Korean Jesuit Mincheol Kim was ordained deacon on September 5. Before his ordination, he went to Taiwan for his Arrupe Month, a period of reflection and discussion that prepares Jesuit scholastics for ordination. He shares three fruits of his Arrupe Month experience from July 16 to August 8.
Since my ordination, I have begun to realise what it means to be an ordained minister in the church, how weighty it is to serve at the altar in the mass with the stole across my shoulder left to right, and more importantly, how much grace one can experience through the prayers of the people of God.
I firmly believe and hope that what began with taking my first three vows in the Society of Jesus has reached a meaningful point, and continues to deepen to better imitate the ministry of Jesus Christ. Acknowledging that I still have a long way to go, it helps to reflect on how I got to this new phase of religious life so that I can proceed in a more conscious manner. Here, the Arrupe Month yielded three fruits:
1. Encounter with Fr Arrupe. Although I have heard many times the life of Fr Arrupe, I wouldn’t be able to say I encountered him because I was not ready to appreciate his legacy for the Society. Happily, however, God’s grace led me to a renewed curiosity about Fr Arrupe, and that led to the rediscovery of him as I read the documents he wrote decades ago. I felt like I was listening to him in person, and that makes me dare to speak of having an encounter with Fr Arrupe.
What I cherish most in my heart is the sharing on his personal devotion to the Blessed Body of Christ. Through it, I came to realize how Christian life can be protected and fortified by sheer faith in the life and death of Jesus Christ, supported by the simple devotion to His presence in the corporeality of the Eucharist.
2. Fervour regained. What I hoped for as I went into the Arrupe Month was to regain the fervour, to aspire enthusiastically to be a priest. Yes, I want to be a priest, but I kept feeling that I should have more zeal. Wanting it was not enough, although everything was going smoothly. I had no frustrating problems in relationships or my studies, and no seriously negative feedback from my superiors. I thought I might have taken being considered an appropriate candidate for the ordained ministry for granted. So I prayed for the grace to be fervent in my desire for ordination. My prayer was answered but in a different way; rather than the fiery aspiration I wished to have, calmness came into my heart. The fervour was enough to move me forward, but more importantly, I see it as God’s invitation and promise that I be more humble, so that I can appreciate what is given and to be given more gratefully.
3. International Friendship in the Lord. This was the first combined Arrupe Month between the Chinese, Japanese and Korean Provinces, although there was no candidate from the Japan Province this time. When we evaluated ourselves at the end of the programme, there are many hopeful signs: the commitment of Jesuit lecturers, well edited material, the thoughtful support from the host province, etc. The most remarkable, however, is the possibility the programme provides to discover international friendships. It was a special experience for me to share my in-depth ideas and feelings with someone I had not met before. Though differences in language and culture were a challenge to our ability to express our experiences, we had already shared something in common, something more in-depth, and that made all the differences occasions to understand each other in a unique way. Our Jesuit identity bound us together in a good way. We felt a sense of companionship, that we were being formed together as Jesuits, serving one Lord with varying ways and personalities. I pray, as we concluded our Arrupe Month with celebrating the Feast of the Transfiguration of Jesus, that when we meet again, we will have become more formed in His image of our Lord, our Friend, Jesus Christ. Amen.
Related story: A first conjoint Arrupe Month for the “chopsticks” Jesuit Provinces