As long as inter-order jokes are fair game, here’s one I heard the other day from a from a friend who spent several years as a lay volunteer with an order in Haiti (Cistercian, IIRC):
A Franciscan and a Jesuit are having a deep philosophical discussion when a layman comes up and interrupts them: “Fathers, what kind of novena do I have to pray to get a Mercedes?”
The Franciscan looks at him, confused, and asks “What’s a Mercedes?”
The Jesuit, equally baffled, responds “What’s a novena?”
Okay, this might be a little more informative than the joke: People Who Ought To Know have told me that America magazine is fairly representative of Jesuit thought, at least in the USA.
A caveat, though: I can’t swear to this because (a) my first issue hasn’t gotten here yet and (b) my first-hand knowledge of the SJ is approximately zero.
In addition to the familiar vows of poverty, chastity and obedience, Jesuits take a special fourth vow of fealty to the Pope, pledging that they will go wherever he sends them. This vow is not taken immediately upon joining the order; some explanation of this can be found at hyperdictionary.com under the heading “Jesuit”.
As the above indicates, Jesuits have a system of grades through which they progress. I believe it is the case that a Jesuit brother can be prevented from being ordained as a priest within the order by being blackballed by any Jesuit priest.
Kalashnikov-scholarly would probably be Dominican.
Slipster - it’s probably worth pointing out that the material on which you draw is taken from a work published in 1913, and it may not be an accurate description of the structure or organisation of the Jesuit order today.
I’ve never heard that ordination as a Jesuit can be vetoed by any already-ordained Jesuit; it strikes me as unlikely. Have you a cite for this?
Originally posted by Guinastasia:
That sounds likely, given the context. Dunno if Benedictine would work quite as well in the referenced joke.
Then again, I’m fairly new to the Church and have a hard time sorting out who’s who amongst all the monastic/clerical/scholarly/whatever orders. Sometimes I’m convinced that every discipline but engineering is represented in one or another of them.
Spent six years in junior seminary,(not Jesuit) wanting to be a Jesuit so bad I could taste it. Applied at the seminaries I could maybe afford, but I didn’t have a chance, because of my schoolwork. My tested IQ (154) was borderline, my sat’s (640 english, 720 math)were, well, just OK, and my grades sucked(I hated being in a classroom), so not a chance. Money could have fixed these issues, but I didn’t have that either. I would still give an arm and all of my teeth to be able to sign SJ after my name.
I had one teacher for one year who was a Jesuit and he changed my life in numerous ways. He taught physics and chemistry, and he believed that science was a window into the mind of the Creator. I loved that man, he died in 1993 and made the world a lesser place by his absence.
(and I love the jokes!!!)
b.