Simon Yong Kong Beng SJ professed his Final Vows on 15 February during a Mass at the Cathedral of the Sacred Heart in Johor Bahru, where he has been the parish priest since 2018.
The ceremony was simple with Jesuits from Petaling Jaya, Kuching, Singapore, and clergy from other religious of the diocese in attendance. Bishop Bernard Paul of Melaka-Johor said he came to “witness what a Jesuit vow ceremony looks like”. Fr Francis Lim SJ, the Regional Superior of Malaysia-Singapore Jesuit Region, accepted the vows on behalf of Fr General Arturo Sosa SJ.
Fr Simon chose this date because he entered the novitiate on this day in 1986, and because 15 February is the memorial of St Claude la Colombière, the Jesuit who first promoted the devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus as spiritual director to St Margaret Mary Alacoque, the visionary of the Sacred Heart. As the cathedral is named after the Sacred Heart, it was an apt choice of date for the occasion.
Reflecting on the preparation for his Final Vows and his journey as a Jesuit over the past 37 years, Fr Simon noted that the First Vows of a Jesuit are not just fundamental, but also guide the Jesuit in his life right from the beginning.
“To make one’s final profession provides pause to give thanks to God for the journey made. More than anything else, the Society has been Christ’s saving hand to a sinner. I shudder to think what I would have been like if not for our beloved mother, the Society,” he shared.
He expressed gratitude for the well-rounded education he received, particularly during his six years in Manila, and for his experiences during Regency and in Ireland. He recalled:
“I count those years in Manila as a great blessing. The humanities so necessary for a Jesuit’s engagement with the world was what I ate and drank in the Ateneo. My Regency was a return to an apostolic landscape where Christianity posed a negligible presence. It is to learn how to engage with a world that does not know and does not need, but perhaps is unwittingly waiting for the grace of the Gospel. Ireland gave me a post-Christian experience and yet the happy memory was to live in a Decree 4 Irish experiment. I had a great time cycling to Milltown from Ballymun and later graduated to a motorcycle.”
He was ordained in 2000, and after a further year in Dublin returned to St Francis Xavier in Petaling Jaya. His parish ministry was followed by a stint in the Diocese of Melaka-Johor’s catechetical office.
Fr Simon expressed joy in returning to parish work in the last four years despite the challenges posed by the pandemic. He concluded by noting that he has much to be grateful for in his life as a Jesuit, and expressed his continued commitment to serving God through his work.