Jesuit brothers must live what they preach and be good role models if they want to attract new blood to the vocation. For Br Noel Oliver SJ, this was a key takeaway from the recent Brothers’ Circle Meeting themed “Vocation of a Jesuit Brother in a Diverse World”.
Twenty-one Jesuit brothers gathered in Macau from November 10 to 14 to discuss the role of their vocation in a time when the number of people entering religious life is dwindling. Jesuit Brothers are members of the Society of Jesus whose vocations are to serve the Church in ways other than as priests. There are 90 Jesuit Brothers in the Jesuit Conference of Asia Pacific.
“It is a great challenge for us to be working in a very secular world,” said Br Noel who is an Indian Jesuit based in Timor-Leste. “In this 21st century, in order to attract others to join as Jesuit Brothers, we have to live what we preach and be good role models. We are working in a multi-cultural and multi-ethnic society with and for people adhering to various religious beliefs. Each of us possesses some special gifts that God has given us through which we make our contribution to the corporate body of the Society.”
Br Noel said the vocation of Jesuit Brother is often misunderstood. “The grave misunderstanding is that a person chooses to become a Brother because he does not have what it takes to be a Priest,” he elaborated, adding that in reality, “all a [Jesuit Brother] wants to do is to be able to use his talents in the service of the Master.”
The participants shared what Jesuit Brothers are doing to foster vocations in their provinces and regions. For the most part, efforts are being made to give Brother Candidates the same opportunities for studies as are available for Scholastics.
Some of the meeting was devoted to giving the participants an understanding of the local context of the Jesuit Chinese Province, with presentations by three Jesuits from the province – Provincial Fr John Lee Hua SJ, Fr Emmanuel Lim SJ and Fr Beda Liu SJ. The brothers also learned more about the Suppression and the Restoration of the Society of Jesus from Philippine Jesuit Fr Tony de Castro SJ, and they were especially grateful to have Macau Bishop Jose Lai celebrate the closing Eucharist for their meeting.
The Brothers’ Circle Meeting was organised by Br Raymund Belleza SJ of the Philippine Province and JCAP Formation Delegate Fr Norris Seenivasan SJ, with Br Howard Tu SJ providing support in Macau.
