in a different city, meet new and interesting people (some of whom are still close friends), and then after three years move on to yet another experience. While it is true that I still fondly remember some stages more so than others, I can say that each one was integral in shaping the Jesuit priest I am today.

It was during formation, for example, that I realized that perhaps the high school apostolate was not the best fit for me (even though I was a reasonably successful high school teacher for three years prior to entering the Jesuits). Still, this change in ministerial direction would not have occurred were it not for the variety of experiences and possibilities briefly explored during my formation. Most men come to the Jesuits with an idea as to what they will do as Jesuits. Inevitably Jesuit formation opens us to serving in many capacities. Part of Jesuit “detachment” and “availability” invites us to be completely flexible and open to other ministries, even if they initially are not appealing. God surprises us where we would never expect to find Him.

Because “finding God in all things” is essential in reflecting on all experiences, both good and bad, throughout formation, it is quite clear that the Lord had an even better ministerial fit in mind for me: pastoral work. Since ordination in 2003, I have worked exclusively in the parish apostolate in various parishes starting with Immaculate Conception in Albuquerque, Sacred Heart in El Paso, Our Lady of the Sioux in Pine Ridge, South Dakota, and finally now as pastor at Our Lady of Guadalupe in San Antonio.

Each day is different – filled with meetings, funerals, confessions, daily masses, hospital visits, counseling and surprises that inevitably come up. It is unpredictable, but the fact that we have three priests and one brother, all of whom use their talents generously, makes the work load manageable. We each have a passion for areas outside of the parish as well, with pro-life issues, community organizing, social justice issues, participating on boards for America Magazine or Hope for the Future, to name a few. Single-priest parishes often call us to help them out on the weekends, and usually we are called on for hearing confessions after the popular ACTS Retreats held nearly every week. We have a small Jesuit community, but we enjoy our work and each other’s company.

Who knows what the future holds for those still in Jesuit formation? But, regardless we can trust that the Lord has brought us this far and has never abandoned us. It is through complete trust in the Lord that we will serve Him as He desires. His love and His Grace are enough for me. [New Orleans Province]