The summer adventures came to a close with a final trip to Guatemala, my host country for the Peace Corps, where I served over four years ago.  It was an amazing blessing to have been able to end the summer with this visit.  Kyle and I spent time hiking an active volcano that was spewing rivers of lava, we visited a beautiful site called Semuc Champey, which consists of a series of turquoise pools connected by water falls.  We also spent time in Antigua, Gautemala, which is the oldest and most beautiful colonial style city in Central America.  Most importantly this trip served as a reminder of how God manifested his love to me through out my two years in Guatemala through the people and places where I served.

I spent time introducing Kyle to my host family and friends from my village where I used to live in Guatemala.  Although I was feeling nostalgic and would have loved to spend more time with them I had to settle for the brief chance to update them on my new adventure and why I felt called to join the Jesuits.  It was important for me to tell them because these people played a large role in allowing me to find my vocation due to the love they gave me and the example of their strong faith.  Building up the courage to tell friends in Guatemala about entering the seminary was not easy but their simple faith, which is what inspired my vocation, is what also allowed me to proceed with the news and enjoy their sincere responses.  I found that not everyone agreed with this path and some pleaded that I get married.? My Catholic friends were overjoyed and I know I can count on their prayers and support.  They even gave us a going away dinner to celebrate.

After an exciting trip in Guatemala we returned home and I was able to spend some quality time with the family before making the plunge into religious life on August 29th.  Kyle and I have just begun taking some classes this week based on religious life and the three vows of chastity, poverty, and obedience.  Last Friday we were sworn in with a blessing because we finished our triduum retreat.  That marked the end of our first probation and signifies that we have officially entered the novitiate.  St. Ignatius established the first probation as a way for interested candidates to learn more about the society before entering into it.

We have also been learning about the Jesuit idea of contemplatives in action.  As we meet in regular sessions to discuss different aspects and constitutions of the Jesuits we try to observe the movements we are experiencing within.  God is actively speaking to us in all that we encounter throughout the day.  It is very important, especially as a novice to be aware of one’s inner feelings and thoughts.  As we have been learning about the Jesuit Formula and becoming servants of Christ in the Jesuit sense Kyle and I are urged to contemplate our own desires and to check if there is a harmony with the Jesuit way of life.

Each day here is also geared towards increasing our spiritual life.  We begin the day with morning prayer by reciting the Liturgy of the Hours.  Each afternoon we attend a community mass and dinner.  The community bonding has been great.  We also have a creative prayer session on Tuesday evenings and plenty of time for adoration in between.  There are 21 first and second year novices which means there is never a dull moment in the community.  We also spend lots of time hanging out and playing sports.

I will close by sharing a grace I received on our triduum retreat. As I find myself anxious to be moving faster and progressing spiritually I found a beautiful prayer through which God spoke to me on retreat.  This prayer helped to remind me of the trust necessary to continue on this path and the constant strength that the Lord provides if we surrender.

Patient Trust

Above all trust in the slow work of God.  We are quite naturally impatient in everything to reach the end without delay. We are impatient of being on the way to something unknown, something new. And yet it is the law of all progress that it is made by passing through some stages of instability and it may take a very long time.

Only God could say what this new spirit gradually forming within you will be.  Give our Lord the benefit of believing that His hand is leading you, and accept the anxiety of feeling yourself in suspense and incomplete.

-Pierre Teilhard de Chardin SJ.

Thanks for reading about our experiences thus far.  It is consoling to know of the prayers and support from St. X parish!