The openness to going anywhere in the world to serve God exhilarates
Anthony Lusvardi, novice, S.J., Society of Jesus

Tony Lusvardi is a native of Sandstone, Minnesota. He attended high school in St Anthony, Minn. and graduated from Notre Dame University. Later, he worked in Kazakhstan with the Peace Corps. He worked at St John’s University in Collegeville before joining the Jesuits in August 2006. Tony pronounced his vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience in St Paul in August 2008, as he continues his formation to become a Jesuit priest.

“My vocation story is a bit different than that of most Jesuit novices because I did not attend a Jesuit high school or university. Instead, a friend of mine who was discerning with the Society of Jesus first put me in touch with the Jesuits. He ended up not joining, and I ended up entering the novitiate—proof that God often has roundabout ways of working.
I first found the Jesuits attractive because of their many ministries: teaching in high schools and colleges, doing campus ministry, parish work, overseas mission work, a variety of social apostolates. The Jesuit mission is to go wherever we're sent by the Pope or our superiors, to go wherever the need is greatest. I found that call—the openness to going anywhere in the world to serve God—an exhilarating idea, and I still do. Later on I discovered the richness of Ignatian spirituality, particularly the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius, and I am still thrilled to delve deeper into the great history of the Order and the lives of its many saints.
Currently I'm working at Marquette High School in Milwaukee as part of my training. I'm teaching Scripture to freshmen, and I love it. Working with young people and teaching them about the faith is demanding, but it gives me a lot of life. Already I've been stretched and challenged in ways I would never have imagined: our thirty-day silent retreat, working at a hospital in Haiti, making a pilgrimage to Mexico City on thirty-five dollars, working here at Marquette. Most importantly, my relationship with Jesus Christ has grown and deepened through it all, and I'm still more than a little awed that He has called me to serve his Church in this way.”