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.
Forty-five youth from Cambodia, Myanmar, Taiwan, Macau, China, Korea, Thailand, and Timor-Leste will be joined by the Magis Indonesia community of 30 Jesuit scholastics and youth from Jakarta and Yogyakarta, led by Fr John Nugroho SJ. Fr John is a member of the JCAP Youth Ministry team along with Fr Choe Songyong SJ from Korea and Teresa Wang from Taiwan.
The participants are key persons who have been identified as having the potential to begin and develop Magis formation in their countries. The Magis experiments they will undergo will prepare them for World Youth Day and Magis 2016 in Poland in July.
The Magis JCAP programme is divided into two parts: Ignatian Gathering and Experiments. During the Ignatian Gathering sessions, participants will learn about Magis formation and how to manage a programme. This includes lessons in Ignatian Spirituality and how to recruit, manage, and accompany youth in Magis formation. This is followed by three days of Ignatian Experiments, along two themes: Socio-cultural Immersion and Pilgrimage.
Participants in the Socio-cultural Immersion experiment will experience life in a village community, living among the villagers and helping their host families with daily chores such as working in the farm, planting, harvesting and cooking. There will also be cultural activities such as traditional music and an art performance at night.
Participants in the pilgrimage will travel in small groups to spiritual sites around Yogyakarta. They will make their three-day pilgrimage on foot, and rely on the generosity of the people they encounter for food and shelter. “This will be a very challenging experience but they will have a wonderful journey of being totally dependent on God’s grace along their way,” said Fr John.
On the last day, the entire group will visit Borobudur temple and watch the Ramayana Ballet at Prambanan temple. The Magis JCAP programme will conclude with a cultural night with performances by each country group.
In keeping with the JCAP commitment to reconciliation with creation, Magis JCAP will participate in the JCAP Flights for Forests carbon offsetting programme. US$5 will be contributed for every flight taken in relation to Magis JCAP 2015
For more information on Magis JCAP, follow Magis Asia Pacific on Facebook or send an email to magis.asiapacific@gmail.com.