News from the Novitiate: Life as a Jesuit Novice
Eric T. Styles, nSJ
Thursday, October 28, 2004

Two months! Loyola House has surely become home for us “holy novices” of the Chicago and Detroit Provinces of the Society of Jesus. The seven weeks since my last letter have been jam-packed with activity and reflection ... and maybe a little work. After first probation (the first two weeks) we began regular schedule. We took mini-courses in religious life, Jesuit history, Jesuit spirituality & constitutions, and homiletics.

Three weeks ago we began our hospice experiment. Throughout the two years of novitiate, Jesuit novices engage in different forms of ministry called “experiments.” They are meant to mirror some of the early experiences of our founder St. Ignatius of Loyola. In the this experiment, we spend about sixteen hours a week in a nursing home. Because nursing homes are regulated so tightly, we can’t engage in the real hands-on care that the residents need, but we can visit with them and help out with activities. One day a week is spent at the Colombiere Jesuit Community where many older Jesuits live and receive special care. Because Colombiere is not a nursing home, but a Jesuit community and retreat house, we can help the staff bathe and care for those in the community who can’t do it for themselves. Hospice experiment is to help us grow in humility and learn to see Christ in those who often struggle with the very basics that most of us take for granted. For many of my brother novices, this is the first time they have had to work with the very elderly or sick. Fortunately for me, I have had some significant experience with such a large family. Nevertheless, I leave Abbey Living Center tired and drained from the simple work of just being available to people.

Midland, Ontario and the North American Jesuit Martyrs

The fourteen men of the first year class took a trip to Midland, Ontario to visit Sainte Marie among the Hurons and the Martyrs’ Shrine. Accompanied by our resident historian Brother Jim Boynton, SJ, we learned the history of the French Jesuits and the Huron people they served. A complete community was built and maintained from 1639-1649 before they received overwhelming pressure and attacks from the Iroquois.

Just last weekend all twenty-two of the novice (first and second year) took a trip to the Jesuit villa located in Omena, Michigan twenty-one miles north of Traverse City. It was an easy and relaxed getaway from the house and city. The Jesuits have owned the villa since the 1930s and it has been a favorite spot to retreat from the pressures of full-time ministry. For us it was another opportunity to strengthen relationships and get a change of scenery. The fall colors and the brisk, wet weather were beautiful.

“The Doctor Will See You Now!”

A very important aspect of the application process to religious life or seminary is the psychological evaluation. Each of us, before we were accepted into the novitiate, had to see a psychologist who interviewed us and administered a battery of tests. Last week those two doctors came in to share with every novice what they shared with the vocation directors. It was an affirming and challenging experience to listen to my psychological report. The psychologist had lots to share with me and I think that it has added another dimension to my formation that I believe will be fruitful. The novitiate is about confirming your vocation so that all of us might be able to make free and conscious choices for vows (or not) in August of 2006. We meet with our spiritual/novice director once a week to process and receive guidance.

Community life itself is a grace and a challenge. It’s amazing how different this is from just having a lot of roommates. Learning to live in community is important apart of our formation. There is and ‘intentionality’ here that you don’t find in other ways of living. Because each of us is doing so much internal and spiritual work, we are all more present and aware of how we interact with one another. There are extroverts and introverts, democrats and republicans, slobs and neat freaks, vegetarians and carnivores. Each of us have different sensibilities about how to live poverty and how pray liturgy (two of the most difficult subjects in every religious community). Everything has to be negotiated and everyone has to exercise patience and tolerance.

Every relationship and encounter is seen as an opportunity to respond to God’s grace or act out of fear. This doesn’t mean that we’re always serious. On the contrary, I’m sure that some would visit our community and be forced to let go of preconceived notions about what it means to be in a religious community. We laugh a lot and I don’t think I’ll ever give up the good ‘dirty’ joke. (Nor should I have to.) Sometimes personalities conflict and people get angry. The difference is that as we learn what it means to be true to ourselves, we also grow in our ability to also be emotionally and spiritually attentive to one another. I hope that sensitivity spreads into the ministry I engage in everyday.

As the autumn leaves fall

And the winter nights grow longer,

May these words greet you with

The pleasant, brisk wind of the Spirit.

May Christ be found in the eyes of a babe.

May the Light that dispels all darkness

Twinkle even in the twilight of your life.

Peace, Eric

Eric T. Styles, nSJ , a novice of the Chicago Province of the Society of Jesus (the Jesuits), lives in Berkley, MI. A native Chicagoan, he is formerly the liturgy coordinator of St. Benedict the African (East) Parish and house manager at the DePaul University’s Merle Reskin Theatre. Eric was a very active lay minister in the Black Catholic community of Chicago and Charis Ministries: Ignatian Spirituality for Young Adults. He is a graduate of the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music with a BFA in Electronic Media .

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