August 3, 2005

I am grateful to God for His continued generosity since He has called more workers in His vineyard. I hope you enjoy seeing a few photos of this year’s solemn profession of vows. Solemn profession is not an ordination to the diaconate or priesthood; it is rather a permanent commitment men and women make to live a life of poverty, chastity, and obedience. Final vows or “perpetual profession” is made only after spending years in formation. For example, men who are selected to enter our community spend six months as a postulant, followed by one year as a novice, after which they profess “simple vows” which are renewed annually for several years. As you see, final or solemn vows is a big day in the life of a religious.

While every friar feels the call to consecrated or religious life, that is, living in community in poverty, chastity, and obedience, some sense a call to ordination and others do not. Saint Francis himself was not a priest as were many of the saints in the Franciscan Order. At times people ask, “Why don't you go all the way?” A call to consecrated life is separate from the call to sacred orders; this is why one can be a hermit, monk, or friar and not be a priest.

You also may not know that a diocesan priest, or even a priest of another religious institute who decides to enter a religious community, must go through years of formation – postulancy, novitiate, and post-novitiate training just like everyone else. Of course, since they are already ordained, they obviously don’t return to the seminary for “round two!”

After a brief visit with their families, our five new finally professed friars will take on responsibilities both here in the United States and in Honduras and England. On September 8, we hope to be receiving eleven new postulants who will begin their six months of initial formation in Harlem. Yes, the harvest is indeed heavy, yet praise God – more workers are on the way!

Fr. Glenn Sudano, CFR