Spirituality is a vital part of campus life at Kolese De Britto in Jogjakarta, and the health of the spiritual life of the Kolese De Britto family is the main focus of its Campus Ministry.
So, when Fr Robert Rimmin SJ was assigned to work in the Campus Ministry in August, he asked himself “How do we give and share our Ignatian heritage to the member of Kolese De Britto family?”
He began by learning from others, spending three months in Pymble, Sydney to learn how to give and share Ignatian spirituality with different groups of people.
Upon his return, Fr Robert decided to build on the work of the Jesuit who had set up the programme by focussing on three groups of the community – teachers, non-teaching staff and students.
At the beginning of the school year, he asked teachers, non-teaching staff and students to reflect upon the general theme of Unio Animarum. He asked them to not only understand the idea of spirituality but to work on making it as natural as breathing as they went about their day.
Students
To help maintain and develop the faith of each Kolese De Britto student, the Campus Ministry has students lead and participate in several spiritual activities.
Students lead the daily Angelus prayer and are encouraged to attend and actively participate in the daily mass offered at 6.15 am. Classes are appointed for each daily mass and the students in the class are responsible for preparing and serving at mass. Priests from different congregations are invited to celebrate daily mass to open the eyes of students to the options available should they decide they have a vocation to the priesthood.
In addition, every level of students has its own mass on Thursdays. The Thursday Mass is different from daily mass and attendance is mandatory. Classes are also appointed to prepare this mass.
In October, the students marked the month of the rosary by saying the rosary after school and on October 30, some students, teachers and workers made a pilgrimage to Kaliori, Purwokerto.
A retreat was also conducted for students in grade XII to help them prepare for their final year in the school and discern what to do after high school.
Teachers
Besides joining the daily Angelus prayer, teachers lead a short reflection based on the general theme Unio Animarum every Monday during assembly.
Some teachers are asked to accompany their students in their preparations for daily mass and the mandatory Thursday mass for each level. This encourages teachers to exercise the spirit of compassion by extending their role beyond teaching in classrooms to being companions of their students outside the classroom. Teachers are also asked to get involved in spiritual activities offered by the school such as the silent retreat offered during semester breaks.
“We keep asking the teachers to live their lives based on the Ignatian heritage which is not easy,” said Fr Robert.
To help the teachers with their own spiritual growth, teachers are asked to be responsible for the masses that are held for teachers and workers every other week after school.
Non-teaching staff
Non-teaching staff are encouraged to join the daily Angelus prayer, and every Tuesday, they lead a short reflection during assembly. They also share responsibility with teachers for masses.
In addition, non-teaching staff also make a silent retreat, with some preparation provided before the retreat to help them understand the Spiritual Exercises.
With activities for teachers, non-teaching staff and students in place, the Campus Ministry is now considering how it can serve other groups such as parents and even alumnae.