Jesuit scholastics from two international formation houses, CIF Bogotá in Colombia and CIF Belo Horizonte in Brazil, gathered in El Salvador from 16 December to 16 January for Arrupe Month, a special period of formation that prepares scholastics for priestly ordination. The 16 participants came from three Jesuit conferences: Asia Pacific, Africa and Madagascar, and Latin America and the Caribbean.

Scholastic Nelson Marques from Timor-Leste reflects on the experience, which he describes as a “journey of deep reflection and prayer, friendship, sharing, and mission”.

Here is an excerpt of his reflection:

“Of all the moments we experienced during that month, one remains particularly vivid and continues to echo in my heart. There is a line in John’s Gospel: “If every one of them (the things that Jesus did) were written down, I suppose that the world itself could not contain the books that would be written.” That is how it felt. We visited the tombs and sacred sites associated with our Jesuit brother, Blessed Rutilio Grande, and other martyrs. We stood in the chapel where Monsignor Oscar Romero was killed. That experience, standing on holy ground, taught me what it truly means to give everything to God, to be a disciple who holds nothing back. Their sacrifice brought home the cost and the beauty of loving and serving the people entrusted to me.”

Continue reading on the Jesuitas em Timor-Leste website.⎘