Spirituality: First Profession of Vows

Personal reflections from Korea

Brother Lee Do-seon Lino and Brother Chung Seung-hyun Pancratius have offered their first promises to God to live as Missionaries of the Sacred Heart. In the Sacred Heart of Jesus, these two brothers have entirely entrusted themselves to Him, vowing to walk the path of proclaiming the Gospel and loving their neighbors with hearts full of humility, kindness, and the very spirit of Jesus.

It was a moment where God’s grace and the prayers of many dwelt fully within this act of profession. The community rejoiced together in their holy decision, offering both congratulations and supplications.

We deeply bless their future journey, praying that it may always be firmly rooted in the love of the Sacred Heart of Jesus. May they faithfully live out their vocation, discerning God’s will even amidst challenges.

Praise be to Jesus Christ!
I am Brother Seung-hyun Pancratius Chung, and I have recently made my first profession of vows. Over the past two years of my novitiate, I have come to deeply realize my own weaknesses and shortcomings. Yet, through it all, I have experienced that God is always with me, a faithful Father who never lets go of my hand.

For someone as lacking and fragile as I am to dare to profess the vows of obedience, chastity, and poverty before God could never have been possible without His infinite grace and mercy. It is also thanks to the spiritual and material support of the many benefactors of our community, the Missionaries of the Sacred Heart, that I could take this courageous yet hopeful step forward as a religious.

I will strive to become a religious who faithfully follows the path of Jesus through my prayers and my daily life. Please pray for me, so that in my religious life, I may always choose God’s will over my own. Thank you!

Chung Seung-hyun Pancratius. Korean Province

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I am Brother Lino Do-seon Lee of the Korea Province of the Missionaries of the Sacred Heart, and I made my first profession of vows this past February 2nd. Above all, I am profoundly joyful and grateful that a person as lacking as myself could profess these vows through the burning love and mercy of the Sacred Heart of Jesus. I offer all praise and glory to God, who has allowed me to participate more deeply in Christ and His mission through this first profession.

The words, “Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart” (Matthew 11:29), deeply resonate with me as the very heart of Jesus that I must strive to resemble. I feel that the vows of obedience, chastity, and poverty I promised through my first profession are not a yoke that binds me but rather wings that allow me to enjoy true freedom within the Lord.

The Jesus I encountered during my religious life thus far was not a strict judge, but Merciful Love itself, embracing my wounded and aching soul through His pierced side. My selfish and cold heart has been warmed by the heat of the Sacred Heart, and my weaknesses, sinfulness, and narrow-mindedness have been healed through the endless compassion and forgiveness of His Heart.

The Sacred Heart of Jesus flows toward the poor, the suffering, the sinners, and all the marginalized people of the world. I wish to convey the love of Jesus that I have experienced to them. However, I still have much to learn to fulfill this mission. I humbly ask for your prayers, that I may grow into a small instrument capable of bringing that love to the world. Thank you.

“May the Sacred Heart of Jesus be loved everywhere!”

Lee Do-seon Lino. Korean Province