The Jesuit Vocation: A Call to MAGIS (More)

The call to religious life and the priesthood is a profound one, inviting young men to a life of service and dedication for the greater glory of God.

For individuals yearning for something more, or moved with a desire to live a life of purpose and meaning, the Society of Jesus offers a path worth considering. Whether as a priest or a brother, joining the Jesuits means signing up to make a difference in the world.

If you feel drawn to explore this invitation further, please reach out to a Jesuit community close to you. They can provide guidance and journey with you as you discern if this vocation is right for you.

Vocation

Jesuits today serve in 112 nations on six continents and number about 16,000 priests, brothers and seminarians worldwide. Jesuits discharge a wide variety of roles including that of retreat directors, teachers, doctors, poets, lawyers, social workers, writers, administrators, professors, pastors, scientists and artists. Jesuits also engage in missionary work, upliftment of the poor, social justice activities, inter-religious dialogue and other ministries. 

Becoming a Jesuit is a lifetime project, whose sole aim is to love and serve God. Pedro Arrupe, one of our last Superiors General said to a young man who wished to join the Society of Jesus:

“Stay at home if this idea makes you unsettled or nervous. Do not come to us if you love the Church like a stepmother rather than a mother. Do not come if you think that in so doing you will be doing the Society of Jesus a favor. Come if serving Christ is at the very center of your life. Come if you have broad and sufficiently strong shoulders. Come if you have an open spirit, a reasonably open mind and a heart larger than the world. Come if you know how to tell a joke and can laugh with others and… on occasions you can laugh at yourself.”

Jesuits look for men who feel called by God and who also possess:

• a deep personal love for Jesus Christ
• a habit of prayer which develops into action
• sufficient self-knowledge
• good religious practice
• an intellectual capability
• a sense of sociability and availability
• some familiarity with Jesuits
• good physical health
• a history of service and concern for the poor
• the joy to live a life of poverty, chastity, obedience
• a strong desire—zeal for being a Jesuit!

The Journey to becoming a Jesuit

Men considering entering, or applying to, the Society of Jesus are called candidates. Upon acceptance of their application, they join the Society as novices. This is when Jesuit formation begins. Not all Jesuits become priests. Some choose to be brothers but their formation follows a similar pattern.

Novitiate: This is a two-year programme of prayer, work and learning about the Society of Jesus, which includes making the Thirty-Day Retreat, i.e., the full Spiritual Exercises of St Ignatius Loyola, in their first year. Novices live in a novitiate under the direction of a novice master. They also engage in a variety of “experiments”, that see them working in various ministries, usually with the poor or the sick, sometimes in a less developed country. In their second year, novices go on a long experiment, spending several months in a Jesuit apostolate. In some provinces the novices also make a pilgrimage across the country with little money. At the end of his novitiate, a Jesuit pronounces his First Vows (of poverty, chastity and obedience).

Studies: 

Degree or Graduation: The Jesuit is now a brother or a scholastic (in formation for the priesthood or brotherhood). This is when they do their college studies persue a three-year degree or a graduation course for three years.

Philosophy Studies: Then the same brother or the scholastic has to go for another perior of study in Philosophy for two years.

Regency: The Jesuit works full time in a Jesuit ministry for generally two to three years, but possibly longer depending on the man’s provincial. During this time, they are called regents.

Higher Studies: Many Jesuits go for heigher studies or a master’s degree for two years in a specific subject.

Theology Studies: All the Jesuits have to finish a three or four year theology course to have a better knowledge on the scriptures and other theological subjects.

Diaconate: Jesuit scholastics are ordained to the transitional diaconate  after the theology studies (rather than the permanent diaconate for married men). He is now a deacon.

Priesthood: The ordination of a Jesuit to the presbyterate (priesthood) usually takes place within a year of becoming a deacon. He is now a priest, and only now is called “Father”. This, however, is not the end of formal Jesuit formation.

Tertianship: This final stage in Jesuit formation comes after the Jesuit has worked for several years after completing his studies (for the brother), or after his studies and ordination (for the priest). The Jesuit, now called a tertian, undergoes six to nine months of spiritual training during which he makes the full Spiritual Exercises again. He does so under the guidance of his tertian director or tertian master.

Final Vows: After completing tertianship and subject to the approval of his provincial and the Jesuit superior general, the Jesuit is invited to take final vows. All make three vows (of poverty, chastity and obedience, re-affirming the First Vows) and some make a fourth vow (of special obedience to the Pope with regard to missions). This is the end of the formal formation period. From start to finish (novitiate to final vows) it can take as many as 15 to 20 years.