One of the things that drove Gregory Tan SJ to join the Jesuits in 2005 was a concern for the spiritual hunger he saw around him. As he ordained Gregory to the diaconate at St Carthage’s Church in Melbourne on November 29, Bishop Greg O’Kelly SJ said the young Jesuit was now more fully equipped to help people find sustenance in the Eucharist.
A member of the Malaysia-Singapore Region of the Society of Jesus, Gregory was joined at the celebration by the Regional Superior Fr Colin Tan SJ. Two of Gregory’s brothers, Stanislaus and Ignatius, made the journey to Australia for the ordination, along with other friends from home.
Born in 1972, Gregory grew up in Singapore and is the youngest of four brothers. He studied history and sociology at the National University of Singapore, and subsequently completed his Masters in sociology. Before joining the Jesuits, he worked for six years in the civil service and later the social service sector in Singapore.
He was first drawn to Ignatian spirituality while reading a book on discernment by Thomas Green SJ. Around the same time, a Jesuit gave Gregory’s name to the Jesuit vocation promoter in Singapore. The vocation promoter’s persistence landed Gregory in a Jesuit vocation weekend, where to Gregory’s surprise, his vocation discernment began.
In 2005, he entered the Jesuit novitiate in Singapore. He subsequently completed his philosophy studies in Manila before returning to Singapore for his regency working in the Jesuit parish of St Ignatius.
“The priesthood, towards which this transitional diaconate is a step, had that attraction for you of the road less travelled,” Bishop O’Kelly said in his homily at the Mass, describing Gregory’s vocational journey.
“You became increasingly aware of the difference between social advocacy and priestly ministry, and with your Ignatian Spirituality and your ordination to holy orders, you will be able to celebrate a sacramental ministry of symbol and spirituality, to minister to the spiritual hunger that you perceive to be in so many people around you.”
Bishop O’Kelly evoked Pope Francis’ image of the Church as a field hospital – a place that doesn’t treat small problems like ingrown toenails, but deals only in major wounds.
“In your ministry, may you look to the major wounds in the Church – to the disenchantment in affection, to the dissociation from worship, to the disillusion with the witness of the Church. In your ministry, Greg, may you counter that,” said Bishop O’Kelly.
Members of the Jesuit Theological College community were part of the celebration. Gregory first came to Jesuit Theological College in July 2011 to begin his post-regency theology studies. In recent times, his ministry has included pastoral work at the Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre in Melbourne.
Jesuit Theological College Rector Fr Brendan Byrne SJ said that the word that comes to mind when he thinks of Gregory is “precise”. However that preciseness is about more than just the care he takes in his studies – it’s also about how he engages with other people.
“Precise in courtesy, in sensitivity to human need, in service to the community – his care for precision always works for better human relationships,” said Fr Byrne. [Province Express]