Short Notices

• The new building for the Milltown community, pictured here, is moving nicely. The exterior should be finished in November, the interior by Christmas. The circular construct in front of the house will be a Meditation Walk.
• Two Jesuits were among the signatories of a letter to the Irish Times on 22 September, taking the Irish government to task for its unreadiness to sign an international agreement which strengthens the protection of economic, social and cultural rights for individuals. Peter McVerry, for the Peter McVerry Trust, and Gerry O’Hanlon, for the Jesuit Centre for Faith and Justice, are among those urging the Taoiseach to sign and ratify the agreement this week.
• Old Clongownian & former captain of Clongowes Senior cup team in 2008, Jack O’Connell was elected to captain the talented Leinster under 20′s team in their match against Ulster.
• A large group of the present and past pupils plus staff from Belvedere College, Gonzaga College and Clongowes Wood College were in Lourdes in early September as part of the Dublin Diocesan Pilgrimage.
• Among those supporting the Irish Catholic tent at the National Ploughing Championships is Noelle Fitzpatrick of Slí Eile. She will give a talk on young people and the church.
• In the Irish Catholic for 17 September, Siobhan Tanner recounts an engaging “Conversation with an old teacher” – meaning John Holohan SJ. One can sense John’s restlessness as he settles in to the slower pace of life in Dublin after handling the care of three churches in Florida, USA.

Forthcoming Events

• Thursday 24 September, Manresa: Fr Gerry O’Hanlon lectures on The Recession and God. From 8pm to 9pm. For further details, visit the Manresa website.
• September 22 – 23: official opening of the Jesuit Archive in Canada in La Maison Bellarmin: 25, rue Jarry Ouest, Montréal. The Jesuit Archive in Canada is witness to the activity of all the Jesuits who worked in Canada and its foreign missions since the arrival of the first Jesuits to Canada in 1611. The Archive includes rare books, works of art, documents and publications relating to Canadian Jesuit and early Canadian history. 400 years of Canadian Jesuit history will now be more accessible under one roof.
• October 16th-18th: The Crown Plaza Hotel, Blanchardstown: Spiritual Directors International will host a Conference entitled “Being Presence” -  the first time they have held their conference in Europe. Father Korkos Moses, SJ from India will offer a reflection on “Being Present: Spiritual Practices East and West” during the closing plenary session on Sunday, October 18. The conference features educational workshops, prayer, celebration of stories and Irish arts, and plenary sessions with Fr. Daniel O’Leary, Megan McKenna and Conference Spiritual Director, Dr. Una Agnew, SSL.

Jesuit leadership

Fourteen people participated in a Partners in Mission three-day programme from 16 to 19 September. Leadership in a Jesuit work – a call from GC35 was organised in response to the General Congregation’s request that attention be given to how Jesuit works are organised. The group comprised directors of work, superiours and team leaders from a wide range of apostolates from both the Irish and British Provinces. They looked at the challenges and demands of leadership and management within Jesuit contexts. The variety of the group attending really added to the quality of the experience. “It was a great opportunity to review current scholarship on leadership and trends im management.” said Piaras Jackson, Director of Sacred Space. “I was glad to be able to meet with the others and to review my own practice in the light of the insights that were so engagingly presented.” Read more »

Pray with your body

On Saturday afternoon Fr General visited Cherryfield, to talk with those who in and through their sickness are praying. He thanked each man individually for their prayers for the church and for the Society, and quoted a Chinese saying, that we pray with our bodies, especially in suffering and pain, when other forms of prayer become difficult. He asked particularly for prayers this week when he is spending four intense days with his consultors, “tempo forte”, working on the implications of the last General Congregation. The brethren used a range of epithets for him: gracious, affirming, calm, human, open and friendly. You could sense his calming impact on the community of Cherryfield as for a short while he became part of it.

Father General: Inclusive, global and charged with love

You know charism when you encounter it. After four days in the company of the charismatic Adolfo, the Irish Jesuits and their partners in mission are elated and energised. Paradoxically, Fr Nicolás would not want his charism to be the focus of our memories. A recurring theme of his talks and homilies was that the ego – including his ego – has to be left behind if growth is to happen. Speaking of the multiple works and missions of the Irish Jesuits, he asked: “How many deaths were there, to make all this blossoming possible?” - and under deaths he included all the disappointments, partings, failures, and pains that lie hidden in that history. The abiding impression he leaves is upbeat: of an outreach that is inclusive, global and charged with love.

