Questions/Comments
If you have a question about the Jesuits or a comment to make about what you have found here please submit it below.
Question
Is there any way to experience what it is like to live and work in a Jesuit commuinty?
Response
People are curious about how we live and what we do, and clearly the best way to find out about us is to visit some of our communities. As vocations director I am always happy to arrange such visits, something which I would normally do after having met someone showing interest in the Society a couple of times. Twice a year, along with the Irish Jesuits, we hold a weekend at the novitiate for men who are getting to know us and who we think are possible candidates for the novitiate. And for those who may be just wanting to dip their toe in the water we are holding a weekend in November (5th-7th) at Loyola Hall. It will be a general introduction to Jesuit life. If any of this is of interest to you, do let me know.
Question
what is the best way of preparing for the novitiate and what can you say of the changing attitudes you get first you are so sure and then you are very doubtful
Response
How best to prepare for the novitiate, I think I would stress the following: to be establishing a regular pattern of prayer, and if possible a daily attendance at Mass; a certain amount of reading and a series of visits to Jesuit communities so as to get to know the history of the Society but also what it gets up to today; a sorting out of personal stuff that will mean the novice-to-be can enter the novitiate as free as possible; a good holiday before the novitiate begins! These are just a few somewhat ramdon thoughts. Of course a person who is getting ready for the novitiate will have been through our official programme for candidates and much of the above will be built-in to that programme. One thing I forgot to mention: regular spiritual direction. You also ask about changing attitudes. For an answer to that please look below to the question that relates to changing moods. 1.5.10
Question
I am increasingly drawn to the Society of Jesus and Igantian spirituality, and wish to discern a vocation as a Jesuit. However, due to some rather floundering formative years I am in debt, do I have to be free of this to be considered?
Response
Yes, you do have to be free of credit card and other debts to enter the novitiate. However,an outstanding student loan is not considered to be an obstacle. We do ask about these matters in the course of getting to know someone interested in the Society, and offer help and advice when we can. We certainly wouldn't want someone not to contact us because they had money problems.
Question
why do periods of certainty lapse and are replaced by doubt and fear when one questions himself about vocation
Response
This is a very important question, one that St. Ignatius Loyola had to grapple with himself. A simple answer is to say, because we are human. And then a whole book or more could be written to develop this. What St. Ignatius noticed from his own experience was that there were times when he was aware of being under the sway of God's love, open and generous towards his 'neighbour', hopeful about the future, trusting in God's care. St Ignatius called this ‘consolation’. But there were other times when the opposite seemed to be true: when he would be closed in on himself, without hope, without trust. This he termed ‘desolation’. And to begin with he was very disconcerted by this alternation of interior mood. But as he grew in his spiritual life, he began to recognise that God was teaching him through this experience. One lesson he began to learn was to trust the thoughts/desires that he had in regard to his vocation when he was in that time of closeness to God and openness to his neighbour. The second corresponding lesson was that he learnt to be on his guard in respect to thoughts and desires that clamoured for attention when he was turned in on himself, feeling distant from God. A third lesson: that sometimes he would find himself in a desolate state through his own fault (sometimes this happens because we entertain doubts that we could put from our minds) but that sometimes the mood would come upon him without it evidently being due to anything he had done or not done. He then concluded that God might just allow this to happen so that in the midst of the pain and confusion he come to trust more radically on God. How does this all relate then to the experience that you mention, that sometimes we feel confident and encouraged towards a particular vocation in life, and all of a sudden we can feel quite the opposite? Well, I think Ignatius would want to encourage you not to be disconcerted by the experience, but rather to see the experience as offering you the opportunity of discovering more clearly what your God given vocation truly is. You might ask yourself: ‘When I am most peacefully present to God, and seemingly open to my neighbour in an unforced, natural kind of way, what then do I desire for my life? How then do I feel about the vocation I might be entertaining?’ And then when you find yourself in the opposite situation of feeling more distant from God, self-absorbed, ungenerous, what then seems to be the direction of your desire? To have had both these experiences is to be in possession of raw material about which you can make a judgement. Perhaps this is about as much as I can helpfully write at the moment. One final thought: the fact that you are aware of this sway in feeling is an indication that the time may be right to find someone to go to for spiritual direction. It is a huge help to be able to speak about these things with an experienced spiritual guide.
