With just over two months to go before the arrival of pilgrims in Sydney for World Youth Day, the Ignatian World Youth Day program, MAGiS08, has almost filled its registrations with young adults from 26 countries around the world. The MAGiS Provincial Delegate, Fr Edward Dooley, says he is thrilled that the East Asia and Oceania Assistancy will be well-represented during World Youth Day. ‘We have pilgrims coming from Vietnam, Myanmar, Cambodia, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Philippines, East Timor, Hong Kong, Taiwan and Micronesia,’ he says.
With a membership aimed at adults aged 18-30, MAGiS’s aim is to foster Ignatian Spirituality and build inter-cultural bonds through growth in faith. A key feature is the undertaking of experiments at both a local and international level. Thus far, participants in trial experiments have gathered in countries such as India, Cambodia, Malaysia, Indonesia and Australia, stepping out of the comfort of their own cultures and familiar settings and challenging their preconceptions of what it is to be faithful in a modern world. The experiments have given young people a chance to experience new cultures, to make a difference in people’s lives and to be transformed in the process.
‘The experience took us out of our comfort zone and made us realise that God is in fact everywhere, especially in those who are the most helpless,’ says Katrina Trinidad of her experience earlier this year in India. For Patrick McCabe, who participated in the same experiment, the experience was profoundly thought-provoking. ‘[It] has made me think more deeply about poverty, cultures, God and religion. I am grateful to have been able to participate in such a rare and valuable experience,’ he says.
MAGiS has provided a rare platform for the spiritual growth of young adults. ‘To be a person searching for faith in today’s world is difficult by definition,’ says James O’Brien. ‘So many elements of our culture and society say no to the depths of spiritual experience. My experiences in the MAGiS community have brought a lot of contentment.’
Come July, Australian members of the group are hoping to reciprocate the hospitality they’ve received abroad when more than 1000 international MAGiS members arrive for the MAGiS World Youth Day program. Events will include experiments, an Ignatian Gathering, participation in World Youth Day events and a post-WYD pilgrimage. There will also be a gathering and consultation among young adult ministry workers from ministries of Jesuits and their partners from around the Jesuit Conference of East Asia and Oceania.
Ahead of MAGiS08, local participants were given the opportunity to strengthen their links with Cambodia when the Cambodian Dance Troupe visited Australia recently. The group’s visit – sponsored by MAGiS and Jesuit Mission – highlighted in particular the valuable work being done in their war-affected country by Jesuit Mission and Jesuit Refugee Services, and delighted audiences in Sydney, Melbourne, Adelaide and Brisbane.
For more information on MAGiS, visit www.magis08.org