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Rowing Into The Deep

This is the theme which was chosen for the 36th General Congregation of the Jesuits, presently meeting in Rome to elect the 30th successor of St. Ignatius.  For the last several days, over 200 Jesuits from all over the world have been meeting, praying and getting to know one another, since most have never met each other.  It’s hard to believe that, in the span of 476 years, there have been only twenty nine other Father Generals.

I really love this theme, since personally it reminds me of St. John Paul’s challenge to each of us to go out into the deep, that we can’t stay on the comfortable and safe dock, but rather take the risk and team up with others, go out to the deep and stormy waters, and  expect a great catch.  I read that Pope Francis, sometime back, was celebrating Mass with a group of Jesuits.  In his homily, the asked them to row into the deep with him.  Rowing takes effort, teamwork, strength and perseverance to get to the destination, to win the race.  What a great challenge!

At this stage of the Congregation, the delegates are participating in what’s called the murmuratio, which translates into murmurings. As they say, “only in the Catholic Church!” When he was writing the Jesuit Constitutions, Ignatius insisted that the delegates meet on-on-one, rather than in larger groups.  The two come together to discuss (murmur) who they think is capable of becoming the next Father General.  Prayer, discernment, and the invoking of the Holy Spirit are vital components to what’s happening now in Rome.

We should lift up prayers for them, since the delegates have a daunting task.  On Friday, the election will be held. When someone is chosen, Pope Francis will be the first person called.  We’ll watch history be made when the first Jesuit Pope meets the new Fr. General.  Let them row together, taking the Jesuits to unexpected places, renewing the Church and God’s people.

(the photo is of the Chapel in the Jesuit Curia in Rome, where I had the blessing to visit in 2015)

 

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A Bit of History

This past weekend, I had the blessing to give  a couple of talks to a gathering of Catechists in the Archdiocese of Baltimore.  The event took place at a parish which is getting ready to celebrate it’s 225th anniversary.  The church, dedicated to St. Ignatius, was founded in 1792, and it’s one that, despite having lived in Maryland for nearly thirty years, I had never visited.  The parish has done a beautiful job at keeping the building in tip top shape, and although they have since moved into a much larger church, right next store and built to accommodate their very large congregation, the old church still gets used regularly.  That’s good to see, since it’s the oldest church still being used in the Archdiocese of Baltimore.

I was asked to talk on resources for children with Special Needs, and another on the Daily Examen.  Both topics are near and dear to my heart, but I’m grateful any time I can speak about something drawn from Ignatian Spirituality.  The fact that I was able to teach the Examen to a group of elementary school children, and get them to embrace an attitude of gratitude which is so evident in this prayer from St. Ignatius, was very intriguing to my audience.  Can children really pray that deeply, on everyday events from their life?  The answer, I assured them, was a resounding “yes.”  I gave my listeners a couple of tools to take back to their own parishes, to try out in their classrooms.  I hope they give this simple prayer some exposure to their students.  It can be a life-changer.  I know it was for me and the countless people I’ve taught it to.  Click on the link above.  Maybe it’s just the thing you’ve been looking for to deepen your own relationship with God.