Question
Can a woman become a Jesuit?
Response
No a woman cannot become a Jesuit, but there are a number of groups (congregations) of women religious (sisters) who share the same spirituality, as the Jesuits, that of St. Ignatius Loyola and in some instances have the same constitutions (foundational documents) as the Jesuits. Amongst these are the CJs (Congregation of Jesus), the FCJs (the Faithful Companions of Jesus), and the Loreto Sisters. Women have been very closely associated with the work of the Jesuits down the centuries. In 16th Century England a number of women were key to keeping alive the Jesuit mission to the persecuted Catholic population. In 21st Century England a number of women are the directors of Jesuit works.
Question
what would differentiate a jesuit from a dominican?
Response
A very partial answer because given by a Jesuit who doesn't have an inside knowledge of Dominican life! And a qualified answer because Jesuits and Dominicans share a lot in common. But beginning with some of the most immediately noticeable differences: the Dominicans will gather daily in community for the celebration of some of the Offices of the Church and this is part of their rule. By contrast St. Ignatius wanted the Jesuits to be free of that obligation because he wanted us to be as available as possible for a whole variety of apostolic work. But this does not mean that Jesuits don't pray or don't pray together! They do, but how and when they pray is determined by the circumstances of their mission. The other noticeable difference between Dominicans and Jesuits is that Dominicans have a habit and Jesuits don't. It was Ignatius' intention that Jesuits dress as the ordinary priests of the locality where the Jesuits were working, and the reason why he desired this, it is said, is that often the ordinary clergy of the time were not held in high regard. If you want to explore further the differences between the two orders, you couldn't do better than read a life of St. Dominic and St. Ignatius because in each case they embody the charism of the order they founded.
Question
what are the charisms of jesuits?
Response
There are no doubt different ways of answering this question, but here's one that means most to me: that the charism of the Jesuit is to seek God at work in the world and to make himself available to labour with God. As one of our recent congregations (international meetings of the Society) put it: 'The God of St Ignatius is the God who is at work in all things... For a Jesuit, therefore, not just any response to the needs of men and women of today will do. The initiative must come from the Lord labouring in events and people here and now'. (General Congregation 34 Decree 26)
Question
What sort of domestic living arrangements do Jesuits have? And are they paid a formal stipend of any sort?
Response
Most Jesuits live in communities. The communities range in size from quite small, four or five, (this would be typical of our British Province) to very large, a 100 or more. You would find such large communities in the United States where those training as Jesuits and Jesuit priests live together in the setting of a University. As regards living expenses, we depend a lot on benefactors, people who have given money to the Society of Jesus over the years. These benefactions help support Jesuits during their training. In houses made up of Jesuits who have completed their training, the idea is that they live off whatever funds they receive in recognition of the work that they do. In most communities, there is a system of monthly allowances, to cover small expenses. For larger expenses, Jesuits would normally approach their Superior to ask permission for money for whatever it is they need to buy. A good example of that would be if someone needed a computer for the work or studies. Hope the answer sheds some light on the issue.
Question
Sorry brothers but why don't you wear your habit, the jesuit cassock?
Response
As far as I am aware the Jesuit cassock has not been used in the British Province. The traditional attire here was 'the wings', a kind of academic gown. St. Ignatius' own desire was that Jesuits would dress in ways that suited the environment in which they lived and fitted in with the customs of the local clergy.
Question
Congratulations! Your new website looks great.
Response
Many thanks!
Question
When did the Jesuits first start working in England and why?
Response
Jesuits first arrived in England during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I when Catholics were being persecuted.