In the midst of the coronavirus pandemic and the semester break between philosophy and theology studies, from 27 July to 1 August, scholastics from various provinces in the Jesuit Conference of Asia Pacific attended an online spiritual course presented by Fr Hung Pham SJ, Formation Assistant of the US Central Southern Province. The course was initiated by his counterpart in the Indonesian Province, Fr Budi Gomulia SJ, with a committee of several Indonesian, Myanmar, and Thai scholastics. Initially, the course was planned to be held offline in a Jesuit Retreat House in Klaten for scholastics residing in Indonesia only, but the shift towards an online course enabled the wider participation of scholastics in Vietnam, Thailand, Philippines, Laos, and Myanmar. All participants took part in the course from their own communities via Zoom.
The course entitled, “Spirit Looking for a Body”, was presented in Fr Hung’s bold, clear, and sometimes humorous way, while the scholastics also engaged (though were often shy) with various questions and sharing along the dynamics of the course. Fr Budi underlined that this course generally invited us, scholastics, “to be touched by the sources”: the Spiritual Exercises, the Constitution, and the Autobiography. Not only to be touched again by the sources, but also to put them into our present context, whether as a community or as an individual. The point is not to duplicate the past or to see those fundamental texts merely as a treasure to keep in a safe place, but to bring them as a spirit that can animate our present “body”.
Among many interesting things presented by Fr Hung, several points are worth highlighting. Fr Hung often started his sessions by showing “messy things”: the life of Ignatius was a mess. We see our lives as messy when we contemplate the First Week of the Exercises, and even the relationship between the first companions were also not always smooth and ideal. But if we looked beyond the flow of the Exercises and the Constitution, we can find a change of focus from ourselves towards a bigger focus on God and the Society. Fr Hung illustrated this with an arrow that points to a more Christ- and Society-centered life without eliminating ourselves. In other words, even though we start with a messy life, with the arrow of the Exercises and the Constitution we can know where we ought to go and grow as a person and as a Jesuit.
In his discussion on formation, Fr Hung showed an interesting comparison between the characters expected of a candidate and of a superior general, which are surprisingly similar. Of course we are not all expected to become the general, but the development from the characters of a candidate towards those of a general can serve as direction of growth for a Jesuit. The difference between a candidate and a general is not on the many new things (characters) required, but on having a deeper personality, more familiarity with God, and greater love for the Society. The Principle and Foundation compared to the Suscipe is also growth and development. The Suscipe at the end of the Exercises is not something new in the dynamic of the retreat; it is very similar and resonates with the Principle and Foundation in the beginning of the Exercises, but in a much deeper sense.
As scholastics, we might feel an urge to jump into apostolate works in order to do something great, but Fr Hung reminded us that with the spirit of discernment, we ought not to focus first on “what I do”, but “what God is doing in me” or “what He wants to do in me”. By contemplating The Divine Trinity we ask to be joined to their work and in the way they look over the world. We can also contemplate on how The Divine Trinity has worked and is still working the history of human thoughts. This can be a spirituality in studying philosophy. Fr Hung also noted that studying is the main thing the Society needs from us right now. “Please, please, do this (study) for us, for the Society,” he said.
At the end of the course, the scholastics were grateful for being refreshed in the fundamentals and sources of Ignatian spirituality and Jesuit life. We believe courses like this is one way the Society takes care of its young members, to nourish us, and keeping us growing in spirituality and Jesuit life. Fr Hung reminded us “to be happy and enjoy formation”. The course was closed with Marcha de San Ignacio sung by the energetic theologians of St Ignatius College Yogyakarta.To sum up the course, I would like to quote one scholastic who said: “This course helps us to fall in love again with our vocation.”
Teilhard Soesilo SJ is an Indonesian scholastic studying philosophy in Jakarta. He is part of the Hermanum College Jesuit community.