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N E W YO R K P ROV I N C E J E S U I T S A N D O U R C O L L E AG U E S
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In our time and place, the vision of Ignatius still lives.
Father Provincial’s Message
Dear Friends of the Jesuits,
From Staten Island to Syracuse, from Honduras to Micronesia, wherever you look these days, it’s clear and evident: “In
our time and place, the vision of Ignatius still lives.” This was
the insight of the ten U.S. Provincials over a year ago in their
hallmark document, “A Meditation on Our Response to the
Call of Christ.” Their insight emerges beautifully in the lived
experiences of Jesuits and our colleagues in ministry portrayed in this issue of A Holy Boldness.
Saint Ignatius Loyola saw the face of Christ on the streets of Rome where he personally ministered to the sick and the poor. Today, we minister to a host of persons in
need in any number of places: the hungry of Manhattan, the poor of Honduras, the
immigrants who are alone and hospitalized in Queens, the physically challenged and
AIDS survivors on Staten Island, to name a few. In all of these places, Jesuits and our
colleagues in ministry are there, and through them, Christ is present.
The vision of Ignatius is also alive in Syracuse, where ten men from the Maryland,
New England and New York Provinces have begun their lives in the Society of Jesus
as novices. Only a week before their arrival, five men pronounced their first vows as
Jesuits. In New York City, Brian Dunkle, S.J. serves the Church as a deacon as he
anticipates ordination to the priesthood in the Spring of 2009, and Fathers Peter Gyves
and Anthony SooHoo, newly ordained, practice their priestly ministry.
Ever since the Church’s attention has been called to the inseparable link between
faith and justice, Jesuits and our colleagues have worked assiduously in the field of
social ministries. For example, Father Ken Gavin of the New York Province directs the
Jesuit Relief Services from Washington D.C., while Father Mark Hallinan assists me
with his advice and experience in our Province-wide social ministries.
On the other side of the world, Jesuits of Micronesia met on Pohnpei in June to
pray and discern how God is calling them to serve the Church for the next several
years. I join Father General Adolfo Nicolás in expressing the Province’s gratitude to
Father William McGarry, S.J., for his 48 years of service to the people of Pohnpei.
In these first months of my term as Provincial, I offer prayers of gratitude to God as
more and more women and men desire to join us in our Jesuit mission in the Church
and to the world. With them, and with your prayers and financial support, the vision
of St. Ignatius Loyola will remain alive and well in our time and place.
15 Amazing Love
18 Inverted Silence
21 Sowing Seeds of Hope
Gratefully in our Lord,
David S. Ciancimino, S. J.
Provincial
Cover photo: Jesuits Rodolfo Casals, Luis Infante, Brett McLaughlin, Matthew
Prochilo and Eric Studt pronounced First Vows in the Society of Jesus last August.
23 Bonded by Faith
A Holy Boldness is prepared by the Development Office of the New York Province of the Society of Jesus
39 East 83rd Street, New York, NY 10028, which is solely responsible for its content.
Publications Assistant: Fr. John Garvey, SJ | Staff Writer: Mr. Peter Feuerherd | 212.774.5500 | [email protected] | www.nysj.org
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Reflections
Fr. Bill McGarry, SJ, looks back on 48 years of ministry on Pohnpei.
When I was studying theology at Woodstock College in central Maryland,
I knew I wanted to be a useful Jesuit – even with my meager talents. I didn’t think I had much to contribute to the work in New York, so I told the
Provincial that I was willing to go to what we then called the Caroline-Marshall Islands.
I felt that I could be useful by serving the
sacraments to people I thought were simple
and who did not need highly qualified
Jesuits. It did not take long for me to see that
Pohnpeians are complex and very intelli-
gent people who possess a culture of some
richness. I soon found that parish work,
especially in another culture, needed far
more than meager talent.
From the beginning in November 1960, I
had a strong desire to learn language, customs and culture. I don't know where that
desire came from but I was able to follow
that calling during my first seven years on
the most remote part of Pohnpei Island.
Here I was immersed in what I have sometimes called my graduate studies sans
degree. It was not easy to learn from my
Pohnpeian teachers, but it was worth the
effort. As a matter of fact I was somewhat
driven to keep learning. Even so, I judge
now that I should have spent more time listening and learning than speaking and
teaching.
Another desire I had was to help Pohnpeian leaders keep continuity with the past
by adapting traditional customs so that they
would continue to be valuable today. Such
naiveté! We have not had much success in
this area, but I still feel this could work.
I came to like and respect Pohnpeians. I
deeply appreciate the Anointing of the Sick
and all the sacraments, but I wanted to do
more. In Pohnpei especially, we wanted
the Church to be truly Pohnpeian. At the
time I had not heard the word inculturation
but that's what we wanted. We had some
success with inserting Pohnpeian symbols
into the liturgy and much success in getting
Pohnpeians willing and able to do the
work and make the decisions which would
make their church truly Christian and truly
Pohnpeian. Perhaps the biggest success
Fr. William McGarry, SJ
A H OLY B O L D NE S S
3
8 August 2008
Dear Friends of the Society of Jesus,
For nearly five decades Father William McGarry, SJ, has incarnated the love of God
among the people of Pohnpei and throughout Southeast Asia, preaching everywhere
he goes that God calls us into a future that only He could possibly dream for us.
Never seeking to impose his attitudes and opinions on others, Father McGarry has
always approached others with the desire to learn from them; he has especially
wanted to know how others experience God. Thus, he is convinced that God has
blessed him with the opportunity to live among Pohnpeians and other groups of
people so they could discover together the human and cultural riches with which
God continues to bless them.
Bill, as we have been calling him for ages, was a blessing in our midst. He knew the
Islands, the people, the cultures, and the histories. Yet he never showed off. Instead,
he shared his views with simplicity, with love, and with plenty of humor. God met us
in him without any kind of trappings. Bill’s theological questions were always
serious, deep, and disarming. His devotion was always genuine, unadorned, and
down to earth. He was in our midst as a man with whom we could share questions,
doubts, convictions, and favorite ideas. It was always a pleasure to find ourselves
walking with him in a refreshing search for better answers or better questions.
On behalf of the entire Society of Jesus, I sincerely thank God for Father McGarry and
for the graces given him to be in word and deed an exemplary “man for others.”
As Father Bill McGarry leaves Pohnpei and moves to Manila, may the Lord bless him
and his new ministry this day and, I pray, for many more years to come.
Sincerely in Our Lord,
Adolfo Nicolás, S.J.
Superior General
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Reflections
was in setting up a diaconate that put most
of the decision-making in the hands of
Pohnpeians.
