I've always imagined the second Joyful Mystery, the Visitation, that moment when Mary is greeted by her cousin Elizabeth in the hill country, taking place right at the threshold of the door. Sometimes, I picture it at a little gate just outside Elizabeth and Zechariah's house. It's an encounter of great joy.

I think of all the places I've lived as a Jesuit: all the gates I've passed through, all the doors I've walked through, the thresholds I've stood upon. And whenever I return to Boston, where I completed my theology studies at Boston College, followed by my first mission as a priest at Boston College High School, I find myself reflecting on those thresholds once again.

Now that I work in vocations for the Jesuits East Province, I live in a community in New York City, but I get to visit Boston fairly often as part of my ministry. After pulling into the Jesuit lot at BC High at the end of a school day recently, I grabbed my bags and walked toward the school. Before I could get to the door, I ran into former colleagues and even some of their children whom I had baptized. I saw former students and parents, families I came to know and love. I was in town to celebrate a wedding at Gate of Heaven in South Boston, where I served during my diaconate year, the final year of theology studies before priestly ordination. Because I remained in Boston afterward, I continued serving there and at St. Brigid as a visiting priest on weekends.

The title "Gate of Heaven," applied to Mary, is such a beautiful one. It is through Mary that Jesus came into the world, through her "yes." And it is through her intercession that we pray we might meet Jesus again and spend eternal life with Him.

Whenever I find myself crossing different thresholds, which I do a lot this time of year as I meet with young men discerning with the Jesuits at Come and See Weekends or retreats, or when I meet with young alumni of Jesuit schools (by the way, we will have a Young Jesuit Alumni Mass at St. Brigid on Sunday, Dec. 14, 2025, at 6 p.m.), or visiting schools, parishes, and colleges and universities, I think of Mary's accompaniment and her joyful encounter with her older cousin.

Perhaps you are standing at a threshold, too, whether saying goodbye or beginning something new. As we do, we can pray to the Blessed Mother, Gate of Heaven, Our Lady of the Way, who accompanies us. She accompanies our Church under the new pontificate of Pope Leo XIV. She accompanies the Society of Jesus.

May the intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of the Society of Jesus, send many more generous, joyful, courageous, faithful, and available young Jesuits through our gates this year.



FATHER PATRICK NOLAN, SJ, SERVES AS THE PROVINCIAL ASSISTANT AND DIRECTOR OF VOCATIONS FOR THE USA EAST PROVINCE OF THE SOCIETY OF JESUS. HE PREVIOUSLY SERVED AT BOSTON COLLEGE HIGH SCHOOL AS A TEACHER, CHAPLAIN, AND ASSISTANT DIRECTOR OF ENROLLMENT. ON THE WEEKENDS, HE WAS A VISITING PRIEST AT ST. BRIGID AND GATE OF HEAVEN PARISHES IN SOUTH BOSTON. HE CAN BE REACHED AT PNOLAN@JESUITS.ORG. VISIT WWW.BEAJESUIT.ORG TO LEARN MORE ABOUT THE JESUIT LIFE OF PRAYER, COMMUNITY, AND MISSION.