“My father said he’ll be so happy if one of his kids became a priest or nun,” recalled James Tan, the youngest in a family of three children. James, 35, was ordained a deacon on July 30. Unfortunately his father was not at the ordination, he passed away when James was 12.

James had his first encounter with the Jesuits when he heard a talk by Father Paul Tan, SJ (today Bishop of the Melaka-Johor Diocese) at a Catholic youth congress in 1987.

James, who was 17 then, recalled, “Something told me that I had to know this man. I went up to him and introduced myself – and told him of my thoughts of being a priest.”

“What struck me with his sharing about the Jesuits was their missionary zeal in evangelizing to people of different races in different cultures,” James revealed. “Considering that the early Jesuits went on hazardous missions over far distances, knowing that it was likely to be a one way ticket... something must have motivated them... their deep love for Jesus and willingness to bring Jesus to others.”

After that encounter with Father Paul Tan, James got to know the Jesuits up close, spending his school holidays in their community in Petaling Jaya, Malaysia. James continued to visit them even when he was serving National Service and when he was working in a bank.

James was able to discern his vocation in the midst of secular values – through National Service and work – because he “always made it a point to read the Bible during free time, and tried to attend daily Mass.”

“Keeping up with a daily prayer life made the homilies, readings very real for me,” James said.

Growing up in a family environment that was religious strengthened him and gave him the right values.

It helped too that there was mutual respect among his companions at National Service; he also found a few who shared the same values as him. “Ultimately, it’s all about one’s personal responsibility for one’s own act,” James commented.

In 1994, at the age of 23, he entered the Society of Jesus. After his novitiate in Singapore and studies in Philosophy in the Philippines, James spent two-years (during his regency) on Truk Island – his first taste of full-time missionary life. Truk Island is one of the four main islands of the Federated States of Micronesia in the Pacific.

“I was in an entirely new environment and facing a culture that was totally unfamiliar to me,” James said. “I realized (then) that to be a missionary you have to know where you stand and who you are in that new environment, see how you can contribute with your knowledge and skills, and also see things from that culture.”

James taught English and Religion in a co-ed Jesuit boarding school to students aged 13 to 21. Conditions were tough.

“The place was unsafe and teachers had to deal with a lot of contingencies.” Despite this, he found his regency in Micronesia an enriching experience. “As I tried to live what I taught the students, I also learnt a lot from them,” James said.

“With Jesus at the centre, there was this exchange. You give yourself to them and you are brought closer to God. I not only learnt more about Jesus but also about the Society of Jesus.”

After his regency, James chose to go to Taipei (in 2002) to do his theological studies in Mandarin. “I wanted to go back to my roots and found the traditional Chinese characters very meaningful and captivating.”

In the process he also saw how the Christian faith and Chinese culture could blend. “I learnt more about the faith from a Chinese perspective,” he said.

While in Taiwan, James also spent his weekends working with aboriginal youth in the mountains and ministered in a leprosy centre.

After his ordination to the diaconate, James will pursue his Masters in Theology at Fordham University, New York, before his priestly ordination.— Source: Interview by Sister Wendy Ooi, Fsp for Catholic News, July 24.

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