A simple banner with the words Farewell and God Bless, and a larger than life photo of Rev Fr Alberto Irenus, SJ greeted all who had come to pour their good wishes on him at his farewell dinner on 8 July 2017.
He is a gentle simple priest from Sabah, but as you approach him, the gleam in his eyes gives an indication that he is a powerhouse of knowledge with undeniably very strong faith in God. His sermons are firm and served as a guide to daily life, trials and tribulations. In every word he speaks, God’s power shows from his heart making one’s faith even stronger each time.
At the dinner Fr Alberto was relaxed. He cracked jokes and said that many had mistaken him for other priests that had walked through the doors of SFX. Being a Sabahan there were traditional dances to entertain the crowd and it was interesting to see young people take to the stage. Apparently, he must have made a positive impression on the younger generation.
Fr Alberto is still in the prime of his life and has so much more to contribute, and this we look forward to. We therefore wish him God’s Blessings and all the best for next course of his journey in tertianship and hope that we will see him again in the near future in SFX. Fr Alberto will be going for tertianship in Sri Lanka beginning in August. Tertianship is the final formal period of formation in the Society of Jesus (Jesuits). It is a time in which an individual steps back to critically assess his experience of living and working in the Society of Jesus. During this time, the Jesuit in formation, called a "tertian", will share his experiences of apostolic placement of teaching or service, and have sharings of these experiences with other tertians from different parts of the world. The tertian will also undergo a thirty-day silent retreat based upon the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius of Loyola.
