Alan Wong will be one of the guest speakers at an evening
for young men interested in finding out more about Jesuit spirituality at Jesuit Theological
College on 26 August. Clementine Binks, from Star of the Sea
College, Melbourne, interviews Alan Wong on why he
took the Jesuit path.
C: Firstly, how long
exactly have you wanted to join the Jesuits?
A: How long have I wanted to be a Jesuit? That's a good
question: since after university. I think the desire or the dreams have
manifested themselves occasionally throughout my life, but the deep sense of
desire or urge was after university.
C: What did you study
in university? Did that lead you to make this decision?
A: I studied engineering, and no, I don't think the course
itself led me to this sort of vocation or this path. I did the studies well,
basically, to make money. That was the
only goal that I had at that stage of my life.
C: Were there any
particular events that you really feel inspired you?
A: The first event that I can recount was probably my
schooling days at St Aloysius. I always thought that the Jesuits that taught me
there, the Jesuit priests and brothers, were the sort of men that had the
confidence that showed they knew what they wanted and how to go about it. So
even though the vocation didn't actually manifest during my my high school
days, the essential groundwork, or the seed, was planted there.
But after university one tragic event happened that
triggered this search for deeper meaning. My grandparents passed away and that
in itself led me on a search for a lot of different things but eventually it
led me on to search to be a priest and be a Jesuit.
C: Was there anything
in particular about the Jesuits that drew you?
A: I went to a Franciscan parish, but I always thought that
the priests were just one body so to speak. I didn't know there were all these
different orders. I always knew the Jesuits and I always admired them. There
were only really the Jesuits.
C: Are there any
goals you hope to achieve by becoming a Jesuit or is it about being on a
journey?
A: I think its all linked - I can't separate the goals from
the journey aspect. There are goals and desires, I guess. One thing is the
desire to work in China.
That's part of the vocation in a certain way. I think that desire within the
vocation drives me and is a source of my vocation as well.
C: What kind of work
would you like to do in China?
A: I don't know. It's just a very vague concept at the
moment.
C: When you decided
to take on this vocation, what were people's reactions?
A: My family were ambivalent. They were supportive in that
they wanted me to live my own life, but they were ambivalent in the sense that
the path that I was taking to live this life wasn't a culturally normal thing
to do; it was very counter-cultural to live this life. My dad wasn't totally
shocked because over the year before I joined, and actually walked into the
novitiate, I was speaking to him and he had inklings of that desire, but he was
still ambivalent about the decision.
My friends were a little bit more in the ‘shocked' category
because it was never in their mind, so to speak, that someone would actually
undertake this decision. Even though they are Catholic, very Catholic in their
outlook and in their disposition, they were still shocked that someone would
undertake this route because of the difficulties they perceived that lie ahead.
My colleagues were just flabbergasted, really, because they didn't really know
what it meant to be a priest and a Jesuit and all these other things.
C: Do you think that's
because it's not something that many young people would do nowadays?
A: It was more of a shock in the sense that they never knew
that this path existed. It's something that never really came across their
minds, so maybe part of it is the scarcity of people who are joining the
priesthood. I think it's all connected. But also they were shocked because that
among priests and the church itself, especially within religious life, there
were so many scandalous stories that deterred them from that sort of role.
C: How exactly do you
go about joining the Jesuits?
A: I guess, first, and I can only speak from my own
experience, I found that there was some urge or desire to join the Jesuits.
Then I found out through the Jesuit website that there was someone that I could
speak to about this desire, usually the vocations director, and that they would
allocate you someone, a spiritual director, that you can speak to about your
desires, your dreams, your problems, your inner journey, the spiritual journey
and then your outer journey.
So you can basically talk to him as a friend and he will be
able to help you and guide you, and be like a God-tracker in your life, to help
you discern if this is the right path for you. If it is, then after a process
of time depending on the province you're in, then you can formally apply to
join the Jesuits.
Finding the Sacred in
the Secular: Jesuit Spirituality and Vocation
Alan Wong will be one of the guest speakers at an evening
for young men interested in finding out more about Jesuit spirituality at Jesuit Theological
College on 26 August.
The evening, ‘Finding the Sacred in the Secular: Jesuit
Spirituality and Vocation', will be a chance to meet and hear from Jesuits
about their ministry and calling, and to think more deeply about God's calling.
The evening is open to young men aged 18 to 35, and will
begin at 5.30pm at Jesuit Theological College,
175 Royal Parade, Parkville on 26 August 2009.
To register your interest, contact Danielle Mann on (03)
9341 5800 or dmann@jtc.edu.au.
For more information about Jesuit vocations, visit www.jesuitvocation.org.au.