Saturday in Milltown

The gathering of Jesuits for the five o’clock Mass in Milltown was an event in itself, because the brethren were greeting friends they had not seen for perhaps twenty years, and they were praying in the chapel in which most of them had been ordained priests. They were lifted by the Missa de Angelis and modern hymns from the strong, sweet voices of the Gonzaga choir. Mass was prayerful, focussed on the Lord, not on performers. Fr Nicolás’ homily, in Ignatian terms, stressed the First Week of the Exercises, and the deaths and sacrifices that nurture growth. Later, after dinner, his answers to questions covered Jesuit identity, collaboration with lay partners, and relations with ex-Jesuits  – “two of my brothers, he said, are ex-Jesuits!”

Warm welcomes up North

Sunday 13th. After the mass in Gardiner Street and the reception in Belvedere, Father General took the road north to Belfast. A keen observer of the reality around him, by the time the car reached Newry he was ready to ask where the place called ‘Amach’ was and why it was signposted at every off-ramp on the motorway. In his talk in the Connor Theatre at the University of Ulster he acknowledged the presence of the many people who have welcomed the Jesuits to Portadown, Belfast and Armagh over the years. When he spoke from his text he acknowledged the great range of commitments of Jesuits and their friends in the North: spiritual, theological, social, cultural, ecumenical, to dialogue, to reconciliation, etc. Read more »

New Jesuit.ie launched

The Jesuit Communication Centre launched a complete rebuild of Jesuit.ie last week, in time for the arrival of Fr General Adolfo Nicolás. It acted as an excellent showcase for news stories and photos during the visit. The new site is designed to be a gateway for all Irish Jesuit websites, giving visitors a clear view of the many apostolic works in the Province, and it incorporates all the Province news on www.amdg.ie. It also has links to Jesuit accounts on social networking sites such as Twitter, Flickr and YouTube. This is the tenth website built by the Jesuit Communication Centre over the past few years. The others include Jesuit Refugee Service, Manresa, Jesuit Missions and Slí Eile.

Fr Provincial’s Diary

JESUITICA: Musician on mission

The most accomplished musician among Jesuit missionaries was an Italian Baroque composer called Domenico Zipoli (1688-1726). He joined the Jesuits in order to volunteer to work in the Reductions of Paraguay, and while still a novice he sailed to Buenos Aires in 1717, already a Kapellmeister (which included the jobs of organist, choir master and composer). Though he was only 38 when he died of tuberculosis, his works were already famous across Latin America. Last week a recording of music from The Mission on Lyric FM included some music by Zipoli. You can hear it, and read more about him on Wikipedia.

A great Gardiner Street welcome

A huge congregation turned up in Gardiner St  Church on Sun, Sept 13th to welcome Fr General Adolfo Nicolas,  leader of  the Jesuits, on his first visit to a parish in Ireland. Parish Priest Donal Neary SJ spoke of how much the visit meant to the local parishioners and Fr John Dardis SJ Irish Provincial thanked all those present on this historic occasion, parishioners, family and friends of Jesuits ’ for their goodness and ongoing support to the Jesuits in Ireland.” Fr Nicolas in his homily spoke of how the language of the Gospel is deep and paradoxical, speaking to the heart as well as the head, in contrast to  the ‘flat ‘, one-dimensional language of ordinary conversation.” Read more »

“Creativity, daring and great humility”

‘Jesuit  mission today’ was the issue addressed by Fr Adolfo Nicolas SJ, when he spoke to his fellow Jesuits, their co-workers and colleagues, in Gonzaga College on Sat Sept 12th. In his introduction to the Jesuit Fr General’s talk, Irish Provincial John Dardis SJ told those gathered that there were unprecedented challenges facing the Irish Church today. “But we all can make a difference if we respond to those challenges with creativity , discernment and courage”. Fr Nicolas outlined some of the challenges such as rapid change in technology and communications, globalisation  and a rise in xenophobia, a pluralism that some choose to intepret as there being no absolutes, and a spreading decline in the influence of relgious belief . Read more »

Fr General launches JRS annual report

“There are no such things as migrants or refugees”, said Fr General Adolfo Nicolas, “only people. And the lines and borders on maps are only lines, not reality” He was speaking at the launch im Limerick of  the Jesuit Refugee Service’s annual report on Friday Sept 11th.  He praised the staff of the JRS  for their continuing dedication to accompanying and serving those who had come to Ireland from far-flung countries in search of refuge and asylum. He also voiced his concern at the growing trend in many European countries to close off their borders and lock their doors to strangers seeking help. Read more »