Click to pray
The Apostleship of Prayer has launched an app to encourage people throughout the world to pray every day for the challenges facing humanity and the mission of the Church, as expressed by the Pope in his monthly prayer intentions.
Gearing up for Magis Asia Pacific
The first Magis event for the Jesuit Conference of Asia Pacific begins in a month. On Boxing Day, youth from seven provinces and regions in the Conference will converge in Yogyakarta for the nine-day workshop. Organised by the newly formed JCAP Youth Ministry team, Magis JCAP will help encourage Ignatian Magis formation in Asia Pacific. It is patterned on the Magis formation programme that the Jesuits in Indonesia have been running for youth since 2008.
Forming Catholic students in Vietnam
Although the Jesuits do not have any parishes, schools or universities in Vietnam, they have found a way to reach out to young Catholic students. In what they call their “pastoral ministry of/for students”, they provide, in church-based settings, classes on catechism, Ignatian spirituality, and leadership to help Vietnamese Catholic students become rooted in and widely apply Ignatian spirituality in their lives, and live a life of faith.
Providing a spiritual space for people to encounter God
The Jesuit spirituality centre in Singapore turns 25 this month. The Centre for Ignatian Spirituality and Counselling officially opened on October 21, 1990, two years after Fr Paul Tan SJ, then Regional Superior of the Jesuits in Malaysia and Singapore, decided to convert the students’ hostel at Kingsmead Hall into a Jesuit novitiate and spirituality centre. Singapore was changing and growing rapidly, and the Jesuits saw in this the need to provide for the spiritual needs of the people.
Walking with the youth
The decision some years ago within the Chinese Province to set up a youth ministry in Taiwan is bearing fruit. What began with a monthly youth mass at the Magis Youth Centre in Taipei has grown into a full-blown program with workshops in Ignatian spirituality, counselling, recollections and retreats, movie nights, and exposure trips.
Superiors should be guided by a shared spirituality of leadership
What is the mission of a local superior? Superiors and potential superiors from 11 of the provinces, regions and missions in our Jesuit Conference found themselves exploring and reflecting on this question during a recent workshop held in Seoul, Korea. The 36 Jesuits were participants in a Workshop for Local Superiors organised by the Jesuit Conference of Asia Pacific from October 4 to 10.
The need for the “heart” dimension in our living spaces
Will creating more social spaces in Singapore lead to the sprouting of more social communities? In this concrete jungle we live in today, where do we fit in? How can modern architecture lend a hand in softening Singapore’s concrete jungle, making it a more liveable place? These were some of the questions considered at the forum@KINGSMEAD dialogue and reflection on “Mankind and Urbanisation at the Cross Roads”, held at the Kingsmead Centre for Ignatian Spirituality and Counselling on August 19, 2014.
Australian Jesuits take top spots in USA writing awards
The peak body for US Catholic publishing houses, the Association of Catholic Publishers (ACP), has announced that the books of two Australian Jesuit authors have been awarded top prizes in their annual Excellence in Publishing Awards.
Reflecting on the Restoration
For Jesuit communities across the world, the 200th anniversary of the restoration of the Society of Jesus on August 7, 2014, is not only an opportunity for celebration but also for reflection. French Jesuit Father Pierre de Charentenay SJ guided the Philippine Jesuit Province in a Province Recollection centred on the restoration earlier this year.
Taking steps towards a spirituality ministry in Cambodia
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”.