Novices in the Sacred Heart Novitiate in the Philippines at the service of those in need during the Covid-19 pandemic

Novice Directors of the Jesuit Conference of Asia Pacific (JCAP) took stock of the challenges and blessings in our novitiates during our annual circle meeting held online from 13 to 17 January. We were joined by JCAP President Fr Tony Moreno SJ, who presented the proposed five-year Conference Plan 2021-2025, Fr Riyo Mursanto SJ, JCAP Delegate for Formation, and Fr Greg Soetomo SJ, Socius to the JCAP President.

A common challenge we face is dealing with increased mental stress among our novices and formators, especially those who are relatively new to the task, from the sudden changes, restrictions, and temporary suspensions of some programmes and activities, schedules, and assignments as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic.

However, we considered as a blessing the fact that we were somehow “forced” to modify our methods and be creatively available for online programmes, conferences, and service to the poor. Moreover, because of social restrictions and limitations, the opportunity for both novices and formators to deepen and enhance the depth and quality of our personal prayer and examen has been an experience of God’s Providence. We have been given the graced opportunity to practice and exercise more than before Ignatian Discernment in Common.

Noteworthy among our shared concerns are the observed decline in the number of novices entering the Society; some observed practices of provinces and regions with regard to novice directors either taking part or not taking part in the screening and admission process of candidates entering the novitiate; and the significance of the work of vocation promotions that Fr General Arturo Sosa SJ raised to the Major Superiors, and how each novitiate can contribute to his invitation to revisit, review, and even renew our shared mission of promoting vocations.

Two important sessions were facilitated notably well by Fr Mark Ravizza SJ, Fr General’s Counsellor for Formation, and Fr Jordan Orbe SJ, Executive Director of Emmaus Center for Psycho-Spiritual Formation in the Philippines.

Fr Ravizza spoke about “Jesuit Formation in the Years Ahead”. He emphasised the call for us, formators, “not to change course, but to deepen and discern directions”. Our direction as Jesuits should never be separate from the concerns of the greater community, the Church. And the path of today’s Church of the Third Millennium, as Pope Francis keeps living out by example, is Synodality, that is, the way of Journeying Together, of Listening, and Discerning in Common. In a seamless fashion, Fr Ravizza related the Universal Apostolic Preferences as Doorways into Synodality.

Meanwhile, Fr Orbe guided us through the path of “Finding our Bearings: Navigating with Psychological Flexibility in a Covid World Today”. He explained that in a Volatile, Uncertain, Complex, and Ambiguous (VUCA) world, there is also in us the Ignatian Counter-VUCA: Vision/Values (eg Principle and Foundation, Ignatian discernment, cura personalis, magis), Union of Minds and Hearts, Christ-Centeredness, and Agility/Adaptability.

Both sessions gave us opportunities to, once again, practice and exercise group Spiritual Conversations. Drawing from the many occasions of group Spiritual Conversations in our past meetings, we arrived at two concrete steps towards greater collaboration of novitiates at the conference level. First, we agreed that some representatives, if not all our novices, would meet online on two separate occasions for three days each, and possibly explore further paths of collaborations from the novices’ point of view. Second, for JCAP novice directors to meet again online in September for a shorter period in order to review the meeting of our Jesuit novices.

While we recognised that our first online meeting was more tiring than our face-to-face ones, we also concurred that we gained much spiritual consolation from the accompanying presence of our Lord. We can only be grateful to God for the warmth, joy, and support and encouragement that come from being truly Friends in the Lord, in this least Society of Jesus, as we continue with much hope to respond to God’s call to love and to serve.