Groups: A Heart on Fire - Midwest

Josef Raoul Rodriguez, SJ, inherited his love for the Catholic faith and music from his Filipino parents. As a toddler, he played “Mass” at home with a plate of chips and a cup of juice.

As Taylor Fulkerson, SJ, looks back at the regency stage of his formation, he clearly sees that God has guided his heart along the way.

In addition to being a Jesuit, people are sometimes surprised to learn that I am also a nurse. I hear things like, “I didn’t know Jesuits could do that.” Or they ask, “How does that work?”

Nicholas Albin, SJ, began to ponder his vocation at the suggestion of one of his Jesuit professors at Xavier University.

As I applied to enter the Jesuit novitiate, I wondered if I had wasted the last ten years earning a bachelor’s degree and doctorate in engineering. I had to come to terms with the fact that I could very well be giving up science and engineering for good.

When I got to Saint Ignatius High School, I remember being impressed with the Jesuits there, how different they were from my parish priest. This would be the first of several encounters with Jesuits that would seal my own fate as a member of the Society of Jesus.

Andrew Cera, SJ, reflects on how his vocation has been formed and filled by so many names and faces.

Trevor Rainwater, SJ, attended Creighton University where he first encountered Jesuits. Delighted to meet this group of men who shared a deep love of Christ but, at the same time, were involved in a variety of professions, Trevor decided to enter the Society of Jesus in August 2010.

My single greatest hesitation in entering the Jesuit novitiate had nothing to do with vows of poverty, chastity, or obedience. It was all the moving around that got me. “Can you really form lasting and loving relationships while constantly on the road?”

My vocation to the Jesuits initially unnerved me. One clear winter morning, a simple question floated into my consciousness: “Why not a Jesuit?”