“The Ignatian way of discernment and leadership is very practical and appealing to me,” shared Benedict Jin Chi Lo, a teacher at St Joseph Private Secondary School in Sarawak, Malaysia. “This one short week has truly reaffirmed my vocation to be a teacher and reignited my passion of being a better teacher, leader, husband, father, friend and child of God.”
Lo was one of 39 educators from Jesuit-run schools in Asia Pacific who gathered at the Seven Fountains Spirituality Centre in Chiang Mai, Thailand for a week of learning and sharing about discernment and leadership. It was the first time his school had participated in this workshop offered through the Jesuit Conference of Asia Pacific’s Ignatian Initiative for Teacher Excellence (IGNITE) programme.
The theme of the workshop held from April 3 to 8 was “Leadership by discernment: nourishing the contemplative-in-action within”. The participants came from five Jesuit provinces and regions, namely Cambodia, Chinese Province (Taiwan, Macau and Hong Kong), Philippines, Indonesia and, for the first time, Malaysia-Singapore, with the participation of St Joseph Private Secondary School.
Their diversity, expertise and experience made the group sharing a powerful piece of the workshop and participants were encouraged to share and report in their mother tongues, with Jesuit participants from Macau, Hong Kong and Cambodia serving as interpreters.“The most important insight I learnt is how important feelings are in discernment,” said Lucilla Na Chin from Malaysia. “While I think I am a logical person, upon reflection I realised that I am also intuitive. I am happy to be given a framework in which I can allow my feelings and intuitions to work with my reasoning so I can be more free to make my choices.”
The workshop was designed in a way where aside from the “conversation pieces” provided by the facilitators, the participants were provided ample time to engage in individual reflection and sharing in groups, both mixed and local. In addition, the ice breakers led by delegates from Sacred Heart School – Ateneo de Cebu in the Philippines helped the participants to feel more comfortable and begin establishing more personal relationships.
“As we learnt so well during the workshop, these friendships are so essential to networking and collaboration, one of the major goals of these JCAP workshops,” said Fr Johnny Go SJ, JCAP Basic Education Secretary, who facilitated the workshop with Jennie Hickey, Executive Officer of Jesuit Education Australia.
Fr Ari Dy SJ, President of Xavier School in the Philippines, found it “refreshing to make so many new friends in the Jesuit family”. He added, “We use Ignatian language all the time, but I appreciated the time at the workshop to reflect on whether I practice Ignatian discernment in my leadership style”.
The workshop ended with a ceremony during which the participants shared the effect the workshop had had on them.
“I am rejuvenated by the shared passion I see and feel in my fellow participants. When I am discouraged, I will think back on the stories shared and how important the work we do is, ” said Chin.
“I was reminded of the time when I have made hasty decisions without much discernment. Now I am resolute to be more sensitive to myself as well as others in the discernment process … I am now better equipped to be able to discern and respond to God’s will in my daily life,” added Lo.
Finally, Fr Go shared, “We had nothing but gratitude in our hearts for the gift of these inspiring Ignatian school leaders”.