Vows
Everything in the two years of the novitiate lead up to the point of taking vows. At the end of two years, all the second-year novices gather together for Mass in order to profess vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience and to spend our lives in the Society of Jesus. The moment, a man takes vows, he ceases to be a novice and becomes either a Scholastic or a Brother.
The process of reaching vows is somewhat complicated, because it involves getting six letters of recommendation from people at the man’s Long Experiment location, 3 Jesuit and 3 non-Jesuit, in order to give a sense of the man in the contexts of community and in active ministry. In addition, the man must write a letter to his regional superior (Provincial) which states his desire to profess vows along with an explanation of what they mean to him at this point in his life.
On August 8, 2015, the same six men I entered with joined me in the back of St. Thomas More Church to profess our vows in the context of Mass. We had arranged it according to our own desires. We picked the music, the readings, and the people who would read, bring up gifts, and be Eucharistic Ministers.
The custom for Jesuits taking vows is to profess them right before Communion, focused intently on Jesus present in the Eucharist. Because I was first alphabetically, I rose and knelt in front of the altar before my other classmates and began. “Almighty and eternal God…”
At that moment, I was Sean Barry, SJ. I received a Vow Crucifix which currently hangs above my desk and then returned to my place to witness my classmates all recite the same words and join me in the ranks of vowed Jesuits. By the time we were done, I was on the verge of tears. When I attempted to sing the Communion hymn, they began to flow and did not stop.
Though I am only about 4 months removed from that day, I can unequivocally say that it was the happiest day of my life. In essence, one can think of Vow Day as a wedding day for a novice, though admittedly the analogy falls a little short.
What makes the moment so special for me is its communal aspect. I did not take vows on my own. I took vows with six of my dearest friends. The seven of us had learned how to grow together into people who would be ministers of the Catholic Church, men willing to give their lives to God and willing to offer everything up in prayer and gratitude. Each of us had a hand in that day, whether it involved the music, the readings, or the people we chose to participate in the Mass in a special way. It was ours, and each of us cared to put ourselves into it, much as we had put ourselves into the two years of formation.
I was privileged to spend that time with family and close friends, people who had helped to make me into the man I was at Entrance Day and who had supported me throughout the two years. I felt loved and blessed in a very special and unique way during those days. I knew that God had called me to the vowed life, and I was ready and willing to offer myself in that way. I trust that I will continue to draw graces from that day, ones that will nourish and sustain me when things are more difficult.
