Merry Christmas!

 

Dear Friends and Family, 

Merry Christmas! 

Just tonight, my brothers and I here had some carol-singing in the house, with much good cheer, and even a "Las Posadas" Latino tradition of re-enacting Mary and Joseph's search for a room to give birth to the Christ-child.  I will be able to spend Christmas Eve and the 3 days after that with my family, which also will be very fun. 

It's that time of the year again, and a lot has happened for all of us in the past 365 days.  I know that a lot has happened on my end, and I am glad that many of us have been able to stay in some form of contact, or at least in thoughts and prayers.  If you are interested in a quick re-cap of what has happened since I made the leap into the Jesuits, I refer you to my first blog post in November, which you can access in the Archives section on the right.  

In short, the past year has been one of further becoming a man of faith, community, and service.  It has involved personal growth in maturity, personal discernment of where God is calling me, and developing a realistic love of the Society of Jesus.  There have been so many surprises, challenges, joys, confusions, and adventures.  I am still staying open to God further revealing His will for me, but I do plan this March to begin the process of applying to the Provincial to take lifelong vows.  This will involve writing a 4-5 page single spaced letter explaining why I feel called to take vows, my understanding of the vows, and what I see as my strengths and areas of growth.  Then several people will fill out evaluations of me since being in the Jesuits, and I will have a one-on-one conference with the Provincial who will decide whether or not to admit me to vows this August 13th in Saint Paul.  I am optimistic and hopeful, but prayers would be appreciated. 

As far as next semester, I will be serving in campus ministry at John Carroll University, a Jesuit institution in Cleveland, Ohio.  I will be living with about 12 other Jesuits, who serve in various capacities at the university or around Cleveland.  It is a time to really test how these Jesuit shoes feel long-term, especially in terms of full-time Jesuit ministry and community living (often with men twice or 3 times my age!).  I will be very busy working with many members of the mostly lay campus ministry staff, putting together faith-enriching programming and connecting with the students.  Above all, I hope to be a positive young Jesuit presence in their lives, and to support them in whatever ways needed, especially just to be someone interested in their pursuits, thoughts, and lives of faith.  It should be a great time!  

That is enough for me.  I will keep you posted.  Please do the same for me.  It is a special joy when I hear from any of you.  God bless and merry Christmas!  

Yours in Christ,

John