We wanted to make faith and life compenetrate in Pohnpei. Christian adult education, largely in the form of case studies
on community and social issues, resulted. A
process like this takes time and the success
has been less than 100%, but it is still real. I
wanted a self-supporting Church in Pohnpei and there has been some success but
not all that there could be. I learned some
lessons along the way. I would never again,
for example, seek outside money for building churches.
I always admired the Jesuits who were
there before me and wanted to imitate
them. As time went on I was asked to
serve the Jesuits as a leader. The 32nd
General Congregation had placed several challenges before us as a community
and I tried to bring us in line with the
goals set before us. There was a lot of
success, but some Jesuits found the
"meager talented" young man too
demanding. But because we worked for
the “we” and not for the “I,” the Mission
did not lag behind the more "advanced”
parts of the Society of Jesus.
When I attended meetings of the East
Asian Assistancy Major Superiors, I did
not foresee that I would soon be involved
in three successive Jesuit Conference
jobs. The fact that I was in over my head
in two of them did not dim my appreciation of the internationality of the Society.
This work was sometimes fun but often
frustrating.
Throughout my life as a Jesuit, I have felt
a real need to succeed. All things considered, I have never been brilliant but I have
been pretty useful. And being useful has
led to a happy life. The fact is that there are
very few things I did by myself. I was part
of a team wherever I've been.
I am filled with thanks to both my fellow
Jesuits — the "we" — and to the people of
Pohnpei for educating me.
Father William McGarry, SJ, served as a pastor on Pohnpei from 1960 to 1970. From
1970 to 1973, he continued in that post
while also being Superior of the Pohnpei
Jesuits. From 1973 to 1980, he was Regional
Superior of Micronesia, and from 1980 to
1986, President of the East Asian Jesuit Conference in Manila. He returned to Pohnpei
from 1986 to 1990 as Episcopal Vicar, and
from 1990 to 1996 was Rector of Arrupe
House, the international scholasticate for
Top: Fr. Bill McGarry, SJ, at Pohnpei farewell
Bottom: Fr. William McGarry, SJ, celebrates his 50th
anniversary of ordination along with Jesuit Fathers
Joseph Billotti, Ken Hezel and Paul Horgan.
the East Asian Assistancy. From 1996 to
2001, he was again Episcopal Vicar of
Pohnpei, and then, from 2001 to the present, he returned to Manila for six months
each year to serve as Assistant Director of the
Tertianship in the Philippines.
A H OLY B O L D NE S S
5
Social Ministry News
No stranger to the Jesuit mission of
being men and women in service of others,
Fr. Gavin’s rich and diverse Jesuit ministry
includes six years as the Provincial of the
New York Province of the Society of Jesus.
He also has served as President of Regis
High School and Executive Assistant to the
Provincial of the New York Province of the
Society of Jesus, and was Chair and a faculty member of the Department of Speech
Pathology at Marquette University.
The educational mission of the Society of
Jesus is enriched by his service on the
boards of many Jesuit colleges and high
schools, as well as the Weston Jesuit School
of Theology. Today, the University of Scranton celebrates Fr. Gavin for his steadfast
support of those whom Fr. Arrupe sought to
care for when he founded the Jesuit Refugee
Service. The University of Scranton is proud
to honor Rev. Kenneth J. Gavin, SJ, as recipient of the Pedro Arrupe, SJ, Award for 2008.
Solidarity in Christ’s Mission
By the Jesuit Social and International
Ministries
Pedro Arrupe Award
On April 23, Father Scott Pilarz, SJ, President
of the University of Scranton, awarded
Father Kenneth Gavin, SJ, National Director
of Jesuit Refugee Service/USA, and Suzanne
Geaney of the Ignatian Volunteer Corps, the
Pedro Arrupe Award for Distinguished Contributions to Ignatian Mission and Ministry.
Fr. Gavin accepted the award in the name of
JRS staff members and on behalf of the thousands of refugees and displaced people that
JRS has served throughout the world.
The citation reads as follows:
Deeply moved by images of Vietnamese
boat people making perilous journeys to
escape their homeland, Father Pedro
Arrupe, SJ, Superior General of the Society
of Jesus, formed the Jesuit Refugee Service
in 1980. Today, Fr. Arrupe’s mission to care
for the most vulnerable of refugees across
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Suzanne Geaney and Fr. Ken Gavin, SJ, receive the
Pedro Arrupe Award citations from Fr. Scott Pilarz, SJ.
the globe is carried on by Fr. Kenneth Gavin,
SJ, who has traveled the world over to bring
hope and help to refugees and forcibly displaced persons.
In his service as National Director of the
Jesuit Refugee Service/USA, Fr. Gavin fulfills
the very mission of the Society of Jesus —
the service of faith and the promotion of justice — in assisting nearly 12 million refugees
throughout the world and an additional 24
million people who have been internally displaced within their own countries. In 2006,
he took their plight and his message to
Capitol Hill to testify before a Senate judiciary subcommittee against refugees being
unjustly labeled as willful collaborators of terrorism, rather than being justly recognized
as the victims of terrorism.
More than 200 social ministers from across
the US and Canada came together at Regis
University, Denver, June 18-22 for their first
gathering in 17 years: Solidarity in Christ’s
Mission: Reflecting, Renewing, Responding. Participants reflected upon their experi-
Fr. Mark Hallinan, SJ, Provincial Assistant for
Social Ministries
ences doing social ministry, God’s presence
in that ministry, and God’s call today in light
of the General Congregation and the U.S.
Provincials’ “A Meditation on Our Response
to the Call of Christ.”
One aim of the gathering was to “put a
face on social ministry,” as Father James
Stormes, SJ, Secretary for Social and International Ministries, commented in his opening remarks. Indeed, the presence at the
conference of theologians, direct service
providers, teachers, advocates and volunteers helped all to recognize the integration
of social ministry throughout Jesuit works.
And each of these communities could find a
home within the larger social justice family
to reflect upon common challenges and
successes among them.
Plenary presentations by theologians,
social ministers and workshop presenters
afforded shared experiences and questions
for participants to reflect upon. Theologian
Ada Maria Isasi-Diaz received a standing
ovation after her apologetics on the need
for inclusion of many of today’s marginalized groups. The importance of healing and
reconciliation, forming and maintaining
relationships, and collaboration within and
across communities were recurring themes
throughout the conference.
The presence of participants from the
Society internationally and a video presentation by Father General Nicolás helped
North American social justice ministers to
step outside of their context to consider
right relationships with partners internationally. In his keynote address, Father
Jacques Haers, SJ, from the Catholic University of Louvain in Belgium, asserted that for
the Society of Jesus not to be working
together internationally for social justice is a
sin of omission.
