Mission Statement
of the Society of Jesus
Ours is
a service of faith and of the radical implications of faith in a world
where it is becoming easier to settle for something less than faith
and less than justice.
We recognize, along with many of our contemporaries, that without faith,
without the eye of love, the human world seems too evil for God to be
good, for a good God to exist. But faith recognizes that God is active,
through Christ's love and the power of the Holy Spirit, to destroy the
structures of sin which afflict the bodies and hearts of his children.
Our Jesuit mission touches something fundamental in the human heart:
the desire to find God in a world scarred by sin, and then to live by
his Gospel in all its implications. This, the instinct to live fully
in God's love and thereby to promote a shared, lasting human good, is
what we address by our vocation to serve faith and promote the justice
of God's Kingdom. Jesus Christ invites us, and through us the people
we serve, to move, in conversion of heart, "from solidarity with sin
to solidarity with him for humanity," and to promote the Kingdom in
all its aspects. (GC34 Decree 2 #11)
The
Upper Canada Province
In carrying out
this mission in the Church in Canada and in the wider world, we accept
the need to serve within the Catholic Church, but also to reach out
beyond the Church to touch--and be touched by--the lives of people who
differ from us in race, religious belief, culture and social standing.
Jesuits continue to be challenged--and invited--to witness to the Gospel
in word and action in the streets, in the classrooms, in university
corridors, in the media, in spiritual direction, community living and
sacramental ministry.
Over the past few
years we have come to recognize the need to develop much closer apostolic
interaction with laity, with bishops and diocesan clergy, and with other
religious in the work of the Church, and ecumenically with people in
other religious traditions. And to the call 
to collaboration
with people who are not members of the Society of Jesus. The implications
of this requirement are radical for both our prayer and our work. The
term "collaboration" is familiar to us; however, that very
familiarity is a trap, because we can mistakenly believe that we really
understand what it means.
Several different
voices in these present times strongly urged us to identify more closely
with those who are weakest and most in need in our society. We are called,
perhaps especially in a country like Canada, to share our lives with
those who struggle for justice in ways other than material poverty.
Specifically we refer to women (especially those with few resources
raising families alone), native peoples, refugees, abused children,
unemployed men, alienated and potentially self-destructive youth. Poverty
remains an economic question but also refers to those dynamics which
undermine the integrity and self-esteem of people, and interfere with
their ability to be creative participants in the shaping of their future.
This is the concrete expression in our day of the promotion of justice
to which we are committed by our history and our documents. As Canadian
Jesuits, then, we confirm a preferential love for the poor in carrying
out our vocation. This is our basic apostolic orientation. All of our
apostolic works seek to espress this mission whether the works be education.
parishes, centres, etc.
These
are the themes of our apostolic works in Canada:
As Canadian Jesuits,
our proclamation of the Gospel is focused at this time in our history
by the five apostolic orientations named by Fr. Pedro Arrupe, the past
Superior-General of the Society of Jesus: these priorities, (a)
The Spiritual Exercises, (b) Theological Reflection, (c) Education,
(d) The Promotion of Justice, and (e) Communications Media, are already
a re-interpretation for our day of the traditional Jesuit values. Consequently,
we affirm the need to incorporate these five dynamic elements integrally
into the methods and objectives of every apostolic work of our Jesuit
Province.
The Spiritual
Exercises: Our Province has been blessed in a very special way by
its commitment to the work of the Exercises. However, we need to develop
creative expressions of the Exercises in all our ministries. Given the
urgent search for meaning and the emergence of the laity in the Church,
the energy of the Exercises should be focused on the encouragement of
lay spirituality, the formation of laity for apostolic mission, and
the formation of Christian community involving the laity, clergy and
religious. In addition, we need to develop a contemporary communal spirituality,
inspired by the Exercises, that will assist us in facing the complexities
of our world.
Theological Reflection:
The Society has always recognized its need to engage in theological
study for the good of the Church and the benefit of society. However,
just as the Exercises must be placed in dialogue with the world, so
must theology. Theological reflection, which we know is not restricted
to professional theologians, must address the questions, problems and
data that come from all aspects of human society. We need to develop
approaches to theological reflection that all Jesuits can use within
their apostolic context.
Education:
The Society and our Province remain committed to the work of education,
which has always been a major element of our apostolic presence in Canada.
However, this work cannot be seen as the exclusive responsibility of
formal educational institutions. All of our apostolates, in some measure,
must attend to the formation of an intellectually, spiritually, theologically
and morally mature laity who can exercise legitimate leadership within
Canadian society and the Church community. Specific emphasis shall be
given to programs for adult education in faith and spirituality.
