Seven Jesuit novices pronounced their First Vows in the Society of Jesus at St Stanislaus Church, Girisonta on 25 June. Indonesian Provincial Fr Benedictus Hari Juliawan SJ presided over the Eucharistic Celebration. Concelebrating with him were the Novice Master, Fr Sunu Hardiyanta SJ, and the local superior of St Stanislaus Kostka, Girisonta, Fr Markus Yumartana SJ.
Having “You Are My Friends” as the theme of the First Vows, Fr Juliawan reminded them in his homily that only our friends can bear our weaknesses. Several experiments in the novitiate has proved this to be true.
Notable during the celebration of the vows was the presence of new scholastics from Pakistan, Myanmar, and Thailand who have joined the community at Hermanum College while studying philosophy at Driyarkara School of Philosophy in Jakarta. Their presence demonstrates the universal aspect of the Society of Jesus. Our generation is fortunate to have the experience of studying with Jesuits from different countries. As the hosts, the new Indonesian scholastics will share their knowledge of Indonesia and understanding of philosophy to their Jesuit brothers. It is a chance to make new friends who share in the mission.
The students and teachers of Kanisius Girisonta Elementary School served as the Mass choir. Their presence reminded the new scholastics of the time they taught catechism at the school. It was the first time since the pandemic that the choir was able to perform at Mass. The beautiful songs, the lively choir, and the confidence of the new scholastics to offer themselves to God, to the Church, and to the Society of Jesus were indeed great blessings.
Seeing our second year novices pronouncing their First Vows, I recalled all our hard work to make sure that the occasion would be memorable for them. Just as they served and welcomed us when we entered the novitiate, it was our turn to serve them in this important time of their Jesuit formation.
We also enjoyed welcoming our scholastics from Thailand, Myanmar, and Pakistan to our novitiate. As novices, we had the opportunity to know and be friends with them. Through this, we learned more about the universality of our Society, whose members come from different countries and backgrounds. We also learned how to respect and understand each other, in spite of the language barrier. With the attendance of the foreign scholastics, our novitiate suddenly became international. We all spoke English at the dining table. We were challenged but also excited to build new relationships with each other. We must admit, though, that there was a bit of confusion and misunderstanding during our conversations. Funnily enough, in certain moments, they were able to laugh heartily with us, even though they did not understand what we were laughing about!
Marcelino Edo Susanto nSJ is a first year novice from Indonesia.