Father Mark Hallinan, SJ, adds the
following comment:
There were two opportunities for persons to
meet according to the province in which they
worked. The first meeting was a time to consider the challenges and opportunities fac-
ing social ministries today. One of the objectives of the second meeting, at the end of the
conference, was for persons to propose
concrete steps that should be taken to
advance the work of social ministries in their
province. Mr. Tim Kelly, Fr. Michael Linden,
SJ, and I, Provincial Assistants for Social
Ministries for the Maryland, New England
and New York Provinces respectively,
agreed in advance that the three provinces
would meet as one region. This proved to be
an excellent way to get persons to think outside the traditional boundaries to which they
had become accustomed and to consider
how the social ministries sector can work
collaboratively across current province
boundaries. We are hoping to form a regional
advisory board to think strategically about
social ministries in this region and to create a
formation program that would develop the
skills necessary for social ministry. All those
who were present felt energized by the experience and were determined not to allow
such a long time to pass before those in
social ministries meet once again.
For more information, please contact Fr.
Mark Hallinan, SJ, the Assistant for Social
Ministries for the New York Province, at [email protected], or 212-774-5500.
“We have to go out… to others.”
From Catholic News Service/U.S.
Conference of Catholic Bishops
156 students and 20 faculty members from
Jesuit U.S. universities met at Fordham University in New York, June 20-22, to discuss
ways to coordinate their responses to
humanitarian crises around the globe. The
workshop was the first national initiative of
the Jesuit Universities Humanitarian Action
Network [JUHAN]. The network was created by Fordham University and the Institute of International Humanitarian Affairs to
create an efficient, well-informed response
to humanitarian crises, as well as to raise
awareness on campuses across the nation
on the meaning of humanitarian response
Fr. Daniel Villanueva, SJ discussed his work with
the Jesuit Refugee Service in Rome, Liberia and
Kenya at the Fordham JUHAN workshop.
and its implication for the Jesuit ideology of
“men and women for others.”
Workshop topics ranged from the concept of humanitarianism and the motivations, justifications, consequences and
complexities of humanitarian intervention
to logistics, health, sanitation, cross-cultural
issues, security and media relations. The
program ended with each school's delegation describing an action plan to take back
to their campus. These plans stressed the
importance of raising awareness on campuses of global crises and coordinating students' actions to make a significant impact.
Shane Young, a junior at Wheeling Jesuit
University in West Virginia, said the highlight of the experience was "seeing the passion and hope on everyone's faces" and
seeing that so many other students "share
the same passion about changing the
world." Young said all of the speakers
"understood the education we're getting. As
a Jesuit student, there's a commitment to a
faith that does justice. Our motto 'educating
men and women for service to others'
means that this is not the final stop: We have
to go out and preach it to others."
A H OLY B O L D NE S S
7
Congratulations
New Director of Development
for the New York Province
Jesuits Announced
New York Provincial, Father David S.
Ciancimino, SJ, has announced the
appointment of Father James F. Keenan, SJ,
as the new Director of Development:
“I am pleased to announce to you that Fr.
James F. Keenan, SJ, will be the new Director
of Development for the New York Province.
This assignment will take effect October 1,
2008. It is an important position in the
Province, and I am confident that Fr. Keenan
will manage the work of the Development
Office with competence and graciousness.
At the same time, I wish to extend my
heartfelt gratitude to Mr. William Reidy,
who was Director of Development up until
the beginning of September and left for
new challenges to advance his career. Over
the past three years, Bill’s initiatives and
professionalism have done a great deal to
Fr. James F. Keenan, SJ
Mr. William A. Reidy
enhance the Development Office. His work
on behalf of the New York Province will
have lasting results.”
Fr. Keenan has most recently served as
President of New York Nativity, which
consists of Brooklyn Jesuit Prep, the Nativity Mission Center, and St. Ignatius School
in the Bronx.
Christmas
Enrollment
Cards
Christmas Enrollment Cards are available
from the New York Province Development
Office. To place your order, please visit
the home page of our website at
www.nysj.org or call 212-774-5500.
Donations will support the many works
of the New York Province Jesuits.
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Jesuit Stepping Stones
A Jesuit’s formation program
N O V I T I AT E
encompasses a variety of
God Invites Me
To be Re-Created
experiences that prepare him
for service to the Church today.
Here are three of the steps
along that grace-filled journey.
By Matthew J. Prochilo, SJ
As part of their two-year
novitiate program, novices
spend an extended period
away from the novitiate
during which they work
full-time in a Jesuit ministry.
Matthew Prochilo, SJ, who
pronounced his first vows this
past August, writes of his
experience at McQuaid Jesuit
School in Rochester.
eing at McQuaid Jesuit for three
months was the culmination of
all of my previous experiences in
the novitiate. The Jesuit community, faculty, staff and students
could not have been more welcoming,
and I very much enjoyed working with
and for the community of McQuaid Jesuit
those many weeks.
From the first day that I was there, I was
in the classroom, teaching juniors in the
religious studies department. I also
worked with the campus minister and the
service director. In this capacity, I chaperoned students on retreats and service trips
that took me to the Dominican Republic
and to Albany.
B
Matt Prochilo, SJ, center, with McQuaid students.
It is amazing for me to look back upon
my novitiate experience, and to see how
working in different apostolates and on
different experiments aided me in working in a Jesuit preparatory school. My
experience of the Spiritual Exercises was
invaluable in my own ability to keep perspective, to remain reflective in my own
life, and to experience deep bonds with
my Jesuit brothers. The 30-day retreat also
aided me in assisting others on their own
spiritual journeys. Ignatian spirituality
permeates the life of McQuaid Jesuit, and
was important in my work in campus
ministry and retreats.
A H OLY B O L D NE S S
9
My pilgrimage experiment, which was
spent doing relief work in New Orleans
after Hurricane Katrina, was a good preparation for work at McQuaid. I spent several
weeks in house gutting and new construction, and experienced the political tension
on Louisiana’s gulf coast. These experiences helped me to be a greater instrument
in traveling to the Dominican Republic to
build latrines for rural communities. Also,
traveling to Albany to lobby in New York’s
capital was enhanced by my experience of
working with the people of New Orleans,
especially those who are critical of their
public servants.
I have also had the opportunity to continue to develop the growth that I experienced on the hospital experiment at Calvary
Hospital in the Bronx. In Rochester, at the
request of members of the Jesuit community, I visited patients in Strong Memorial
Hospital where I regularly encountered the
pain of illness and death.
