The Philippine Jesuits give thanks to God who gives us our Mother Mary, who accompanies us in our sorrows and brings us closer to her Son. Through her, Fr Arnel Aquino SJ was confirmed a full member of the Society of Jesus on 15 September, the Feast of Our Lady of Sorrows, in front of the presence of Jesus Christ in the Blessed Sacrament.
The Mass was celebrated in the Main Chapel of the Arrupe International Residence at the Ateneo de Manila University. It was presided by Philippine Provincial, Fr Jun Viray SJ, and Fr Peter Pojol SJ gave the homily.
Fr Pojol stressed that the backdrop of “the grace of confirmation of Final Vows is suffering”. He said: “We are confirmed in the midst of anguish and through suffering. While the cross-bearing Christ in the vision at La Storta intimates this fact, it seems like recent Covid infections and Covid protocols on campus have conspired to put this in sharper focus for us lest we miss it, by moving Arnel’s Final Vows from the Feast of the Assumption a month ago to today’s memorial of Our Lady of Sorrows.”
He continued that, in fact, “the way of Jesus and of every Christian to salvation is through suffering. The way of every Jesuit to confirmation is through anguish. As we hear in the first reading from the letter to the Hebrews, ‘Son though he was, he learned obedience from what he suffered.’ In God’s economy, anguish that is met by confirmation is then transformed into gratitude. One’s own anguish that is met by the Son’s anguish for the world becomes firm resolve for the mission.”
At the conclusion of his homily, Fr Pojol said that Fr Aquino, on the day of his Final Vows, “beholds Christ, not carrying the cross as in the vision at La Storta, but hanging from it”. He prayed that, “With Our Lady at the foot of the cross, who also learned obedience from what she suffered, may Arnel hear the confirmation that transforms anguish into gratitude. May Arnel meet the anguish of the Son that turns his own anguish into firm resolve for the mission.”
In his thanksgiving speech after the Mass, Fr Aquino emphasised that the profession of Final Vows does not mean the end of a Jesuit’s formation. He reminded the congregation, made up mostly of Jesuits still in their theology studies, that formation is a lifelong process.
“Even Jesuits well into their 70s and 80s still have room for formation. Maybe a much smaller room, yes, but still a room. In other words, as long as we still have our wits about us, and we’re still functional, there will always be room for the righting of our errors, the correction of our pet prejudices, confrontation for our faults, and calling out on our inordinate attachments and inordinate aggressions.”
Turning to his brother priests, Fr Aquino said: “Few things give our young brothers, the scholastics, more grief than seeing us, their elder brothers, behave as though we’re beyond reproach. The less formation we presume we need anymore, the more we hurt people around us. The Final Vow is emblematic of the Society finally accepting us fully and unreservedly, yes. But ‘final’ isn’t formation’s end.”