Reflections on Religious Professions, Pt. II

In two days, Brs. Branden Gordon, Joshua Sciullo, and Rafael Vargas will make their perpetual professions. We share with you their thoughts as they prepare to forever declare themselves as Salesians of Don Bosco (SDBs). May the good Lord bless and guide them as they approach Saturday.

“For me, religious profession is a response to God’s call to live out one’s baptismal consecration in a more profound way. It is a public commitment to imitate Jesus more closely by a life of obedience, poverty, and chastity. It is also an expression of one’s desire to embody and transmit a particular charism—in my case, the Salesian charism—for the glory of God and the salvation of souls.”

- Br. Branden Gordon, SDB

“What can I say about my profession? This vocation is a call into a journey, a lifelong relationship with the One who is the love of my life. I can think of nothing simpler than that, which still holds the complexity of my life.”

- Br. Joshua Sciullo, SDB

“To me, perpetual profession is a humbling realization of God’s grace and His desire to be in my life and in those around me, especially in the lives of the young most abandoned. It is a reminder of how God has led me here and how in need I am of Him in order to live the calling He has given me.”

- Br. Rafael Vargas, SDB