 Jesuits in First Studies at Loyola Chicago
The First Steps
The first steps
in considering life as a Jesuit are very informal
and without obligation. A Jesuit vocation is ultimately
a fraternal relationship, and so the best way to
learn more about us is to meet a "live" Jesuit
and to have a simple conversation with him. Br.
Christopher Derby , SJ, the Director of Vocations
for Maryland and New York, or
Fr.
Jack Butler, SJ, Director of Vocations for
New England, would be more than happy to help arrange
a meeting with a Jesuit Vocation Coordinator in
the inquirer's local area. The vocation office
can also refer inquirers living in other provinces
to the vocation director director for their province. Visit
our USA map for more information.
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Discernment & Application
After a period of reflection and conversation,
the local Jesuit contact may invite the man to
join in a formal discernment program entitled, the
Jesuit Candidates. As a Candidate,
a man is offered several opportunities to learn
about and experience what life and ministry in
the Society of Jesus involve.
After an appropriate period of discernment, a
man may elect to apply for admission into the Novitiate
of the Society of Jesus. The
application process is meant to be an experience
of discernment through which the Society of Jesus
and an applicant enter freely and honestly into
an intense time of reflection, assessment and discovery.
 Through this process, the two strive with the help
of the Holy Spirit to discover the will of God, and
they commit themselves to a faith-filled response
to it.
If admitted, the ordinary course of formation
will take ten to eleven years for most scholastics,
and seven to eight years for most brothers, entering
the Society in the Maryland, New England and New
York Provinces. As the Church and as the world
around us change, the fundamental thrust of our
formation is to prepare priests
and brothers who are well educated, trained
in the Spiritual Exercises, with skills to minister
in a diverse and ever changing environment.
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 The Novitiate
The first two years of a Jesuits life are spent
in the novitiate program. The four, fundamental
goals during this time are verification of one's
vocation, a more intimate relationship with the
Lord, growth in authentic self knowledge and an
increasing love for the Society of Jesus.
For the first-year novices, the first two weeks
in the Novitiate are a time for reading, discussion,
and reflection in order to affirm the man’s
desire to be incorporated into the Jesuit Novitiate.
During their first semester, they participate in
three classes: conferences on Jesuit Life, its
History and its Customs; an introduction to the
person of Jesus in Scripture; and basic or intermediate-level
Spanish. They also participate in a local ministry.
 In January, the novices make the Spiritual Exercises,
a thirty-day, silent retreat developed by St. Ignatius
Loyola. Following the long retreat, they make a
pilgrimage to either Guadalajara, Mexico; Kingston,
Jamaica; or Pine Ridge, South Dakota; where they
live, work, and pray alongside Jesuits in another
culture.
The first-year novices reunite in late spring
to work at Calvary
Hospital, located in the Bronx. At Calvary,
novices work together with hospital caregivers
to meet the basic, physical needs of terminal cancer
patients. Early June brings each novice to his
respective province for Ordinations and Province
Days. Finally, he returns to Syracuse for a period
of reflection and rest, and later the opportunity
to visit his family.
The second-year novices also live in Syracuse
during the first semester and participate in two
classes plus selected seminars. In addition, they
engage in local ministry. From January through
May, each novice works full-time at a Jesuit apostolate.
In June, they return to Syracuse for a vow retreat
lasting eight days in preparation for their profession
of perpetual vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience
in the Society of Jesus.
 At the end of this two-year period of prayer,
work and study, the novice pronounces perpetual
vows of poverty, chastity and obedience either
as a brother or as a scholastic who will prepare
for priestly ordination. The vow ceremony takes
place in mid-August.
Meet
the 2007 Novices
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First Studies
The ordinary program for men
in first studies entails two years of graduate
level philosophy study and one year of graduate
level theology study for scholastics. Brothers
will usually take several theology courses and
work on a Masters Degree in a field of interest.
There are three First Studies programs in the
U.S. that men are sent to: St.
Louis University; Loyola
University Chicago, and Fordham
University (Ciszek
Hall). Some men engage in international programs
of first studies.
If a man enters without a bachelor's degree, then
he will complete his BA degree during this time,
usually majoring in philosophy.
 The
program for scholastics at Fordham University
is the M.A. in philosophical resources.
The men in formation live at Ciszek
Hall. (Read Getting
There, an article about Ciszek Hall, by Fr. George McCauley, in PDF
format.)
They are full-time graduate students and give
about six to eight hours a week to apostolic work
in the surrounding-neighborhood (catechism, tutoring,
youth groups, etc.). The ordinary course work for
scholastics is: 36 graduate hours of philosophy,
24 graduate hours of theology, and 12 graduate
hours of electives. This is four graduate courses
each semester. Brothers follow a similar schedule
of studies in a field other than philosophy. One,
of the theology courses focuses on "social analysis" and
how to integrate study, reflection and action.
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Regency
The three years of regency are a time for
men to be fully involved in the apostolic work
and community life of the Provinces. Men are assigned
to two or three years of regency depending on their
age, apostolic needs of the provinces, and individual
apostolic desires. Over the years about 50% of
the men are assigned to high schools, 30% to universities,
and 20% to social and pastoral ministries.
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Since scholastics did one year of theology during
First Studies, they now need to do three more years
to fulfill the Church's four-year requirement for
priestly ordination. Usually men will complete
the Master of Divinity degree and an S.T.L. during
these three years. Brothers will often complete
a one or two year degree program in theology or
religious education at this time. In addition to
their studies each man will give six to eight hours
each week to pastoral ministries (spiritual direction,
campus ministries parish work, etc.) under the
guidance of the field education supervisor. Most
men go to either Boston
College School of Theology and Ministry or Jesuit
School of Theology at Berkeley with a few studying
outside of the U.S.A.
Since 1981 the Society has required that each
man seeking ordination participate in an "Arrupe
Experience." This experience of retreat, discussion
and reflection on priesthood is done during the
summer before the second year. Afterwards, men
formally petition the Provincials for ordination
to the diaconate and priesthood.
Ordination to the diaconate ordinarily occurs
in the fall semester of the last year, and to the
priesthood in June of the last year of studies.
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Summer Experiences
During the course of formation most men will have seven
summers available after novitiate. These
summers are utilized to further the individual's
formation in four particular areas: the study
of Spanish or another language; an experience
of the international Society; further ministry
with those who are poor; and training in the
Spiritual Exercises and Spiritual Direction.
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Graduate Studies
Usually men will do further graduate studies at
the masters or doctoral level after they have
completed the ordinary course of formation. Proposals
for graduate studies are submitted to the Provincials'
Assistant for Formation and these are reviewed
by the studies committee for recommendation to
the provincials. This review of the studies proposal
critically examines the man's aptitude for studies,
the Province's apostolic needs, and the appropriateness
of the proposed university and degree program.
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Tertianship
 The Provincial usually invites men to begin tertianship
three to five years after finishing formation or
graduate studies. There are two types of tertianship
programs offered in the U.S.A. The first is a seven
to nine month program that runs during the academic
year, and the second is a two-year program that
runs during two consecutive summers. In both programs,
tertians study the foundational documents of the
Society of Jesus, make the 30-day retreat, study
the Spiritual Exercises, and participate in an
apostolic experiment chosen by the tertian master.
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Final Vows
After the tertianship period, the
Jesuit is called to final vows in the Society of
Jesus.
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Visit our Meet
the Jesuits pages for more information about
Jesuit priests and brothers in the Maryland and
New York Provinces who are currently in each of
these stages of formation. |