Finally, my experience in Denver, studying the history of the Society of Jesus, coupled with my working at Bishop Ludden
Top: Fr. Pat Malone, SJ, of the Institute for Latin
American Concern, meets with Matt Prochilo, SJ,
and McQuaid students in the Dominican
Republic Bottom: Matt Prochilo, SJ, with
McQuaid students on Kairos retreat.
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High School in Syracuse last semester,
uniquely prepared me to teach in a Jesuit
preparatory school. Ignatian pedagogy and
elements of the Ratio Studiorum are part of
the daily life of McQuaid Jesuit. My time at
Fordham, at Regis University, and at
Bishop Ludden High School, all facilitated
insights that enabled me to contribute to
the community that is McQuaid Jesuit.
When I was preparing to come to
McQuaid, I was not sure what I would
find. However, I found there the One
whom I had found on all of the other
experiments of the novitiate. I experienced God in many ways; in the McQuaid
Jesuit community, in the faculty and staff,
and most importantly in the students. I
also experienced God in my response to
the needs of that community. Much of my
contribution there was far beyond my
own capacity. In all of this, I found anew
the God who created me, who invites me
to be re-created each day and who continues to invite me to be part of His new creation. I look forward to finding God in all
things as I move beyond the novitiate.
Jesuit Stepping Stones
D I A C O N AT E
He Found Happiness
He did not Expect
By Peter Feuerherd
rian Dunkle, SJ is, appropriately
enough for a classics scholar, in
an alpha and omega moment.
Ordained a transitional deacon in
March, he will be ordained to the
priesthood in June 2009. It will mark the
end of nine years of preparation and the
beginning of a new life dedicated to the
Society of Jesus and the Church.
For now, Rev. Mr. Dunkle, 33, is getting
used to being called upon to officiate at
weddings and baptisms and to preach this
past summer at St. Ignatius Loyola Church in
Manhattan. It’s a new experience. “Suddenly
I’m on the other side of the altar,” says the
soft-spoken Mr. Dunkle. Yet he finds that
nearly a decade of training has given him a
sense of comfort in his new-found role.
“I feel ready. That’s a surprise. And a
happy one,” he says amidst preparations for a
wedding ceremony at which he will preside.
Mr. Dunkle’s vocation grew in an
unlikely place — while he was an undergraduate at Harvard. At a highly secular,
elite school — a setting, he recalls, where
simple weekly Mass attendance labeled
him as a fervent Catholic — he largely kept
his vocation thoughts to himself.
After studies in Greek and Latin, he
began teaching at an international school in
Rome, and at that point his interest in the
Church, and the Jesuits, grew more intense.
Upon returning to the U.S., he entered the
Jesuit novitiate in Syracuse, pronounced
vows, studied philosophy at Fordham University and worked at Jesuit ministries as a
B
teacher in Harlem and as a chaplain at St.
Barnabas Hospital in the Bronx. Mr. Dunkle
then used his classic language skills as a
professor of Greek and Latin at Canisius
College in Buffalo.
His Jesuit formation called upon him to
leave Canisius and return to the role of theology student at the famous Gregorian University in Rome. Living at the international Jesuit
residence there provided a living microcosm
of the Church universal. Everyone involved
was thrust into a new environment, far from
their comfort zones. Mr. Dunkle found the
experience invaluable. “It helped me grow as
a Jesuit as I came to understand the wider
Society of Jesus and the wider Church.” He
was ordained a deacon in Rome before
Rev. Mr. Brian Dunkle, SJ, assists at Sunday Mass at
St. Ignatius Loyola Church with Fr. George Witt, SJ.
returning to the U.S. for a summer at St.
Ignatius and a final year of theology in Boston.
Mr. Dunkle is reveling in the experience of
active parish life. He has found that his Jesuit
vocation, entered into warily as a response to
a perceived call from God, has developed
along different lines than he expected. “The
biggest surprise early on was how happy I
was,” he says. “Most of the reasons I entered
were based upon a sense of duty and obligation. The fact that it might be joyful was not
on the top of the list of expectations. In prayer
and in the various ministries, I experienced
happiness I did not expect.”
A H OLY B O L D NE S S
11
Jesuit Stepping Stones
PRIESTHOOD
Mass of
Ordination
our Jesuits were ordained this year
by His Eminence Edward Cardinal
Egan at the Fordham University
Church on June 14. They were
Jesuit Fathers Peter Gyves and
Anthony SooHoo of the New York
Province, and Fathers Phillip Hurley and
Gregory Schenden of the Maryland
Province. Very Rev. Gerald Chojnacki, SJ,
Provincial of New York, and Very Rev.
Timothy Brown, SJ, Provincial of Maryland, along with some 150 Jesuits concelebrated the Mass of Ordination.
F
Top: Fr. Peter Gyves, SJ, receives peace of Christ
from Cardinal Egan.
Bottom: Cardinal Egan with [l to r] Fathers Gyves,
SooHoo, Chojnacki, Brown, Hurley and
Schenden.
Opposite page, Top: Fellow Jesuits invoke the
Holy Spirit during the Laying on of Hands.
Middle left: Fr. SooHoo distributes
communion at the ordination Mass
Middle right: Cardinal Egan receives the
promise of fidelity from Fr. SooHoo.
Bottom: Fr. SooHoo offers a First Blessing to
Dr. Jackie Perez.
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In Our Time and Place,
the Vision of Ignatius still Lives
St. Ignatius Loyola taught by example. He personally ministered to the sick and poor on the streets
of Rome. Jesuits today and their colleagues in ministry strive to pursue a “preferential option for the
poor.” 䡲 In this issue of A Holy Boldness, we present just a few of the many diverse ways this option
manifests itself. It is what urges the Young Adults
of St. Ignatius Parish in Manhattan to spend a Sunday in service to the hungry at the St. Francis
Xavier Parish Welcome Table. It motivates the students of St. Peter’s College
as they spend summer weeks in Honduras (pictured at right,) as well as
Father Alan Briceland, SJ, as he ministers to the immigrant poor at Elmhurst
Hospital in Queens, New York. 䡲 To be a man for others prompted Tom
Degrezia, Xavier High School alumnus and photographer, to mount a photo
exhibit on behalf of young people with AIDS. Ignatian ideals lead Mt.
Manresa Jesuit Retreat House on Staten Island to sponsor an annual Weekend
of Comfort for victims of HIV/AIDS, and St. Ignatius Retreat House in
Manhasset, New York, to host a day on spirituality for handicapped
persons. 䡲 The vision, the example, of St. Ignatius is very much alive today.
