Report of First Vows
- Novice Joel Rodrigues

The First Vows day at Sadhanalaya began on 21st June 2009 in great gusto and the new probationers were very much part of it. Five wonderful men - Melroy Tellis (Pune), Robert Christi (Gujarat), Steven D'Almeida (Goa), Thomas Torne (Pune) and Wellington Patil (Bombay) reminded some of the good ol' days of Sadhanalaya when the diversity of backgrounds and provinces was as wonderful as this.

Those taking their First Vows, namely Jeswill Lopes, Malcolm Correa, Praveen Tribhuvan, Santosh Mariapaul, Vivian Almeida and Watan Tirkey, enjoyed the Magnum Silencium upstairs 'alone with God'. While the Novice Master was all over the place, Bro. Owen was in the right spot at the right time organizing things. Fr. Socius was checking the finer details and arrangements for the Eucharist.

Fr. Provincial in his homily appealed to the new Jesuits to 'live mindfully and choicefully' as humans.
Fr. Jacob Gaikwad focused on those taking their First vows and the already-Jesuits' commitment to be the 'Light of the World'.
The Eucharist (especially the Vows) was filled with moments of grace and fecund silence. It was the silence that gave us the real depth of the occasion while the words of the Celebrant and the Concelebrant portrayed the challenges ahead. Tears and emotions filled the Chapel and the 'heavenly court' graced the occasion with their aura of reverence.

After the mass, the Jesuit family had happily inducted into their fold six new Jesuits. The leap from Novices to Scholastics! The Bombay Province had five new men and the Pune Province was gifted with one, too. After mass, the shutterbugs went off. and memorable photographs were made. The lunch served after the 'cake' was cut. The new Probationers had a slice of working backstage during a Jesuit celebration. and indeed, they were a great help.

The celebrations concluded with the 'old' Jesuits singing the traditional 'Ecce Quam Bono'. The solemnities, definitely, concluded on a grace-filled note. I think it was an A.