Personal Introduction

Welcome! My name is John Roselle, SJ, and I took lifelong ("perpetual") vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience as a Jesuit on August 13th, 2011 after a two-year novitiate. I am now a Jesuit Scholastic for the Wisconsin Province of the Society of Jesus. I will study philosophy and theology for the next three years at Loyola University in Chicago. At the same time, I will do part-time ministry in some capacity with the poor. After that, I will likely teach for three years before finishing three more years of theology. Then, God willing, I will be ordained a Roman Catholic Jesuit priest! It's a long road, but a blessed, fun, and enriching one. This blog exists as a resource for friends, family, and others who are interested in my progress through the Jesuit process of formation. Every day is its own adventure, and I am happy to have you along with me to share in this. This blog contains my own personal thoughts and should not be taken to speak for the entire Society of Jesus. Feel free to contact me. God bless you!















Monday, December 20, 2010

Have a Question?

Dear friends and readers of this blog,

I am trying to create a Frequently Asked Questions section for this blog, with questions that you or other people may wonder about the Jesuits, life in the novitiate, or anything else you might think would be illuminating. Please either email them to me at johnroselle@gmail.com, post them on this blog, or Facebook them to me. Feel free to be honest without worrying about being intrusive.

Since I hope this blog will give friends and family (as well as those interested in the Jesuits or considering joining) a sense of what life is like here, I too want to be honest and upfront in clearing up any sorts of questions people may have.
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4 comments:

  1. Elizabeth BerkemierDecember 21, 2010 at 9:00 PM

    Hello from South Dakota John!

    I have a question! Pretty simple really...Why is it that you wear the Roman collar as a nSJ? Are you mistaken for a priest when you wear them?

    I guess I could liken it to my wearing a white coat as a med student. There is one distinction, med students wear short waist length coats and aren't allowed to don the long white coat until graduation.

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  2. John Roselle, S.J.December 21, 2010 at 9:22 PM

    Elizabeth,
    Good question! Seminarians and religious in formation occasionally wear the roman collar. It is a profound honor, since so many holy men through the ages have worn it, and it is a wonderful witness to other young men that indeed Christ is still calling men to the priesthood. We are clear with people that we are NOT priests however. Impersonating a priest is an impediment to ordination. Thanks again for the question!

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  3. AnonymousJanuary 31, 2011 at 3:21 PM

    Why did you choose the SJ and not OMV or MC?

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  4. John Roselle, S.J.February 1, 2011 at 8:26 AM

    Without a doubt, my personal contacts with the Jesuits helped foster the discernment of the order, but I also found a lot of harmony between myself, Jesuit spirituality, the life of our founder St. Ignatius, and the mission and way of proceeding of the Society. I have a deep respect for the Missionaries of Charity, for example, but they have a very specific charism of being with the poorest of the poor (a beautiful charism) and a specific way of living strict poverty, but the Jesuit/Pauline way of "becoming all things to all people so that some may be saved" speaks more to my desires and skill-sets to influence others for God who can in turn influence others.

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