The young religious of Mexican origin made his solemn profession of vows as an Augustinian Recollect in the Parish of St. Rita of Casia in Manaus (Brazil).
The Order of Augustinian Recollects received with joy the solemn profession of the vows of Jesus Emmanuel Mendoza. The young Mexican said yes to Christ in a definitive way last Saturday, October 3, in the Parish of St. Rita of Casia in Manaus, Brazil. In this way, he ratified the vocational process that began years ago and that in the last months took him to Brazil.
The parish community celebrated with the religious one of the most relevant moments of his religious life. The people joined the celebration, which was attended by his most direct relatives, who were able to travel from Mexico to Brazil to be with the newly professed. The Virgin of Guadalupe, a family devotion, was present at the altar.
The provincial delegate in Brazil, Juan Cruz Vicario, presided over the Eucharist and received, in the person of the Prior General, the solemn profession of Jesus Emmanuel. In his homily, Cruz Vicario highlighted the main aspects of religious life, with a catechesis on the vows. As the ritual of solemn profession indicates, the provincial delegate asked the candidate if he wanted to commit himself in a definitive and permanent way to the charism and life of the Augustinian Recollects.
Deeply moved and convinced of his decision, Jesus reaffirmed before all this decision to remain in religious life and to follow the path that God had proposed to him through the perpetual profession of the evangelical counsels of poverty, chastity and obedience. He then knelt before the altar to ask for the intercession of the saints and then, on his knees, read and signed the formula of profession, written in his own handwriting.
At the end of the celebration, Jesus Emmanuel Mendoza made a thanksgiving for the moment lived. “I am eternally grateful to the Lord for the gift of life, for my parents who, although with difficulty, accepted this dream of God in me”, he said. He also had some special words for the Order: “I thank the Order of Augustinian Recollects, who welcomed and accepted me to be with them as one heart”.