The Promotion of Justice: The active pursuit
of justice within the service of faith has been at the heart of the
Society's apostolic work since the promulgation of Decree 4 by GC 32.
We must not only ensure that our apostolic institutions and our communities
are themselves well ordered and just in the way we treat employees,
clientele, and each other, we must also be prepared to speak out and
to act with and on behalf of those who suffer injustice and to promote
structural change in society. We need experts in social analysis who
can examine the social, economic, political, cultural and anthropological
dynamics of society from the perspective of a faith that does justice.
Communications
Media: The critical understanding and effective use of communications
media are crucial for our age. Not only do we all need to become far
more critically aware of the media and more understanding of media language,
but our Province must make a formal commitment to the use of the media
as apostolic instruments for the proclamation of the Gospel.
In
Canada our apostolates as listed below also seek to reflect the above
themes:
Our
Apostolates:
The Aboriginal
Peoples Apostolate: Our Province's dedication to service with and
for the aboriginal people has been regularly confirmed and strengthened
over recent years according to the means of the Province. The transitions
in the directions of this apostolate as well as in the self-understanding
of those working in this area have been significant.
In this apostolate
we commit ourselves: to continue to develop indigenous ministers and
clergy, drawing upon the spiritual heritage of the aboriginal peoples;
to cooperate with the development of community consciousness; the means
for self-determination, and community responsibility for the growth
of the people and the community; to support the efforts to heal the
wounds inflicted by policies of enforced assimilation and by instances
of abuse of individuals; to support cross-cultural dialogue with non-Christian
traditionalists; to cooperate with the rediscovering of native history
and identity.
The Chaplaincy
Apostolate: Throughout our history many of our members have given
dedicated service in university, hospital, prison and other chaplaincies.
However, our formal Province responsibility for these ministries is
limited to very few positions.
In this work we
commit ourselves: to continue to serve in chaplaincies as long as suitable
personnel are available; to explore opportunities for increased involvement
in university chaplaincies, especially in regions where we are compelled
by circumstances to withdraw from other institutional commitments; to
develop strategies in our university chaplaincies, especially on large
secular campuses, for being present to students and involving them in
the Ignatian vision (e.g., through the Spiritual Exercises, Christian
Life Communities, and the "conversational Word of God"); in
the university chaplaincies especially to encourage young people of
good will to consider seriously the religious and/or priestly vocation
and to develop programs for vocation discernment.
The Communications
Apostolate: The many and varied efforts of our Province in this
area have been distinctly noteworthy. However, since this is a vast,
complex and expensive field and since our resources are limited, our
vision for the future is less clear.
In this light, we
commit ourselves: to review our involvements in this apostolate and
come to decisions that acknowledge both their importance and our capacities
to respond; to encourage growth among Jesuits in media literacy and
in the use of the media as apostolic instruments; to offer education
in media literacy to our Jesuits especially in their early years of
formation so that they become more critically aware of the media, its
nature, techniques and impact; to encourage other apostolates to call
on the expertise of our men who have been trained in media to help these
apostolates incorporate knowledge of media as a feature in their own
apostolic work.
The Education
of Youth Apostolate: The imminent celebration of Loyola's 100 years
of service calls attention to the extensive and effective involvement
of our Province in the formation of youth, both in Canada and abroad,
in many different ways.
In this apostolate
we commit ourselves: to continue in our schools to affirm our presence
in those roles which
offer the greatest promise of enhancing the Catholic and Ignatian identity
of the programs and the religious quality of the relationships in the
school as a community of learning; to promote scholarship and teaching
competence in all our educational endeavours; to develop with our collaborators
fresh approaches in pedagogy that allow us to be bridges of interpretation
and encouragement for our students between the revelation of Christ
and our Christian heritage on the one hand and, on the other, the cultural
and personal complexities through which our students must find their
way; to explore complementary ways of fulfilling our commitment to educate
the young in the faith.
The Higher Education
Apostolate: The Society and our Province have always been committed
to excellence in scholarship in the full range of academic fields. However,
current circumstances have limited our access to positions within institutions
of higher learning, hence causing some uncertainty about how best to
continue our engagement in this apostolate.
In this area we
commit ourselves: to continue to encourage our men to pursue their own
intellectual formation to the highest level possible; to develop in
our colleges complementary programs that emphasize the spiritual and
theological formation of both faculty and students; to promote the exploration
of ideas and issues in the context of faith by encouraging dialogue
between theology and other disciplines (e.g., politics, economics, business,
science); to support and encourage those Jesuits who seek positions
in non-Jesuit institutions.