Fr. Rocco Danzi, SJ, with St. Peter’s College students Marisa
and Audrey, surrounded by children in Honduras.
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A H OLY B O L D NE S S
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16 FA L L 2 0 0 8
Amazing
Love
By Nancymarie Mattner
he St. Peter’s College Global Outreach Program is a service trip I
wanted to attend ever since I was a
senior in high school. However, I
was not prepared for the many
heartfelt stories of struggles people went
through. I was not prepared to leave a
bunch of new best friends behind. I was not
prepared to see how similar Honduras
would be to the U.S. and leave me with
many questions including “Is it the country
that struggles or is it humanity?”
I never realized that love is what I would
experience the most on this trip. Love was
portrayed through patience, appreciation,
nurturing and the ever popular hug and
kisses. In Honduras love seemed to be
everywhere I looked. When we went to the
different schools, there was patience shown
to us about all the questions we asked.
When we went to the rehabilitation center,
there was love shown through appreciation. When we were at the nutrition center,
it was through nurturing.
The rehabilitation center we visited was
for men recovering from alcoholism and
drug abuse. We listened to all of their stories that were full of many struggles. One
man said he was so appreciative because
not even his own people came to visit the
center. At the nutrition center we interacted with the children and the director
took us to her office to show us the success
T
Opposite, Children of Honduras. Above, Fr. Rocco
Danzi, SJ, applauded by children and volunteers.
stories they have had. As she told us these
stories she showed us the before and after
photos of the children. The stories were
filled with neglect, abuse and in some
cases extreme abandonment.
The second week we were in Honduras
we taught English in Guymas. This was an
amazing week because we lived in Guy-
had told another team member to tell me
good-bye. Those children truly touched
each of our lives in a different way.
Who would have thought that after six
months of prep time I would really have such
little knowledge about Honduras and then
live there for two weeks and learn so much?
“Love is always patient and kind; it is
“Is it the country that struggles or is it humanity?”
mas and got to know the town and the people. Our comforts were taken away. Simple
things like an indoor shower were changed
to a bucket and bowl in the middle of the
backyard. This was the Honduran people’s
way of life.
In Guymas, I was constantly surrounded by children giving me hugs and
kisses. One night on our way to the rosary I
smiled at a little girl who then walked right
over to me and embraced me. When we
left Guymas, I did not see that girl but she
always ready to excuse, to trust, to hope, and
to endure whatever comes. Love does not
come to an end.” [1 Corinthians 13] A team
member read this passage at our last reflection retreat before we left for Honduras. It
was proven to me repeatedly throughout the
trip. Love is a truly powerful emotion that
can be shared with anyone who is willing.
With love I believe anything is possible.
Nancymarie Mattner is a 2008 graduate of
St. Peter’s College, Jersey City.
A H OLY B O L D NE S S
17
Inverted
Silence
By Tom DeGrezia
t’s easy to find art in everyday life; all you
have to really do is look around. Inverted
Silence was created by chance. The Joey
DiPaolo AIDS Foundation [JDAF] was
created in 1996 by Carol DiPaolo and
her son, Joey. When Joey was four years old,
he was infected with the HIV virus from a
blood transfusion during open-heart surgery. Camp TLC provides infected children
between ages 13-19 with an environment
that is emotionally and educationally supportive. The Camp experience helps young
adults make the transition from childhood to
adulthood while coping with the challenges
and complications of HIV/AIDS.
While visiting Camp TLC, I decided to
pick up my still camera and take a few snap
shots. I had filmed the camp in order to produce their video yearbook each season,
and after finding no excitement in a rainfilled week, still photography seemed an
unlikely alternative.
What I found instead was the inspiration
to capture individual moments of the
campers, counselors and staff, dealing with
the pressures that surrounded each and
every one of them. The first click began
with close friend and Foundation president,
Michael Ventarola, pictured dealing with
the weight of running the entire camp with
his walkie-talkie.
At that time I had no idea I would be
putting together a photo show. I just saw
something interesting and sad in his face,
so I snapped it. When I uploaded the
image, I had an overwhelming sense of
I
18 FA L L 2 0 0 8
In more than one way, each photo is about leaving
darkness behind you and looking ahead to the light.
inspiration. That first photo, over and out,
set the tone for what would later become
Inverted Silence. All thirteen photos
explore a cry for help in completely different ways. In more than one way, each
photo is about leaving darkness behind
you and looking ahead to the light.
Inverted Silence was held in the Xavier
High School Commons on April 19, 2008.
The show was highly successful, bringing
in over $30,000 for the Foundation. April
19th seemed to have arrived within the
blink of an eye. I remember thinking how it
felt like only yesterday I had asked Xavier
for their help with this event.
When you graduate from a school, it’s
not very long before they forget about you
and move on to the next generation of students. However, that couldn’t be further
from the truth with Xavier High School.
Not only were they there for me when
Above, Michael Ventarola, JDAF president.
Opposite page, The Screaming Whisper.
A H OLY B O L D NE S S
19
they knew I needed their help with a
space for Inverted Silence, but they didn’t
charge a single dollar for us to be there.
On top of their generous donation of the
event space, Xavier also held a dress
down day with the students and faculty,
raising over $2000 for the Foundation.
It’s funny how things in life connect. I
became involved with the JDAF shortly
after graduating from Xavier. If not for the
values I learned while attending Xavier, I
would not have become so active in working with this wonderful organization. I take
the motto, “Be a man for others,” to heart.
It’s how I try to live my life, both personally
and in business. Over eight years ago I
started working with the JDAF and to this
day I have never seen an organization so
committed to helping those in need. The
entire Foundation runs on a volunteer basis.
No one makes a single dollar. No one!
The last click was a piece that I decided
to keep untitled. Using a male and female
dance couple, I created an inspiriting image
Below: Inverted Smile. Right: Tom DeGrezia.
If not for the values I
learned while attending
Xavier, I would not have
become so active in
working with this
wonderful organization.
I take the motto, “Be a
man for others,” to heart.
of Adam and Eve. The photo shows the
male figure (Adam) sitting upon the ground
embracing the light of God, while his
female counterpart (Eve) grows from his
ribs and reaches up towards her creator,
who is reaching down toward both of them.
With their bodies, the two dancers create an
AIDS ribbon.
I don’t expect people to be blown
away by the entire show. I chose the photos that inspired me, but if each person is
touched by even a single photo, then I’ve
done what I set out to do – to inspire.
Tom DeGrezia is a Xavier High School
alumnus, class of 2000. For more information on the art work of Inverted Silence or
The Joey DiPaolo AIDS Foundation, please
visit: www.jdaf.org.
