From the Provincial

Creating safe environments for the young and the vulnerable

Dear Friends,

“To see all things new in Christ” is the invitation that has accompanied the worldwide Society of Jesus since the inauguration of the Ignatian Year in May 2021. In the Province of Canada, we will celebrate its closure on the feast of St. Ignatius at Martyrs’ Shrine in Midland, Ontario, on July 31, 2022.

“To see all things new in Christ” is a phrase inspired by St. Paul’s and St. Ignatius’ own conversions. It was chosen by Father General Arturo Sosa, SJ, to represent the central theme of this jubilee year. It represents not only the sense of liberation that one can experience by seeing things more clearly after having an experience that helps us to face our shortcomings — like Paul’s blinding on the road to Damascus or Ignatius’ battle wound. It also represents the deeper reality of what it means to have gained a more profound knowledge of God. Still, to see all things new in Christ is by no means an easy process. It leads to awareness and acceptance, to the sometimes painful but liberating work of truth of those moments when we move away from ourselves and turn our gaze to the Other. And turning our gaze to the Other is concomitant with turning ourselves to our fellow human beings.

This issue of Canadian Jesuits focuses on the third apostolic preference, “to accompany young people in the creation of a hope-filled future,” which is exactly the starting point for those who accompany others, especially the young. Indeed, young people need the example of an authentic and lived witness to the truth of Christ’s desire for the world, given by those who have faced real challenges. Ultimately, it is all about the strength of being a convincing witness to what is being shared — be it the hope given by Christ himself or the hope of creating a better world. The two are not mutually exclusive.

I hope that this issue, through the presentation of diverse and dynamic realities of our Jesuit Province, can help us to situate ourselves in this world by being more strongly animated by the imperative to accompany young people from their point of view, their concerns and their dreams; can help us to see everything new in Christ through the eyes of young women and men who are the heirs to the world that the older generations will have left them. Let us pray for the grace to “see all things new in Christ” in order that we be more open to how he wants us to see the world from the perspective of the young. They have much to share and to teach us.

Enjoy reading and may God bless you.