The MAGiS08 Experiments in Cambodia gave an added impetus to Ignatian Spirituality in this Jesuit mission. The seeds that were sown in July 2008 have germinated into seedlings in the generous hearts of young Cambodian Catholics.
Cambodian participants from the MAGiS08 experiments gathered at Banteay Prieb over the weekend of November 15–16 to relish the spirit of MAGiS08 and consider how they can build on that profound MAGiS08 experience. It was a unanimous YES from the MAGiS08 participants and the other Cambodian youths who had joined this embryonic cell of Ignatian Spirituality. This initiative by Cambodian youths saw plans for regular bi-monthly sessions at Banteay Prieb, on-going accompaniment through friendship with the handicapped students of Banteay Prieb, and serving Cambodians the MAGiS-Cambodia way.
Phan Sonai, who works with the NGO, Family of Hope, found the MAGiS08 experiment at Phnom Penh a profound experience. She even dreamed that she met the Bishop of Phnom Penh, Msgr Emile Destombes, who told her, "Don’t let go of MAGiS." She had thought that MAGiS would end with the two coordinators of MAGiS08, Fr Gabriel Lamug-nanawa (PHI) and Ms Wendy Lui of the Hong Kong Catholic Lay Missionary Association, leaving Cambodia. Sonai responded to this dream by approaching the Jesuits at Banteay Prieb, where she had continued to spend her weekends in friendship with the handicapped students, about keeping the MAGiS spirit alive in Cambodia. Sonai found the support from the Jesuits in Banteay Prieb, just as she had found the Jesuits teaching her through the MAGiS08 experiment to reflect on situations by herself, to better understand the poor in the province and to gain a greater awareness of God in her life.
In the words of Gneb Gnuen, a second year Philosophy student at the Royal University of Phnom Penh, it is MAGiS la-or (MAGiS is good!) because MAGiS "had given people the opportunity to personally learn to put into actions the Magis — of putting God’s goodness into their actions".
Others shared similar attitude-changing experiences from their visit to the Garbage Mountain on the outskirt of Phnom Penh and seeing the very poor eke out a meager existence there. Their reflection of the day through the EXAMEN, brought greater self-awareness and a realization that life was not just about earning money for oneself, but that there is a need to ask, "What more?" Indeed, what more can one do for God and others?
Their visit to the infamous Toul Sleng1 museum and meeting the "even poorer" Cambodians led them to see the blessings they had received from God. More importantly, they were moved by this realization to want to help others — of not just seeing to their own personal needs but also to looking out for others. The EXAMEN that they had learned during the MAGiS08 Experiment at Banteay Prieb helped them to deepen their faith and develop a sense of gratitude to God, and to move from that gratitude to want to serve others. Theary, who works with the NGO, Cambodia Health Education Development (CHED), referred to the EXAMEN as artitan laor (good prayer). It is a part of her prayer life now.
Phan Mao, an IT professional and a former student leader at the Catholic Church Student Center in Phnom Penh, had missed out on the MAGiS08 Experiment in July 2008. He joined the meeting because he wanted to be with people who translated Magis as "can", with an attitude that "I can do". For Mao, MAGiS provided a concrete response to his desire to help uplift the poor — something that he had felt since his growing-up days in Kampong Cham. He has seen in the Jesuits in Cambodia, how this is possible when one gives himself to God and is then moved to service of others.
The Ignatian spirit that is embodied in MAGiS has given these Cambodian Catholic youths a sense of concern for others. They are asking "what can I do more for God and for others?" They have found MAGiS empowering them with a freedom to respond to their desire to help fellow Cambodians. They found themselves saying: "I can do something for other Cambodians… with God as my help".
Cambodians can and do want to take initiatives to build the Church in Cambodia. This MAGiS-Cambodia group has shown that when our Catholics youths are shown "processes more than ideas or systems" they assimilate and translate them into concrete actions — in their own ways. Perhaps this is what Father General Nicolás was alluding to in his exclusive interview with the editors of Jesuit journals after his election as Superior General of the Society of Jesus.
For the Jesuits who had supported the meeting at Banteay Prieb over the weekend of November 15–16, the initiative by the young Cambodian Catholics was a very strong sign that our Catholic youths are starting to take ownership for "their" Church. All that they needed from us was a "Yes, go ahead. You can!" and then support them by making available all our resources — our Ignatian Spirit and humble homes.
This MAGiS-Cambodia group pioneering a new beginning in Cambodia is a sign of hope that Christmas brings. They are sharing the MAGiS spirit of "I can do" with other youths, and bringing about Service-Learning the Ignatian way.
Contributor: Sch Matthew Tan
1 A school in Phnom Penh which the Khmer Rouge had turned into a prison to torture political prisoners and later brought them to the Killing Fields to be executed.