The first Apostolic Priority of the Jesuit Region of Timor-Leste for 2019-2023 is “Service of Faith through Ignatian Spirituality”. As Jesuits, we commit ourselves to the service of faith using the gift of our tradition and spirituality handed down to us by our Father Ignatius and the first companions.
Although the Church in Timor-Leste has had a long tradition of faith and devotion brought by the first missionaries from Portugal 500 years ago, the faith began to spread in the country only 30 years ago. Since then, it has imbedded itself deeply into the local Timorese culture and tradition, often times blurring aspects of the true and correct faith grounded in the relationship with Christ and faithful to the Magisterium.
We are keenly aware of the poverty in teaching the faith, in preparation for a deeper and more meaningful Christian life. We are also aware of how faith in Timor-Leste–commonly expressed by participating in religious activities–can lose its depth, and how the spiritual experience can be taken for granted.
And yet, through the grace of God, we must admit and be constantly aware of how our own faith is continuously renewed and deepened by the people we serve, and how they profess and live this faith.
Equipped with the tools of discernment and Ignatian Spirituality, we strive to foster and develop in the people of Timor-Leste a strong and deep faith grounded in a personal and loving encounter of Christ. It is experienced in and through the Church, the Body of Christ. We also commit to respect local culture and deepen our understanding between faith and local traditions. We remember Fr General Arturo Sosa’s words: that our work of magis is a work of depth in living our faith and spirituality. We desire to foster a faith that is discerning, life-giving and joyful; a faith that is properly enculturated, an engaged faith where charity is a way of life, a faith that witnesses and proclaims the Gospel values of Christ.
To concretise this, we have established the Centro Espiritualidade Ignaciana–Timor Leste (CEI-TL). The aim is to develop Ignatian Spirituality agenda for all the people we serve and for other stakeholders of our Jesuit institutions and communities in Timor-Leste. CEI-TL’s spiritual services include Ignatian retreats, recollections and spiritual direction, the promotion of Ignatian discernment, the Ignatian Pedagogical Paradigm and Ignatian Spirituality. All this, and to actively support and assist the local church in promoting holistic religious education by forming teachers, catechists and formators.
Early in 2019, CEI-TL was formally launched with a brochure given to various parishes and religious groups and organisations in the country. It introduced St Ignatius of Loyola, Ignatian Spirituality, the Jesuits in Timor-Leste and their various ministries in the country, and CEI-TL’s Ignatian Spirituality services. A second brochure followed, announcing the retreats and recollections planned for the remainder of the year. Different types of retreats are set in Tetum, Portuguese, English and Bahasa, to cater to different language groups in the country. While a few senior Jesuits in the Region are already involved in some spiritual direction, CEI-TL’s programme for the ministry of Spiritual Direction is still in the planning stage.
Download the CEI-TL brochure (in Tetum) and the 2019 programme of retreats and recollections.
Filipino Jesuit Fr Joseph Lester Maramara is the Socius and Formation Delegate of the Jesuit Region of Timor-Leste