Fr Philip Endean SJ of the British Province, currently teaching at the Centre Sèvres, the Jesuit formation centre in Paris and former editor of The Way, the journal of spirituality published by the British Jesuits, offers an in-depth look at the Universal Apostolic Preferences (UAPs) of the Society of Jesus.

In this piece, expanded from his talk to the British Jesuit Province Assembly, Fr Endean answers three questions about the UAPs: What they are, how they came about and what Fr General wants us to do with them. He adds two more questions: What kind of faith and hope do they presuppose, and how are they encouraging us to re-imagine ourselves as Jesuit and Ignatian disciples.

What is it to engage in the Jesuit mission today?  Fr Endean writes, “To seek God’s will, to promote discernment, to walk with the poor, to accompany the young, to collaborate in caring for the earth, our common home”.

As Fr General Arturo Sosa has made clear on various occasions, the preferences are not simply a list of requirements for us to meet; they are orientations, a signpost, a call.

“My sense of Fr General’s concern about these preferences is that they should point us, in ways that transcend considerations of planning, to places where God’s word can be heard, God’s gift can be received, in particularly clear and challenging ways”, writes Fr Endean.

He says that the UAPs need to be seen as openings to grace. “Yes, we co-operate. But the real agent is God”, he reflects.  “It’s about letting God change us.”

Click here to read the full text of Fr Endean’s essay.