Novice No More: First Profession of Vows

It has been quite a long time since my last update and much has transpired. I am no longer a novice! It was my intention to continue updates throughout the year, but novitiate becomes progressively more intense as the year develops and it becomes hard to divert energy as well as time to sharing the experience as it unfolds. In order to understand this, observe the following illustration that sums up the novitiate year:

On August 5th, novitiate ended and two of us made our first profession of vows in the religious life with the Oblates.

I am very grateful that my parents and siblings were all present. It was not easy for everyone to make it to the furthest tip of the country and I am thankful that they could come. I got to spend time with the family in Boston and during a two-week trip back to Michigan during August.

 

A new phase of my journey in religious life is underway! I am now under temporary vows and have begun studying for a masters degree in theology. As of the last week of August, the gang has returned from vacations and pastoral assignments and reassembled for the academic year. We have two new postulants and a total of ten men in formation for the St. Ignatius Province.