Nine Jesuit novices, coming from various places in Indonesia, pronounced their First Vows on June 24 at St Stanislaus Church, Girisonta, Ungaran. This year’s cohort includes one brother: Robertus Sigit Adi Nugroho from Semarang, and eight scholastics: Lambertus Alfred from Bandung, Theilard “Tete” Aurobindo Soesilo from Salatiga, Yohanes Krisostomus Septian Kurniawan from Kartosuro, Yohanes “Anes” Ignatius Setiawan from Palasari, Petrus “Upet” Craver Swandono from Temanggung, Engelbertus “Egi” Viktor Daki from Flores, Klemens Yuris Widya Denanta from Ngawi, and Daud Kefas Raditia from Bekasi.
Indonesian Jesuit Provincial Fr Petrus Sunu Hardiyanta SJ presided over the Mass with Novice Master Fr Agustinus “Nano” Setyodarmono SJ, Acting Rector of Girisonta Fr L Priyo Poedjiono SJ and Scholastic Egi’s uncle Fr Eduard C Ratu Dopo SJ concelebrating. Two priests from the Order of the Holy Cross (OSC) and the Society of Divine Word (SVD), who were related to Scholastics Alfred and Egi, also celebrated the Mass together with the Jesuit priests.
In his homily, Fr Hardiyanta thanked God for granting these nine promising Jesuits courage to pronounce their perpetual vows. “A vow is not merely a matter that we say spontaneously. It is discerned for two years throughout the formation and probations in the novitiate,” he said. The formators invited them to find their true vocations by delving into their past until they could find God who has always been walking with them since they were boys. The same God has also called them to become Jesuits. Fr Hardiyanta also emphasised that through the experience of a pilgrimage, they were able to find the beauty of their lives. God was always present to care for them through the people they met during their 350-kilometre journey. Each encounter was a wonderful moment with the merciful and generous God.
The theme of the celebration was “Berjalan Bersama-Mu” (Walking with you). Speaking on behalf of his fellow scholastics in his thanksgiving speech at the end of the Mass, Scholastic Septian shared that the theme expresses how fragile and poor humans are, unable to walk and live alone and unaccompanied. In retrospect, they realised that God has always been leading and guiding their lives since they were little. In their two-year experience as novices, they learned to find God especially in their probation. “We believe that by living our vocations and leaving behind our self-interests, we can experience the presence of God. Therefore, we do not own our lives only for ourselves, but we share our lives with all people who are in need”, said Septian.
Mrs Eliana, Scholastic Alfred’s mother, expressed her gratitude on behalf of the parents of the new scholastics. She is grateful to see the happy faces of the young Jesuits during the Mass. Those happy faces meant that God has granted them the power to face new and greater challenges in their lives as Jesuits, she said. She also thanked Fr Nano who accompanied their children well as novice master. “The Society of Jesus has formed our beloved children incredibly. Therefore, we are willing to let them go according to God’s wish. In these two years, Fr Nano has not only accompanied the novices, but also us, their parents, so we accept this grace of vocation from God willingly,” said Mrs Eliana.
Her sentiments were echoed by Scholastic Septian. “We have changed a lot because of Fr Nano’s help”, he said. “Even though he is not our biological father, we feel that he has treated us as if we were his own children.”