Mobile, available and open to collaboration

Jesuits all round the world are working closely with lay people, other religious, diocesan priests, people of other Christian denominations and people of other faiths. We speak of this as ‘collaboration’, a shared engagement in the work of the Risen Lord.

If you are thinking about a vocation to the Society of Jesus, this dimension of collaboration is worth reflecting on. As a Jesuit, you might develop particular skills and expertise, you may come with great enthusiasm and strength of belief and opinion, you might have a strong personality. If you are to be effective in the work of the Society today you will also need to be the kind of man who enables others to play their role in witnessing to Christ in the world. And because this is so important you will find in your training a particular emphasis on this aspect of collaboration. It will not be an unusual situation for Jesuits in formation, and later on, to be working in places where they will be under the direction of a lay person or another religious.

We bring to this partnership a spirituality that is always asking "where is God at work and how can we further that work in our world?". The answer to that question may lead us to take an initiative in which we as Jesuits take on a leadership role, or it may lead us to work jointly in partnership with others, or it may lead us to support new or existing works of others.

However we respond, we do so as Jesuits; men who do similar work to our lay colleagues but are present to that work in a different way. We are present and active as men who are vowed to a life of poverty, chastity and obedience, and men who share a companionship with other Jesuits. These two aspects are integral to who we are.

Irish Jesuits are currently posted all over the globe; Rome, California, Camobodia, Zambia, Sudan, Rwanda, Hong Kong, London,engaging in everthing from academia to emergency humanitarian response.  www.jesuitmissions.ie