20 FA L L 2 0 0 8
Sowing Seeds
of Hope
HIV/AIDS Weekend of Comfort at Mount Manresa
By Fred Herron
illie Miranda, described by
fellow participants in Mount
Manresa’s HIV-AIDS Summer Weekend of Comfort as
“a big teddy bear,” recalls a
time eight years when his spirits were low.
“Coming to Manresa,” he says, “my life has
turned around in a positive way. Before
that my life was confused. I experienced
the loss of acceptance, love, and support.
At Manresa I found love and this experience has helped.”
Retreatants, team members and the Mt.
Manresa staff tell similar stories of God
being revealed in small moments of kindness and attention, of deep wounds
healed through love and attention, and of
renewed commitment to caring for one
another and to building community. Alex
Dominguez, a retreat planner, watches
over the participants like a hawk, his eyes
constantly scanning meeting rooms and
garden spaces, making sure that everyone
has someone to care for them. Slowing
down for just a moment, Alex remarks,
“This retreat lifts my spirits up. I’m home
safe here! We meet other people struggling like we are. We get compassion from
others and give it back.”
The HIV/AIDS Retreat began in 1989 as
a simple afternoon for nine people. It
soon became a day-long retreat for
twelve. Word spread quickly and participants began to invite their friends. The
first overnight retreat was held on Columbus Day weekend 1999. Participation rap-
W
“This retreat lifts my spirits up. I’m home safe here!
We meet other people struggling like we are. We get
compassion from others and give it back.”
idly grew until the need for two retreats
each yea - held in December and August became clear. Ninety or more participants
attend the December retreat and more
than fifty attend each summer.
Edwin Verdejo and Father Tom Quinn,
SJ, greet people at the front door on
arrival. Edwin has been coming to this
retreat for ten years, describing it as “real
special for people who don’t know where
to go.” The weekend provides time for
discussions, private consultation and
meditation.
Miroslava Baez first came on the retreat
on a scholarship. Over time she was invited
to become a member of the team. “I was
honored,” she says. “It’s not just what we
give others but what we get too. The simple
things we do for others, they’re so grateful.
We try to be positive example.” Describing
A H OLY B O L D NE S S
21
Mt. Manresa, she remarks, “It’s a peaceful
place — God’s in charge here.”
Many on the team remark about the
kindness, love and support of the Manresa
staff. Father Edward Quinnan, SJ, Director
of Mt. Manresa, has witnessed the growth
of this retreat and the special gifts that the
retreat team shares: "I am impressed by the
generosity resulting from this retreat. Past
attendees have become the peer leaders of
the retreat weekend. They have been so
energized, in fact, that they have taken on
the leadership of another retreat for those
the recovery retreat far more effective.”
The weekend is a profound experience
for the volunteers as well. Mary Birmingham, a hotel manager and one among a
family of Birminghams who volunteer at
each retreat, is a Reiki master who has
pitched in as a cook, housekeeper and coffee maker throughout the years. “The people I’ve met here,” Mary claims, “have
changed my life.” She recalls a twenty-one
year old woman who attended the retreat
whom she had hugged during the “Angel
Walk” experience. The woman died a short
reports: "Only because of the generous support of grants can we open Mt. Manresa for
the Weekend of Comfort. Senator Andrew
Lanza has procured monies through New
York State’s Office of Children and Family
Services. The J. Homer Butler Foundation
has also supported outreach to those living
with AIDS through a grant. We can run
these programs only because of this generous underwriting.”
What difference can a weekend make?
The staff at Manresa, the volunteers, leadership team and the participants at the
Front, Maryann and Elena; Middle, Grazyna,
Miraslava, Sr. Maureen, Carmen; Back, Willy,
Angel, Mike, Alex, Francis.
time later but told one of her friends that,
because of her experience at Mt. Manresa,
she was not afraid to die. Mary later
remarked that “I was on top of the world
that I could do something like that.” She
reflected that “at this retreat, we meet God
up close and personal.”
This weekend involves a circle of care
and concern that reaches far beyond the
borders of the retreat house. Fr. Quinnan
HIV/AIDS Weekend of Comfort all agree
that it has sown seeds of hope for them.
Maryann Slater, a member of the leadership team, summed things up well: “When
I’m at Manresa, I’m blessed with another
life. We support one another here. I get a
lot of hope here.”
in recovery from addictions. Whereas the
Mt. Manresa staff could only give the
retreat in English, this team could make
presentations in English and Spanish,
adding their own personal testimonials.
Their skills and enthusiasm have made
22 FA L L 2 0 0 8
Fred Herron is Ministry Director at Mt.
Manresa Jesuit Retreat House.
Ignatian Young Adults:
Bonded by Faith
Ready to Serve
By Peter Feuerherd
ndergraduate days at Jesuit colleges are filled with intellectual
inquiry, retreats that spiritually
challenge, and liturgies that simultaneously raise one’s sights to God
and across to your fellow believers. And
then there are the life-changing social mission outreach programs here and abroad.
The college years are frequently forgotten, however, as students get their diplomas
U
and enter the work-a-day world, where basic
survival is the guiding principle. Some who
do remember, however, have found a spiritual home at St. Ignatius Loyola Church on
Manhattan’s Upper East Side, where a young
adults group, including graduates of Jesuit
institutions, continue to engage in spiritual
development and Catholic social ministry.
The group is called Ignatian Young Adults
and, with 400 on its email list, it is making a
Heidi Cinquegrana adds sugar to the coffee.
connection with urban professionals throughout Manhattan, the outer boroughs and New
Jersey, as its programs attract people seeking
Jesuit spirituality and social involvement.
The moderator is Father George Witt, SJ,
Administrator at St. Ignatius, but the leadership of the group largely emerges from
within. Social events, held every other SunA H OLY B O L D NE S S
23
day after the 7:30 p.m. Mass, attract some 80
regulars. More than 100 attended a recent
evening at the nearby Metropolitan Museum
of Art. Recent group lectures included a discussion on the spirituality of happiness.
But the group is about more than wine
and cheese, mixers and self-development.
Patrick Nolan, a leader of the Spiritual
Development Committee, notes that the
Ignatian Young Adults remains deeply committed to service. Only in existence for a
few years, they have assisted at a homeless
shelter on the Upper East Side and, in May,
went to another Manhattan Jesuit parish, St.
Francis Xavier in the Chelsea section, to
assist at the Welcome Table soup kitchen.
