I have been doing some research on the Jesuits from the website posted in this thread, which lead me to the Louisiana section and in turn reading further on i found that it takes around 12-15 years to become a Jesuit Priest…
some where in the process one becomes a deacon ( the title of which i do not recall )
so and maybe these are questions for a vocation director but feel it might be quicker to ask it here…
while one is going through this 15 year process, and moving through the ranks, what becomes their mission in the mean time ? at some point school ends, and one graduates, does one remain a deacon at a parish, or are they sent on different missions ?
That and they take a vow of poverty, I " have things " but barely at that, i have access to the internet, a large dvd collection, a paid for vehicle which i didnt souly pay for just partially, some other nick nacks from over the years, and i enjoy art and am fairly good at it and have supplies from photograph equipment to drawing/painting items.
I have never had such a stable job that i accumulated a large amount of money to live off of or be considered rich… I dont own high tech things such as ipads, cellphones, game platforms.
so how poor is this life of poverty ? I have probably had the same clothes for over 2 yrs i loath shopping for clothes hence why i keep what i wear for as long as i can.
and Why does it take 12-15 yrs to become a Jesuit Priest versus a regular priest/ parish priest.
and I was looking at the numbers of Jesuits roughly close to 17 thousand, broken down into different catageories… do Jesuit Priests ever get assigned to a bishop and parish due to lack of regular priests ?
any insight or answers , suggestions would be appreciated.
Let’s being with your last question first. If a man is going to be both a priest and a religious, it’s going to take longer than if he’s going to be a priest. If you want to be a priest, you enter a diocesan seminary. You being your studies where you last left off and continue on until you complete a Maser’s Degree In Divinity or a Master of Arts in Theology. At most, it can take eight years.
If the Lord calls you to be a religious, you begin through several stages that a priest need not go through. They have different names in different communities, but they’re all the same. I’m going to use the names that we use in my community.
Inquirer – 6 to 12 months
Postulant – 6 to 12 months
Novice – 24 months
Student Friar – five years to 10 years
Solemn profession
During that time, you’re also going to school. In my community you must complete a BA in an academic area with a minor in philosophy. You must complete at least four years of theology at the graduate level and obtain either an M.Dvi or an M.A. You must complete a second Masters in Human Ecology. But you’re doing while you’re going through the stages that I’v outlined above.
If we look at those stages, let’s take the minimum number of years that one must spend in formation before making solemn vows. That would be 8 years. The truth is that no one ever completes his formation to the religious life in 8 years. It always takes longer. Eight year sis the minimum, but not the norm.
If God calls one of us to be a priest, ordination to the diaconate cannot take place until religious formation has been completed. That means that the person must be in solemn vows. In addition, the person must be in his 4th year of theology.
Let’ssay that you have completed your formation in 8 years, in the 9th year you would be ordained a deacon. If you’re still a student, you will finish the degree. In your 10th year, you do an internship as a deacon in one of our missions. You would be ordained a priest in your 11th year after beginning the journey as an inquirer. That would be least number of years that it would take to be ordained a priest and remember, I said that no one ever finishes in the leas amount of time, for many reasons that would take a book to write.
As far as poverty, the Jesuits are Clerks Regular. They are religious in solemn vows, but they are neither friars nor monks. They manage the vow of poverty differently. Because they are in solemn vows, no one can own anything. Before you make solemn vows, you must assign all of your assets to another person. You must give up any claims to future inheritances, say from your parents if they pass or a life insurance policy. All of that has to be signed away and it is legally binding. Even if you leave, you can never recover that.
As to smaller things, it is up to the superior to decide what smaller items you can keep in your possession. But don’t let the word possession deceive you. These smaller items, such as laptop computer, a cell phone, or CDs are in your possession, but you do not possess them, even if you brought them from home. How does this work? It means that if you have to move from one house to another and those items are needed in the house that you’re leaving, guess what? You can’t take them with you to the next house. The superior has the right to tell you to leave them. I’ll give you an example.
I recently moved a brother from one house to another. He had many good theology books. When I wrote the letter of obedience, I indicated that the books in his possession had to remain behind. Why? He was leaving the house of formation and going to a mission house. It makes no sense to take books out of the house of formation, which are needed there only to have to buy them again.
The best way that I can explain poverty for a Jesuit is “I need” vs “I want.” You will always have what you need for your health, work, education and development. There are no guarantees that you will always have what you want.
You can always join my community in which you will not have what you want nor will you have many things that you need either, because we only allow ourselves to have what the very poor have. For example, we don’t have medical insurance or retirement insurance. If we get sick, we use the state system just like the rest of the poor. That would not be the case with clerks regular, such as Jesuits. They will have medical insurance.
I hope this helps many people.
Fraternally,
Br. JR, FFV
