Fr Johnny Go SJ pronounced his Final Vows on February 2, Feast of the Presentation of our Lord, in the Chapel of the Sacred Heart, Xavier School in Manila.
Philippine Jesuit Provincial Fr Primitivo Viray Jr SJ presided over the Mass with Jesuit Conference of Asia Pacific (JCAP) President Fr Tony Moreno SJ and Ateneo de Manila University President Fr Jose Ramon Villarin SJ concelebrating.
Fr Go professed his Final Vows 30 years after he pronounced his First Vows.
“In your youth, three decades ago, on the occasion of your First Vows, you chose nonetheless to live your life as a Jesuit”, said Fr Villarin in his homily. “And now, midway through life, on this occasion of your Final Vows, we your brothers in the Society, we choose to accept the gift of your oblation, binding our lives to yours, trusting in all this that it is God who now gladly accepts what you are offering him today, God through his least Society who is now vowing himself to you from this day forward to eternity.”
Fr Go’s celebration of Final Vows at Xavier School was like a homecoming. Not only is he an alumnus of the school, it was also the place where he celebrated his thanksgiving Mass after being ordained in 1998 and where he later served as President from 2001 to 2013.
“I’m grateful for all the opportunities and assignments that the Society has given me all these years—including my 12 unforgettable years here in Xavier”, he said in his thanksgiving speech at the end of the Mass.
“If I were to pick one word to describe this whole journey, it would be ‘hundredfold’”, said Fr Go, who is also JCAP Secretary for Education.
He alluded to Jesus’ use of the word in the gospel, as in Matthew 19 when he tells his disciples, “Anyone who has left home or brother or sister or father or mother or children or land for My Name’s sake, will receive a hundredfold and will inherit eternal life.”
“In the 30 years that I’ve been a Jesuit, I have certainly received this promised hundredfold”, said Fr Go. “And today, I’m feeling so overwhelmed with gratitude for every good gift that I’ve received—but never deserved.”
He thanked his family, the Society, his spiritual directors and formators, his Jesuit superiors and provincials – past and present – his brother Jesuits whom he called his “companions in this journey” and the friends he has made all these years.
“If I was able to persevere in my vocation, for sure it’s also because you’ve never stopped believing that God chooses and uses even broken instruments to do His work”, he said.
Above all, For Go thanked the Lord for leading him “to a life that has been as interesting as it has been meaningful, as joyful as it has been challenging”.
He also shared a valuable lesson he learned from Jesuits he considers his heroes and idols:
“Just say ‘yes’. Just do it. Just spread those wings—even when they’re feeling weak and inadequate, even when you feel more like folding them up and hiding away. Just spread those wings—even when you’re tired, and even when they’re broken. For always, without fail, God will send His wind.”
Read the full text of Fr Villarin’s homily and Fr Go’s thanksgiving speech here.
Photos by Scholastic Jasper Martir SJ