Nolan found himself impressed by how
eager the regular workers at the Welcome
Table, and the dozen Ignatian Young Adult
volunteers, were to help. While they were
there, a vat of soup toppled over. “I was
impressed with how everyone just pitched
in,” he said. He also was surprised at the
kind of guests at the church-sponsored
soup kitchen, different from many popular
notions about New York’s homeless. They
included children and the elderly, “from all
walks of life who needed a meal to get
through that day.”
After the guests had left, the dishes were
cleaned and the tables put away, the young
adults gathered to talk and pray about their
experience, in the spirit of the Jesuit charism
of social action tempered by reflection.
Service is central to Nolan’s identity. At
Loyola College in Baltimore (class of 2001),
he was student body president and was
instrumental in increasing opportunities for
service projects on and off campus. The
parish young adult group allowed him to
continue that ideal of service in another setting. This past August, Patrick entered the
Jesuit novitiate in Syracuse, NY, to begin his
formation as a Jesuit priest.
“It’s not just about being a community
for the sake of community. It’s a group
bonded by faith and is ready to serve the
general community,” he says.
Top: Chris Carney serves the dessert. Bottom:
Brian Pinter offers a cup of cold water.
24 FA L L 2 0 0 8
God is Here
in Disguise
By Peter Feuerherd
hile a world seeking healing
beats a path to Elmhurst Hospital in Queens, NY, Father
Alan Briceland, SJ, chaplain,
awaits with gentle prayers in
Spanish, English and occasionally Korean,
offering a ministry of presence to the sick,
dying and the bereaved.
That healing presence is apparent at daily Mass in the tiny hospital chapel, crowded
on this day with a few dozen worshipers. Fr.
Briceland consecrates the bread and wine, alternating between Spanish and English, beneath a statue of Jesus with the children of
the world - Africans, Asians, Eskimos and
every other ethnic group one can imagine.
The statue befits the hospital in the middle of New York’s most diverse borough,
packed with patients from Ecuador, Mexico
and the rest of Latin America, Ireland, Eastern Europe, Korea, and Nigeria, among other places. At this Mass, he is praying with the
nurses and staff at this multi-cultural center of
care and, in his homily, warns them about the
temptations of religion applied to healthcare.
“There is a temptation to a spirit of lies,”
warns Fr. Briceland. That spirit reveals itself
in making deals with God to heal an illness
in exchange for promises of good behavior.
By contrast, Jesus in the Gospel of John calls
Christians to live in a spirit of truth. “The truth
is someone had an accident,” he says, noting that “God is not to blame. He is with us.”
The wards of the giant facility tell many
stories about God’s love, says Fr. Briceland
in an interview in the office he shares with
another Catholic priest from the Philippines,
a Protestant chaplain and a Muslim imam.
W
Fr. Alan Briceland, SJ
“Every day there are stories worth recording.”
Sometimes he will encounter the other side
of the story, the complexity about life, for example, not seen in tabloid headlines about human monsters. Fr. Briceland notes that the
mentally ill rarely get the same consideration
those with physical ailments regularly receive.
In the midst of a neighborhood that is a
magnet for immigrants, Fr. Briceland, a former high school teacher, finds this particular
“parish” filled with human possibility and Divine love. While he will visit occasionally with
non-Catholic patients, his work’s focus is on
the 60 percent who identify themselves as
Catholics. They challenge him every day and,
at 76, he finds himself filled with energy for
the job. “It brings out a whole different aspect of me,” he says, noting that his clerical
role is brought out most fruitfully in direct ministry with the suffering.
“I’m the priest here,” he says. “I wear the
collar.” Through no particular effort of his own,
people respond to him in that role. “It’s like
God is here in disguise… I don’t really find
that it’s me. It feels like God working through
me.” When he enters a patient’s room, he is
conscious of being an agent sent to bring
God’s healing, to help the ill and their families to forgive, and help them accept what they
cannot change.
Much of his time is spent listening. Relatively little is spent preaching. He’s found that
patients are anxious to tell their stories, in a
setting where few are able to listen. Knowing
their language helps and a welcoming attitude
is essential. “I often think about how fragile
the life of an immigrant is,” he says, noting how
many of the patients at Elmhurst are alone, in
a strange country without family, often not able
to speak the language. Sometimes they just
want someone to pay attention to their personal stories. “The doctors don’t have time for
your story. That’s what my job is,” he says.
Before entering the pastoral care field, Fr.
Briceland had a particular image of hospital
chaplains as “nice guys who say good morning, pray and then leave.” But it is a bit more
complicated. His training and experience is
regularly put to use, by first adhering to the
Hippocratic creed of doing no harm. He’s
learned that phrases such as “everything will
be okay” and “God will take care of it” are
pious falsehoods serving as blanket barriers
against expressing understandable anger.
Sometimes silence is the best approach.
“You come in to be a presence. You are
saying that God cares, that God is with you
and he cares,” he says. “You come in to be
with someone. If need be, you talk.”
A H OLY B O L D NE S S
25
The Spirituality of
Physical Challenges
By Pete Sheehan
The gathering at St.
Ignatius Retreat
House put flesh on
Ignatius’ Principle
and Foundation
from the Spiritual
Exercises: “We
should not fix our
Sr. Karen Doyle, SSJ desires on health or
sickness, wealth or
poverty, success or failure, a long life or
a short one…” for everything has the
potential of deepening my life in Jesus.
The panelists for our program
shared hope and strength and new life
with us…born out of their physical
challenges…born out of their acceptance of life experience…born out of
gratitude for a God who holds us close
at all times and never abandons us.
Because of our panelists - Deacon
Frank Bice, Steven McDonald, Msgr.
Tom Hartman and Richard Cohen, we
were in the presence of a God whose
passion to be where we are, however we
are, embraces everything. And in this
embrace everything has the potential of
deepening my life in Jesus…everything.
Sister Karen Doyle, SSJ, is on the staff of
St. Ignatius Retreat House and coordinated the day.
26 FA L L 2 0 0 8
As he sat in his wheelchair reflecting on the accident that
left him a quadriplegic, Deacon Frank Bice expressed no
regrets. “If I could change things, I don’t know if I would,”
he said, as he explained how a broken neck sustained
during a Siena College football game left him paralyzed
28 years ago. Though his life is far different than he imagined, “everything I ever prayed for has come true.”
irst of all I ended up marrying Liz,
the girl I had fallen in love with the
first day of school at St. Mary’s in
Manhasset in the fourth grade,” he
said. “I became ordained as a deacon, and I love my ministry. I also always
wanted to go to an Ivy League college, and
now I have a Master’s Degree in religion
from Yale.”
