At the International Colloquium on Jesuit Secondary Education in Boston, Fr Danny Huang SJ, Regional Assistant for Asia Pacific, posed 10 points of reflection from the Procurates, that he said would be useful to discuss in Jesuit schools, Provinces and Regions.
1. Apostolic instruments
Do we understand ourselves and function as apostolic missions? How?
2. Serving faith
How can we be more successful in bringing our students to the joy of friendship with Christ in His community, the Church? How can we assess our success? In non -Christian contexts, how do we serve faith?
3. Bridges to and in the Church
How are we bridging the gap between youth and church?
Are we reflecting on faith in the schools?
4. Collaboration as Mission
How do you see the role of collaboration in your mission?
5. Animated by an Apostolic Community
Who comprises the Ignatian Apostolic Community in your school?
How is maintained? How does it work?
6. Jesuit Community: Accompaniment and Witness
Community as Mission
How do Jesuit communities understand their mission within the larger Ignatian apostolic community?
What needs to be done to change mindsets and attitudes?
7. Close to the Poor, Concerned about Structural Change and the Environment.
Have we grown farther from the poor? How is closeness to the poor promoted?
How have we created a passion for structural change and for care for the environment?
8. The Dimension of Universality
To what extent is there a sense of universal mission in our schools?
How much sharing of perspectives, capacities and resources beyond our provinces and conferences exists?
How do our schools network with other ministries?
9. The Creativity of the Kingdom
To what extent are our schools inspired by competition? To what extent are we limited by our need to compete with other schools?
To what extent are we motivated by creativity of the Kingdom of God and how is this creativity promoted in our institutions?
10. Discerning the Future of Institutions
What is the quality of our discernment in our schools? How do we begin to freely discern whether we should think of ourselves more as Ignatian, rather than Jesuit works?
What kinds of structures and programs do we need to retain life-giving connection to our Ignatian heritage and presence?
The International Colloquium on Jesuit Secondary Education was held in Boston from July 29 to August 2, 2012. The intent was to strengthen the network by providing a platform to share ideas, discuss common strengths and challenges, examine our Jesuit mission and identity, and focus on how Jesuit school educators can prepare students to become global leaders. About 400 Jesuit educators from all over the world attended this first global gathering of Jesuits in secondary education.
Australian Jesuit Fr Quyen Vu, who has been missioned to work on the education project in Timor Leste, was one of the participants. To read his reflection on his experience, click here.
For more information about the Colloquium, visit icjse2012.blogspot.com.