As all the Jesuit students piled into the Terry Center, a familiar song was being sung at the front of the auditorium, and as soon as everyone sat down, the prayer service was under way. Mr. Perry began with an introduction to the Christian virtue of hospitality and adoption prayer service and what it was all about. He believed that the objective of the prayer service was to “further discuss adoption as the very loving option.”
Mr. Triplett then came out and spoke about his experiences with “the loving option.” He started off by sharing with us what it felt like to adopt, including that he has the usual worries that a regular birth father would have. He tried to show students that adopting a child is no different from conceiving a child, which provided a very unique point of view not usually seen by most, mentioning that “adoption has had a big impact in my growth as a man.” He continued to say that by adopting, a person is showing qualities of a true Jesuit man. He has been blessed to be able to provide a point of view from a biological father and from an adoptive father. This allows us to see that the two are no different from each other, they are both focused on raising, nurturing, and loving a beautiful gift of God.
The admission process for becoming an adoptive parent requires many of the aspects addressed in the Profile of a Jesuit Graduate. When you adopt a child, you are giving them hope, you are showing them love and kindness, you are committing yourself to working for social justice and you are allowing yourself to be open to growth and a man for others. Not only does this address openness to growth but also the loving aspect of the Profile. In order to be accepted as an adoptive parent you must show that you are loving and can care for a child, no matter who they are. Some of the children who are waiting to be adopted have been thrown out of there parents’ lives, beaten, or have never had parents. When you adopt them into your life, you are showing them that not everything in their life is bad; a totally different aspect of life exists and you are guiding them to it. This is a key aspect that Mr. Triplett addressed in his speech: “my wife said to me, ‘why should we bring another child into this world, when there are so many children who don’t have homes or families.'” He revealed to the community that adoption is the Jesuit way and the right path for a lot of people.
This point of view was not the only one addressed at the prayer service, though; the other viewpoint is one from an adopted child. Michael Lohr ’16, a Jesuit student who was adopted at the beginning of his life, discussed his feelings toward the subject of adoption, addressing many touchy subjects including that of abortion. He talked about how grateful he was for the choice of adoption because “if not for the option of adoption, I would not be standing here right now.” He then began to address the very personal subject of his family life.
After Michael, Mr. Perry came back on and talked about Catholic Charities of Dallas. Jesuit has teamed up with Catholic Charities in order to raise money for Catholic Charities Adoption services. The purpose of this pairing was to raise awareness as well as cash for the adoption option. These donations will allow the charities tremendously and will allow the children, who are looking to be adopted, maintain a normal lifestyle. Money is constantly a struggle in this world, especially if you must care for 20, sometimes 30 kids at a time.
Many Jesuit students were impacted through this prayer service. Jack Hall , a Jesuit sophomore, had much to say about it: “Because of the adoption prayer service, it occurred to me that adoption is a very valid choice for when I want to care for a child with my future partner. Previously, I had never considered adoption because I always pictured myself caring for a mini version of myself. But, because of Mr. Triplett’s comments on being an adoptive father, I now realize that adoption is a perfectly viable option that would allow for me to further myself in the Jesuit way of life.”
