James Boey, SJ
To be God’s Faithful and Truthful Servant
Beginnings : Stopping by a Catholic Church
I was baptized in the Baptist Church in 1983. As a Baptist I was very active in the church’s many Chinese ministries and activities. I taught Chinese Sunday school for about 5 years, and was chairman of the youth fellowship programme. I was also involved in the Church choir and some other outreach programmes for the workers in the factories.
Since 1983, I experienced a very strong feeling that God wanted me to serve Him full time as a pastor. Somehow I could not respond to God’s calling and asked him to give me more time to ponder on it.
In January 1999, I passed by the Catholic Church of the Sacred Heart in Tank Road and I decided to go in and take a look. As I felt so peaceful there, I sat in church for about 2 hours. After awhile, I found myself kneeling down like the other Catholics and praying to our Heavenly Father. My heart was filled with great joy and peace as I prayed. I felt Jesus welcoming me into His loving arms; I felt like the prodigal son mentioned in the Gospel of St Luke. I realised God loves me as I am! And his arms are wide open to welcome me back from my sinful ways whenever I am sorry and come to Him for forgiveness. Thereafter, I felt drawn to attend Mass daily. It took me two months to get use to the Catholic faith and environment.
In the same year, I went to the Church of the Holy Spirit to attend Mass. I joined the church choir and the Rite for Christian Initiation of Adults (RCIA) programme so as to have a better understanding of the Catholic faith. By the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, I was able to re-establish my personal relationship with Him again. During this time, I spent a lot of time with God; I came to know that He is real and is always present in my heart. On 22 April 2000, during the Easter Vigil Mass, I was fully received into the Catholic Church, and on 9 December 2000, I was confirmed. As a full-fledged Catholic I decided to help others interested in our faith by joining the RCIA programme as a sponsor. I became more involved in Church activities.
I then began to experience a strong calling to serve Him full time in the Chinese community. I started to pray fervently to know His Will. I also approached some priests and nuns to help me discern my vocation.
Discerning My Vocation
In April 1999, I responded to an advertisement in the Catholic News regarding 2-day stay-in vocation seminar for single men who wanted to know more about priesthood. I called up the person in-charge but was turned down because I was not a Catholic. I was very disappointed and started to pray more fervently to seek His will. Thankfully, I recovered from my disappointment quite fast and with enough hope to search out all the Catholic bookstores to look for books about the priesthood.
Believing that I was being called to do more with my life, I joined the Archdiocesan Commission for Missionary Activity (ACMA) on a one-week missionary exposure trip to Thailand in the same year. Throughout this trip, I experienced a stronger desire to serve God full time in the missionary field. I heard Jesus calling me in my heart, “James, the harvest is rich but the labourers are few, are you willing to step forward to serve me?” I was deeply touched by the Lord’s words. From that day on, I started to pray to our Lord daily for direction and guidance in my life.
In September 2000, I learnt from a friend about a stay-in weekend vocation camp organized by the Jesuits. I happily called up Fr Heng and made a reservation with. My heart was really filled with joy; I eagerly looked forward to the weekend.
As the vocation camp began on a Friday evening, I had applied for early leave but my application was sadly rejected. As I really wanted to be at the Novitiate at the start of the vocation camp, I was extra diligent that Friday at seeing that all the tasks I had to complete would be done before 5 PM! At the end of the day however I still could not complete them. But God never fails his people; at this time, He sent my immediate boss, a non-Christian, to finish the balance of my work. I was able to make it to the vocation camp on time, after all!
During the vocation camp, I had a better understanding of my calling. The Jesuit charism of serving any person, anytime and at any place for the Greater Glory of God strongly attracted me; this was the kind of mission I was looking for to serve God. I also noticed that the formation programme was well structured and organized. After the camp, I met up with the Novice Master, Fr Heng, on several occasions for spiritual guidance to help me discern His will for me. Knowing that the Lord was indeed calling me, I applied to and was accepted by the Society of Jesus not long after the camp.
God Provides for My Father and I
When I finally broke the news of my vocation to my Dad, he was shocked to learn that I, who had been living with him all my life, wanted to be a priest. He did not really object to my decision but he did try to persuade me to reconsider and not to leave him alone. Nevertheless, he decided to let me follow God’s call me after a lot of explanation and persuasion.
I remember how sad and reluctant my Dad was to say goodbye when I entered the Society in April 2001, knowing that I would not be able to go back to stay with him any more. I too felt very sad seeing him so. I kept telling him to cling on to and pray to Jesus if he encountered problems or felt lonely. I know it has not been easy for him, especially as he is a non-Catholic.
Since entering the novitiate, I have offered daily prayers for my father’s well being. In my early days as a novice, I wasn’t sure how the Lord would provide for my father even though deep down I strongly believed He would do so.
These days, I have come to see God’s wonderful presence and generous providence in my father’s life. My Dad is presently being well taken care of by some very caring parishioners of St Ignatius Church. Their love and care have inspired him deeply. He now attends the Chinese Novena and the RCIA every Saturday at Novena Church; these parishioners are journeying with him. Once my Dad told me that our Blessed Mary has really blessed him through their goodness; they are like Mother Mary to him. He has also joined the St Vincent de Paul Society at St Ignatius Church to distribute food to migrant workers every Friday evening.
Instead of objecting to my decision to be a Jesuit, my Dad now advises me not to worry about him because he is well taken care off. He has asked me to focus seriously on my vocation and not to drop out! God has been so good to my Dad and me, through the many blessings and graces we have received, that we know that we are living in the peace and joy of our Lord Jesus Christ.
I am willing to step forward to serve God because He loves me so much. I pray that the merciful Lord will continue to guide me. May God also continue to strengthen me to surrender, trust and obey Him so that I can always be His faithful and truthful servant for His Greater Glory.
Links
· Choosing a Vocation
· More Vocation Stories
· Prayer
