Ignatius, as he was founding the Society of Jesus, did not want the Jesuits to be the largest religious order in the Church, or the most powerful or the most prestigious. His dream was for a body of men who were sufficiently prepared and spiritually disposed to go where the need seemed to be greatest. His dream was that Jesuits be flexible and not so entrenched in what they are currently doing that they could not respond to a greater need elsewhere.
St Francis Xavier is a prime example of that. And, at heart, all Jesuits would like to be like him. He was Ignatius' right hand man in Rome, helping with the composition of the Constitutions and dealing with the correspondence. He was not the one chosen to go on the mission to evangelise the people of India, Japan and China. However, when Nicholas Bobadilla fell sick, Ignatius asked him to go in his place. After a day darning his cassock, Francis was ready to go.
Now, after five years as Editor of Jesuits and Friends, I am on the move too: the British Provincial has asked me to return to Guyana and to work amongst the Amerindians, the indigenous people of the rainforest. So this is likely to be my last issue of Jesuits and Friends, although I'm sure you will be hearing about my work there in future issues.
It is certainly a shock to the system to be asked to leave my current job, looking after missionaries and their supporters, to go once more into the field to help to determine the shape of the future development of the Amerindian peoples. Fortunately, I've been given more than a day to repair my cassock! But I will have to learn again how to sleep in a hammock, get used to bathing in cold water and how to cope with a minimum of electricity.
What drove Francis, and what still inspires Jesuits today, is the knowledge that we are part of a network which proclaims our common faith and works for justice. As my Provincial has discerned that this new work is a priority for our province, I will certainly give it my best shot.
As we prepare for the celebration of Holy Week and Easter, let us remember those celebrating these events in situations far different from our own. We are linked by our common faith in the power of grace to overcome every barrier and we are energised by this grace to work for the Kingdom inaugurated by our crucified and risen Lord.
I hope you enjoy the current issue of the magazine and I wish my successor well.
With my best wishes and prayers.
Fr Tim Curtis SJ
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