The Parish Apostolate:
Our ministry in parishes has inserted us into the lives of ordinary
people in a unique and vital way, both across Canada and in other countries.
We commit ourselves
in our parish ministry: to administer our parishes and to celebrate
sacramental, liturgical and other ministries in such a way as to promote
the special role of lay people in the Church and their call to evangelization;
to make our parishes apostolic centres from which we can not only assist
in meeting the needs of the local parish, but also collaborate with
laity to meet the needs of the wider community (e.g., illiteracy, refugees,
housing, food, street kids, urban native people, countering violence
against women and children).
The Social Justice
Apostolate: The commitment of our Province to this work has taken
several forms and in various apostoaltes:
In this apostolate
we commit ourselves: to assist the preparation of Jesuits and collaborators
competent in both theological reflection and social analysis; to continue
our service for refugees in cooperation with the international efforts
of the Society of Jesus; to focus attention on the injustices suffered
in Canada and around the world by women, abused children, gay and lesbian
persons, persons living with AIDS, the homeless, the unborn and many
others; to offer any resource we might possess through the Province
or individuals in the apostolate of justice to help those in other apostolates
integrate the concern for social justice into their own apostolic endeavours.
The Spiritual
Exercises Apostolate: Loyola House in Guelph, Ontario is world-renowned
for its experimentation in understanding and doing the Exercises, and
for the depth of its spirituality, teaching and publishing. Manresa
Retreat House in Pickering, Ontario has grown in its outreach and programs
while less institutional efforts in the eastern and western regions
of the country have also flourished.
As we face our call
in this apostolate in the coming years, we commit ourselves: to encourage
those directly involved in this apostolate to be available to help other
Jesuits and their collaborators learn how to incorporate the Exercises
into their works and to evaluate this effort; to animate reflection
on the development of lay spirituality emerging from the Exercises;
to assist the Province in the development of effective methods of communal
apostolic discernment; to continue exploring modern creative understandings
and applications of the Exercises in response to current realities.
The Theological
Apostolate: The work and tradition of our Province in this area
has been a long and profound gift, not only in the 50 years of theological
scholarship and instruction at Regis College, but also in the contributions
of our members in many other contexts.
We commit ourselves
in this apostolate: to incorporate into our research and teaching an
explicit emphasis on the dialogue between theology and society; to collaborate
with those in other apostolates in developing a methodology of theological
reflection in an apostolic context; to encourage our professional theologians
to be open to invitations from those in other apostolates seeking assistance
in enhancing their work with more theological reflection; to continue
encouraging Jesuits to embrace the vocation of serious and excellent
scholarship in all areas of theology.
The Vocation
to Pray for the Society: As more members of our Province advance
in age, we want in a special way to renew our traditional conviction
that the prayers of these men for the Province are the heart and soul
of any apostolic fruitfulness we achieve. The prayers of our retired
men and those in the Infirmary, their sacrifices and sufferings, are
precious and invaluable gifts to us when offered in love for our active
men and their service. We will foster means to deepen the solidarity
between particular works, events, apostles in the field, etc. and particular
men whose apostolate is `praying for the Society.' We also commit ourselves
to finding occasions when active members in the apostolate will join
our retired brothers both to share stories of our activities, hopes,
joys and disappointments, and to pray together for a renewed companionship
with Jesus and one 
another in our distinct but
complementary roles in the one service of God's kingdom.
International
Perspective: The international character of the Society is a great
gift, but to that gift there corresponds a task. We see the need for
more contact, sharing of information and cooperation with other Jesuit
Provinces and with international institutions which do similar work
to ours (e.g., in formation, refugee work, etc.). We wish to continue
our collaboration with the Provinces of the United States Assistancy
while maintaining our own Canadian ethos and identity. We will be especially
attentive to possible collaboration with the Oregon Province in our
apostolic service in British Columbia. We will continue our outreach
to other parts of the Americas, including the Caribbean and Central
America. We will continue to support in various ways those regions of
the Society to which we have traditionally sent missionaries, particularly
Darjeeling and Zambia. We will continue to dedicate at least 10% of
our Jesuit manpower to apostolic work outside Canada.
Canadian Perspective:
In reaching out to the wider world, we are still rooted in Canada. We
wish to further enhance our privileged relationship with the Province
of French Canada. As we look to our own vast country with its regions,
although we cannot respond to needs of people in all parts of the country,
we choose to be informed and touched by those people and do everything
we can to speak for the needs of the more impoverished regions and for
a sense of relatedness between regions.
To
Praise, Reverence, And Serve: Our Apostolic Priorities for the 90's
- 1993
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