KEY EXPERIENCES THAT INFLUENCED JORDAN’S SPIRITUALITY: Day - TopicsExpress



          

KEY EXPERIENCES THAT INFLUENCED JORDAN’S SPIRITUALITY: Day 4 John Baptist Jordan was born on June 16, 1848 in the southwest of Germany. He was given the name John Baptist when he was baptized the day after his birth. He was a talented and lively boy who had an uneventful childhood, though he did have to work hard to help support his family. Worth noting are two religious experiences Jordan had in his life: 1. The first was at his first communion when he was 13 years old. A strange incident occurred. It seemed to Jordan as if a dove fluttered over his head. But, because no one else saw it, he kept the vision to himself. It was from that time on that he committed himself to God and felt he had a vocation to the priesthood. 2. Jordan was ordained a diocesan priest at the age of 30 after a delay in his education. Due to the opposition of the Prussian state to the Catholic Church in Germany Jordan was unable to exercise ministry there, and was sent by his bishop to Rome. In Rome he became known as the “Chinaman” because of his great interest in oriental languages and his gift of acquiring a working knowledge of over 40 languages! It was at this time (1880, age 32) that he was sent by the Propagation of the Faith to travel to the Middle East on their behalf. It was in Egypt and Palestine that he discussed his vision and plans with eminent churchmen and was greatly encouraged by them. And it was when climbing Mt. Lebanon that he had a second profound spiritual experience. The words of John 17:3 ran through his mind: “Eternal life is this, to know you, the one true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent.” He came down from that mountain resolved to put his plans into practice. On his return from the Middle East Jordan got collaborators. He established a printing press in Rome (This and the missions were two main interests of his.) and started printing his monthly magazine “Der Mssionar. It was on Dec. 8, 1881 that Francis Jordan and two other priests, in a very simple ceremony, took private vows as members of the Apostolic Teaching Society. This date is kept as the foundation day of the Salvatorians.
Posted on: Tue, 10 Sep 2013 14:30:38 +0000

Trending Topics



Recently Viewed Topics




© 2015