Three Men Profess First Vows

Three young men who have a love for Mary Immaculate and zeal to spread the message of Divine Mercy professed their first vows as members of the Marian Fathers during Holy Mass on the Solemnity of the Assumption of the Blessed Mother into Heaven, Friday, Aug. 15, at the National Shrine of The Divine Mercy, Eden Hill, Stockbridge, Mass. ??

The Very Rev. Kazimierz Chwa?ek, MIC, provincial superior of the Marians' Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of Mercy Province, was main celebrant.

With friends, family, and fellow Marians proudly looking on, Sean Flynn, Charley Westerhold, and Matthew Tomeny each stepped forward to recite the moving words of profession:

I, (name), for the glory of God and the honor of the Most Blessed Virgin Mary and all the Saints, in the presence of the entire Community, through your hands, most Reverend Father, vow to Almighty God in the Congregation of Marian Fathers of the Immaculate Conception of the Most Blessed Virgin Mary, according to its Constitutions, the three vows of chastity, poverty, and obedience for one year. So help me God and this holy Gospel.

With the vows, they became Brothers Sean, Charley, and Matthew, with the suffix "MIC" indicating their membership in the community.

Father Kaz accepted and confirmed their one-year vows on behalf of the Marians and the Church. Following the profession, Fr. Kaz proclaimed, "I earnestly commend you to God Almighty and to Mary Immaculate, our Mother and Patroness, that you may be able to joyfully and faithfully carry out your vows, unite with God, [and] attain holiness and eternal life."

Father Kaz then presented the new brothers with the blue scapular. The blue scapular of Our Lady serves as a sign of honoring and imitating Mary, an invitation for the wearer "to give Christ ... your undivided service in the Church."

The three new brothers then processed to the sacristy where, for the first time, they donned ecclesiastic garments. The change of clothing - from the white shirts and black pants of novices to black clerical garb - symbolizes the putting away of the old life and the taking up of the new. Father Kaz prayed that God "remove from your heart the vanity of this world, which you renounced at your baptism. May the Lord vest you in 'the new man,' who was created according to God in justice and true holiness.

View Fr. Kaz's homily:

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