The Philippine Jesuit Province recently celebrated the Final Vows of Fathers Antonio Basilio SJ and Antonio Roberto Sian SJ. Both men share a vocation not just to religious life but also to the sciences. Fr Basilio is a nanoscientist by training while Fr Sian is a medical doctor.
Fr Basilio made his Final Vows on 19 June in the Assumption Chapel of the Ateneo de Davao University in Davao City. Fr Daniel McNamara SJ received Fr Basilio’s vows on behalf of Philippine Provincial Fr Primitivo Viray Jr SJ who couldn’t make it amid travel restrictions from the coronavirus. Fr Joel Tabora SJ gave the homily.
Fr Basilio was inspired to join the Society of Jesus through the life of Richie Fernando, a Filipino Jesuit scholastic who was martyred in Cambodia. Reflecting on his own life as a Jesuit and nanoscientist, Fr Basilio shared how he struggled with “worthiness”. There were instances, he said, when he felt he was being tested, whether it was in getting his work published in a peer-reviewed journal or in being a Jesuit.
“There can be tension between improving oneself and in simply allowing one to be loved; between doing something well and in simply allowing oneself to be appreciated not for one’s actions but for one’s person,” he said.
Professing his Final Vows on the Feast of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus reminded Fr Basilio of the quality and depth of the love of God. He shared: “Throughout my Jesuit formation I found myself on several occasions wanting to prove myself only to realise I am loved by the Lord unconditionally.”
A few days later, on 21 June, Fr Sian made his Final Vows in the chapel of St John Vianney Theological Seminary (SJVTS) in Cagayan de Oro City. Fr Mars Tan SJ received his vows while Fr Norlan Julia SJ gave the homily.
Fr Sian’s path to the Society seemed at first unlikely. He grew up in Bacolod City where there was no Jesuit presence. He studied elementary and high school with the Lasallian brothers and pursued university and medicine at the state-run University of the Philippines. It was a Franciscan sister who pointed him to his Jesuit vocation.
“I am especially reminded of that common but cannot be overused saying that, ‘Everything is gift,’” he said in his thanksgiving speech. “It is never about us but about our great and overly generous loving God who invites us to follow him towards a life lived to the full.”
Some of Fr Sian’s doctor friends were able to attend the Mass held on the Feast of St Aloysius Gonzaga, who is known for having ministered to plague victims in Rome in the 16th century. Fr Sian thanked them along with many others who helped and influenced him to pursue and love his Jesuit vocation.
Remarking on how he feels now that he is a fully professed Jesuit, he echoed the words of St Peter to a crippled beggar in Acts 3:6: “I have neither silver nor gold, but what I do have I give you.”
“In great gratitude to the Society of Jesus, that is what I can only humbly say,” said Fr Sian. “I do not have much, but what I have is yours.”