Deacon Bice was a panelist at a program on the spirituality of physical challenges at St. Ignatius Jesuit Retreat House in
Manhasset on March 30. The key for him,
he explained, is his faith and his gratitude.
“I made a lot of mistakes before,” he notes,
and describes himself as “not the best
Catholic.” After the accident, long periods
of inactivity gave him time for reflection.
“So one night, I made a promise to Jesus
that I would live life with a positive attitude
and I would say yes to whatever he asked
me to do.” Jesus would give him the
strength to do so.
F
The day’s panel also included New York
City Police Officer Steven McDonald and
Msgr. Thomas Hartman. About 50 people
attended, including several people in
wheelchairs and walkers and one blind
woman led by a guide dog.
Steven McDonald is a police detective
who was shot on duty in Central Park July
12, 1986. Since that day, he said, he has
seen “that the world is more than I ever
would have expected. I have traveled
around the world, witnessing to my faith.
I’ve gone to Israel. I’ve gone to Northern
Ireland. I’ve gone all over the United
States,” McDonald said. “I’ve witnessed to
Jesus at religious and public schools.”
He recalls going to the hospital after the
shooting. A priest, a fire chaplain, was the
first to greet him and prayed over him. “I
didn’t want to die.” The most striking fruit of
the prayers, he said, was that “I was able to
forgive the boy who did the shooting. I
never thought I would.”
From top: Deacon Frank Bice; Police Officer
Steven McDonald; and Msgr Thomas Hartman
Msgr. Hartman, former president and
chief executive officer of Telecare, the television production facility of the Diocese of
Rockville Centre, said that when his physician first diagnosed his Parkinson’s disease,
his question was, “What do I do now?” This
was the beginning of treatments, exercise,
and changes in his everyday life, Msgr.
Hartman said, but it was also a spiritual
change. “It is a journey that is not going to
end in this world. I like to play basketball,”
tennis and golf, but often he can’t. Sometimes, he can do three holes of golf; sometimes he can do nine.
“No one gives you a passport” to live your
life without difficulties, Msgr. Hartman said.
“God opens up possibilities.” And, he said,
“If we don’t work with what God gives us,
we can’t say to God, ‘Where were you?’ “God
does not create hunger,” but God presents
opportunities such as Island Harvest, a volunteer effort to collect surplus food from
restaurants, food markets and other outlets.
“They have 700 volunteers and they collect
seven million pounds of food” which goes to
food pantries, shelters and community centers. “If we say yes, God will strengthen us,”
Msgr. Hartman said. “He opens a part of himself to us.” The attitude has to be one of trust.
“We say to God: Take me. I’m yours.”
Reprinted with permission of The Long
Island Catholic. Photos by Peter Acardi.
Notes from Micronesia
Journey to Micronesia
By Peter Schineller, SJ
Planning for the Future
Back, l to r: Juan Ngiraibuuch, Tom McGrath, Kenneth Urumolug, Wayne Tkel, Arthur Leger, Greg
Muckenhaupt, Paul Horgan, Anthony Eddy, Jack Curran, Rich McAuliff. Middle, l to r: John Hagileiram, Fran Hezel, Joe Cavanagh, Jim Gould, Ken Hezel, Bill McGarry, Joe Billotti, Peter Schineller.
Front, l to r: Dave Antonelli, Christoforus Risanto, James Croghan, Wilbert Mireh.
A journey to the Pacific to lead an eight day
retreat — it sounded like a romantic offer I
could not refuse. Then Father Ken Hezel, SJ,
added, “You would be replacing Fr. Adolfo
Nicolás.” I hesitated, for I would be filling in
for our new Father General. But my answer
remained a firm yes. After serving as a missionary for over 20 years in Africa, mostly
Nigeria, now it was time to expand my horizons and see the tremendous achievements
of the Jesuits in Micronesia.
My destination was the island of Pohnpei, where 20 Jesuits would assemble for an
eight day retreat (June 10-17) and then a
two day planning workshop. We assembled at the former PATS (Ponape Agriculture and Trade School), a lovely campus
overlooking Madolenihmw harbor. The
school had been closed a few years ago
due to shifts in vocational education.
Retreat on Our Mission Today
Right now is an important time in the history of the mission and Fr. Nicolás, then
President of the Jesuit Conference of East
Asia and Oceania, had requested the
Region to draw up a 5 to 10 year apostolic
28 FA L L 2 0 0 8
plan. In view of this, the retreat took on a
different twist. Instead of the traditional
reliance upon the Spiritual Exercises of St.
Ignatius, I focused on his later writing of
the Jesuit Constitutions, and the recently
published documents from General Congregation 35. This provided rich material
on our mission today (as always, a frontier,
pioneering mission), on our community
lives (union of hearts was emphasized),
our charism (sharing the vision and richness of the Spiritual Exercises), our obedience and internationality (we join the
world-wide Society of Jesus – ready to be
sent anywhere and yet of service to the
local church and bishop), and finally the
need for increased collaboration with our
lay colleagues. From the Jesuit Constitutions we prayed over the three vows, the
union of minds and hearts, the qualities of
those who are in governance, norms for
choosing between possible missions, and
Ignatian spirituality with its emphasis on
incarnational prayer. My input included
readings by famous and not so famous
Jesuits about their lives and deaths, their
struggles and successes.
Organized by the steering committee
under the leadership of the Regional
Superior, Father Ken Hezel, SJ, the planning started with reports from the various
persons, sectors, and works of the Region.
The main goals here were to project ourselves into the future to see what apostolic
works remain most important, what new
works might begin, and, very importantly,
where manpower could come from. Here
we looked very much to the Jesuits of East
Asia and Oceania. The mission already
has men from Indonesia and Myanmar,
and this could well increase.
We also discussed the pros and cons
of closer alliance of the Micronesian
Jesuits with the Jesuits of East Asia, as
well as continuing the warm bonds with
the New York Province. The success of
the diaconate program was frequently
noted – a tribute to the vision and hard
work of the Jesuit missionaries over the
years. Another concern was the worldwide economic downturn and the
increased cost of fuel which deeply
affects the local economies. The economy may even affect the possibility of
future gatherings such as this, as costs of
airline tickets are skyrocketing.
The final session was on the “motivation
for mission.” In a world where God’s loving
grace in Christ is abundantly offered to
everyone, why do we Jesuits continue to
travel around the globe to tell people about
Jesus? The answer seemed to be not that we
fear for the eternal loss of those not baptized but rather that we Jesuits, who have
come to know Jesus Christ and his Gospel,
must simply and joyfully share this good
news with others.
Father Peter Schineller, SJ, is a writer for
America magazine and Archivist for the New
York Province.