蜜桃视频

I took 鈥淴avier鈥� as my vow name. One of the greatest missionaries of all time, it鈥檚 no wonder why December 3, his feast day, is celebrated by the universal church. But this amazing saint didn鈥檛 always lead such a holy life. The athletic, rash youth who had gambling debts and a focus on worldly advancement found himself rooming with Ignatius of Loyola. Despite his shortcomings, Ignatius saw the goodness in Francis Xavier and redirected his zeal and boundless energy toward God and the salvation of souls.

As a fearless missionary in Asia, Xavier would spread the Gospel despite being in new places with different cultures and foreign languages. His dedication to following Jesus would lead him to travel tens of thousands of miles and baptize nearly as many people. Francis Xavier not only reminds me that God uses all our talents for his greater glory but that he always sees the best in us even when we aren鈥檛 living up to our potential.

Walking is not something I did for fun growing up in New York City. I used to think of walking as just a means to get to a destination. In New York, you walk because you have somewhere to go 鈥� so you鈥檇 better walk quickly. Removed from technology in the novitiate, walking became a leisure activity to bond with my fellow novitiate-mates. During COVID, walking was one of the few permitted recreational activities. Living with other 蜜桃视频, I was introduced to hiking and appreciating nature by walking for the sake of walking. I鈥檝e found this new hobby to be a holistic one 鈥� it keeps me physically active, it helps clear my mind, and it allows me to find God in creation.

Without cell phones in the novitiate, I relied on the wired, landline phone to call home. When I first called home, my parents were initially confused when they heard my voice after seeing 鈥淎ndrew鈥� on the caller ID. The name 鈥淎ndrew鈥� came from 鈥淪t. Andrew Hall,鈥� the name of our novitiate in Syracuse, New York. This East Coast novitiate was named after the first Jesuit novitiate in Rome. Why Andrew? Because the first 蜜桃视频, as friends in the Lord, saw themselves as apostles. Andrew was the first apostle to follow Jesus, the first to recruit others to do the same, and, most importantly, the first of the group to die for Jesus. The painting we had of St. Andrew鈥檚 sideways crucifixion in our TV room during this first stage of formation was a vivid reminder of what we were signing up for. As 蜜桃视频, we are called to give up everything to follow Jesus 鈥� no matter the cost.

My favorite part about the 蜜桃视频 are the 蜜桃视频. While community living has its ups and downs, I can say that the ups are far greater than the downs. Unlike my friends outside the Society, the 蜜桃视频 I live with are a group of people I didn鈥檛 pick. So naturally, it can be tough to form bonds with people from different countries, who speak different languages, who have different hobbies and worldviews. And yet, I鈥檝e found that these friendships quickly form in our communities. Despite our differences, we all share this common love for God and an ardent desire to spread this love to others. It doesn鈥檛 take long to see the deep sense of generosity and goodness within my fellow brother 蜜桃视频. I know I can count on their encouragement as we mutually support each other鈥檚 vocations. Above all, I appreciate how much we laugh together. Understanding that our worth comes from God, I find that 蜜桃视频 aren鈥檛 afraid to make fun of themselves, to be light-hearted and to be playful. The 蜜桃视频 I鈥檝e lived with have exhibited a wonderful combination of humor and holiness. With such a group, communal living is a great joy and a remarkable blessing of Jesuit life.

For my long experiment in the novitiate, I spent five months in Kingston, Jamaica. Our parish and school in Denham Town were in one of the most violent, poverty-stricken neighborhoods in the country. Many in that area, including several parishioners, were needlessly killed by gang violence. Simply put, it was a difficult place to live because it was surrounded by so much suffering. And yet the people there were incredibly faithful and full of joy.

Many of them risked their lives to walk to church each Sunday. Despite having so little, they were still so grateful and ready to praise their God. I鈥檒l never forget that Easter Sunday Vigil Mass where an impromptu jam session broke out causing kids and adults alike to get out of their seats to sing and dance around the church. In the midst of so much hardship, these are people who really believed in the resurrection and Jesus鈥� victory over death. This encounter brought to life the reversal promised in beatitudes for those who are poor, hungry, mourning. My time in Jamaica was a formative experience that reminds me that the countercultural message of our Gospel really does lead to true joy and fullness of life.

