To the Band of Brothers: October 19, 2023

It is no secret I am not a fan of Homecoming Week. I understand it is a time-honored tradition in most centers of learning, but that doesn’t take away from the fact it creates a certain level of annoying chaos. If anyone questions why we insist on uniforms at school, have them spend the day at Belen on onesie day. One thing is to maintain discipline when wearing a shirt and tie, another is to do it when looking like Perry the Platypus.

I do have to admit some of these costumes are pretty creative. As I see you guys in the morning, I quietly chuckle inside with some of the getups. There are some characters I don’t recognize and others I am surprised still exist. One of my favorites is Yoda. Seeing a couple of long-eared green onesies reminds me of one of my favorite fictional characters of all time. It also sparked a thought. 

I am convinced the Jedi knights of the “Star Wars” franchise are a futuristic version of the Jesuits. Not only that, Master Yoda is their Superior General. I’ve had this hunch before, but haven’t had the courage to reveal it until now. What finally motivated me to boldly proclaim this potentially controversial conclusion was a statement made by Master Yoda to Anakin Skywalker at a very critical moment in the young Jedi’s life in one of the movies.

In “The Revenge of the Sith,” young Anakin is at a point where he needs to make a very important decision about his life. He is clearly discerning a possible vocation to the Jedi order, a vocation that would require him to live a life dedicated unconditionally to the Force. The problem is this calling has been jeopardized by the love he has for Padmé Amidala, Queen of Naboo. Faced with this dilemma, Skywalker seeks Yoda’s advice. Sensing the internal struggle, the wise old Jedi master responds: “To be a Jedi, willing to give up that which you love most in the world you must.”  

Yoda lays it on the line for Anakin. If you want to be a Jedi, if there is a true calling to this order of courageous knights who continuously risk life and limb to defend the Force, you must leave everything you hold nearest and dearest and serve. Much like the rich young man in the gospel who is told by Jesus to, “Go, sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me” (Mark: 10, 21), Yoda informs Skywalker that to give up the things of the world, even the people he loves most, is a necessary prerequisite for all aspiring Jedi. 

This indifference to all created things for the sake of serving the Kingdom was exactly what Jesus scandalously referred to when he stated that, “if anyone comes to me and does not hate his father and mother, his wife and children, his brothers and sisters – yes, even his own life- he cannot be my disciple” (Luke 14: 26).

It has not only been the venerable Yoda and his dedicated Jedi companions who have incorporated this radical vision of discipleship. In the Constitutions of the Society of Jesus, St. Ignatius of Loyola, when addressing young candidates who were discerning their vocation to his religious order, revealed his strong resolute towards total commitment with ostentatious remarks like: “Let all who enter the Society of Jesus, following the advice of Christ our Lord, be prepared to leave father and mother and brothers and sisters, and everything he had in the world… having only Him in place of parents and siblings and all things.” And still a little further, the soldier saint recommends: “Because the manner of speaking influences the manner of feeling, it is holy advice to no longer say that one has parents or siblings, but to say that one had them.”

In George Lucas’s space odyssey, total commitment to the cause of the Force is the center of Master Yoda’s existence. Throughout the whole “Star Wars” saga, this 800-year-old Jedi is portrayed as being wise, constantly meditating and contemplating the Force and its presence in the world. Yoda is in tune with the Force he carries deep inside. A force he knows sustains his very being. He is always discerning what is right and wrong, searching for what is most conducive to the purpose for which he and all Jedis were created: the Force. 

Although the story makes no direct reference, there is no doubt many centuries before, a young Yoda underwent a discernment process similar to Anakin’s. Does he vow his life to the Force he feels is calling him, or does he choose a different path? Under the influence of that Force and under the wing of some older and wiser Jedi master, he elects to vow a life of total surrender. 

So, what did this mean for the young Yoda? It meant he had to give up a Yoda-like wife and Yoda-like children. His commitment to his vocation meant, that while other Yoda-like creatures went on their way to successful Yoda-like businesses and building luxurious huts in wealthy swamp neighborhoods, he gave himself over to living in a Jedi community, serving the Force, defending and propagating its principles and values, educating the Republic’s young children in the ways of the Force.

Doesn’t that sound like the Jesuits?

In the Formula of the Institute, the foundational document authored by St. Ignatius of Loyola and presented to Pope Julius III in 1550 for apostolic approval of the Society of Jesus, Ignatius writes that the purpose of the Society and its members is, “the defense and propagation of the faith.” Ignatius further insists every Jesuit be particularly dedicated to, “the education of children.” In addition, if we were to continue reading this introductory document, we find how the Jesuits must be totally committed to this cause by leaving everything behind and vowing a life of poverty, chastity, and obedience. 

To put it in Yoda-like terms: to be a Jesuit, “willing to give up that which one loves most in the world one must.” While the call to discipleship is extended to every man, woman, and child on the face of this and any other planet, the call to unprecedented vowed service is asked of only a few. It was the conviction of St. Ignatius that if God was going to call these few to such a life, He would also grant them the grace or “Force” to accept it and live it.

May the Force be with you… and with your spirit.

Auspice Maria