The Jesuits in Cambodia are exploring spirituality as a new ministry in and for the Cambodian Church. A Spirituality Committee was established in May 2013 to investigate the needs of the Cambodia Church in this area and in what ways the Society of Jesus can respond to these needs. In his letter announcing the committee, Fr Oh In-don SJ, the Delegate of the Korean Provincial to the Cambodia Mission, said that with this committee, “we are entering a new phase of serving the Cambodian Church”.
Many Jesuits in Cambodia already give retreats and recollections and engage in dialogues of various kinds, and Fr Oh urged them to share the work they have been doing with the committee so that the Cambodia Mission can build upon this foundation. He mentioned in particular the translation work that Fr Tae-jin has done and continues to do on the Autobiography and the Spiritual Exercises.
This committee, composed of Jesuit Fathers Kang Ingun, Rudy Chandra, Gabriel Lamug-Nañawa, and John Mace, met several times over the following months to reflect on their context and to discern appropriate responses. One result of this is the decision to offer two retreats – an individually directed silent retreat for young adults, held over a weekend in March, and an 8-day preached retreat for religious sisters in the third or fourth quarter of 2015.
The retreat was planned for 10 lay collaborators, but in the end, only four Cambodians were able to make it. The four retreatants have been involved with MAGIS activities in various ways. Ms Phon Sonai, who works in Xavier Jesuit School, has been involved since the beginning of MAGIS Cambodia in 2007. Mr Ly Sovanna, Director of Catholic Social Communications in Cambodia joined the Solidarity Trip to Korea in 2013, Ms Nob Samnang was one of three delegates to MAGIS and World Youth Day in Brazil in 2013, and Ms Lin Phanny participated in the MAGIS program with Sogang University students in January.
The retreat was a very enriching experience for the retreatants and the three Jesuit directors, all of whom are members of the Spirituality Committee. Days after the retreat, one of the retreatants, Mr Ly Sovanna, wrote to the committee, “I would like to say thank you very much for giving me the opportunity to join the silent retreat in Siem Reap. For me it was really fruitful for my life and faith. Thanks for helping me to find out more about myself, to see so much gifts that I have received from God. Thank you very much!”
The committee is still discussing if this kind of retreat for lay collaborators should be offered again next year, but agreed that based on this positive experience, spirituality appears to be an apostolate which the Jesuits in Cambodia can provide as a service to their lay friends and religious collaborators.