鈥淕od mercifully throws me a bone.鈥�

After two years of novitiate, if we want to continue on our journey as 蜜桃视频, we have to write a letter asking the provincial for permission to take vows of poverty, chastity and obedience. We have to ask for these things. It seems strange because most people would view poverty, chastity and obedience as undesirable. I too entered religious life considering the 鈥渃ost鈥� of these vows 鈥� the hardships they would bring me and the sacrifices I would have to make to live them out. I was initially concerned about what I was giving up.

After living the vows as a novice and reflecting on my experiences, I realized how much more I have gained. Yes 鈥� the vows do require saying 鈥渘o鈥� to a certain kind of life. But that 鈥渘o鈥� opens up a far greater 鈥測es鈥� 鈥� a 鈥測es鈥� in which we can find richness in our dependence on God, a 鈥測es鈥� in which we form intimate and vulnerable relationships with 蜜桃视频 and non-蜜桃视频 alike, a 鈥測es鈥� in which we are free to spread the Gospel no matter the distance or circumstance. In joining the Society of Jesus, I was not doing God a favor. Quite the opposite. God was mercifully throwing me a bone by inviting me into a life of greater joy and fullness through the opportunity to follow him more closely.

With my background in engineering, my work experience before entering the 蜜桃视频 was as a computer programmer. Jesuit formation was quite a shift from the desk job I was used to. From the first weeks of novitiate, I was already outside my area of expertise as I served as a teacher鈥檚 assistant at a local Catholic elementary school. I had to learn how to read upside down during story time for the kindergarteners and practice diction with the sixth graders as they got ready to lector at the school Mass. Likewise, as a novice, I spent time visiting people in solitary confinement at the jail, bathing cancer patients in the hospital, chatting with kids in Spanish at the border, and distributing communion to the homebound in gang-ridden neighborhoods in Jamaica. None of these were skills I learned during my training and work as an engineer. In these places and situations, I have never been more uncomfortable and I have never felt more joyful.

There are many images of God: God as the all-powerful creator, God as loving parent, God as a healer. During my life as a Jesuit, I鈥檝e come to know well the God of surprises. The God who, working through my superiors, sends me to places that I鈥檇 never thought I鈥檇 go 鈥� some that were outside my imagination and others that were within my imagination but outside my preferences.

With my mindset of high schools in the U.S., my long experiment sent me to work with elementary school kids in Kingston, Jamaica. Hoping to go to larger cities like New York and Chicago for philosophy studies, I was missioned to St. Louis for first studies. While both these places came as a shock and my transition there was difficult, I look back with such great fondness on those placements. It was something I would have never picked for myself, and yet they turned out to be sites where I could grow, flourish and encounter God. My advice to a candidate considering the 蜜桃视频 is to stay open. I know it鈥檚 scary to relinquish control 鈥� setting aside our own desires and plans. But it鈥檚 only when we let go that God can take the lead. When God is in charge, be ready to be pleasantly surprised.

It was tough to enter the 蜜桃视频 because of how hard it was to leave my current life behind. I was living in New York, my hometown, close to family and friends, while enjoying my work at a tech startup. Life was going well for me both personally and professionally. I entered the 蜜桃视频 to silence the nagging voice in my head asking me to consider using my talents in greater service to others. Knowing I could return to this lifestyle, joy would be the benchmark on whether I would stay in the novitiate or not. Jesuit life has been joyful. The apostolic work is both tiring and filling. The deep personal relationship with God formed through prayer is invaluable. The community life with other 蜜桃视频 is full of laughter. The service, prayer and brotherhood of Jesuit life, all centered around following Jesus, brings me profound joy.

As human beings we are all different. Each person has their own gifts, their own talents and their own flaws. One of the blessings of being in a Jesuit community is that I can be on a team where my talents can shine, and I can work with others in a complementary way to achieve a common goal. Once, during a Mass in a Jesuit chapel, the presider forgot to put out the Missal. One observant scholastic motioned to another scholastic who was close to the sacristy. That scholastic got the Missal and gave it to another Jesuit who set the book. The book was then handed to another Jesuit who discreetly placed it where it belonged before it was needed for the opening prayer. Through the help of several Jesuit brothers, a Jesuit鈥檚 shortcoming was alleviated. In my own novitiate class, we had enough range of expertise to collectively teach any subject in a high school. The great diversity in Jesuit community means I get to work with a lot of gifted people, whom God has also called, in a common mission of spreading God鈥檚 kingdom in our broken world.