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Get to know a Jesuit before he is called to serve the other side of the world.
Jesuits belong to a worldwide society where they hold international membership and identity. It is this call to serve on all ends of the earth that answers the question “What matters most about the Jesuits?” posed by Fr. Thomas Worcester, S.J. during an Ignatian Heritage Week lecture.
After several attempts at pointing at a direct answer for this open-ended question, he concluded that what matters most is the way in which the Jesuits respond to need. There is always a call and a desire for Magis of a Jesuit. This is mostly due to how globalized the society has become, he said.
“Generosity is at the heart of Jesuit ideals,” Fr. Thomas said when discussing the tensions of money and Jesuit education. With this generosity comes responsibility for a Jesuit. With organizations such as the Jesuit Refugee Service, Jesuits display this collective identity of their vows of chastity, poverty and obedience, he said.
Due to the globalization, Jesuits live in a world they see filled with the presence of God, according to Fr. Thomas. They are optimistic about where God can be found, that being everywhere. This extends to their purpose of education, which is to allow growth, knowledge and wisdom for each person, who they believe to be an “image of God.”
Fr. Thomas Worcester, S.J., a professor of history at The College of the Holy Cross, is the editor of the Cambridge Companion to the Jesuits. This is a collection of 600 articles looking at the works of Jesuits as scholars, writers, preachers, scientists and missionaries.
His research studies handle early modern Europe, the Reformation, and religion and politics in seventeenth century France. He was awarded Holy Cross’ Marfuggi Award for Outstanding Scholarship in 2006.
When asked what he connected to most about Fr. Thomas’ talk, Fr. Chuck Frederico, S.J., a Vocational Director in New York, said it was his great mention of the Jesuit call to mission, for “it is the essence of what it’s all about.” He enjoyed the talk and the way Fr. Thomas brought many angles of Jesuit identity into it.
Eric Lynch ’14 said, “I was happy I was able to make it.” Lynch connected with Fr. Thomas’s talk when he mentioned Jesuits and their normality. Lynch said, “Jesuits are often labeled. I see Jesuits as more than just teachers. They are involved inside and outside the classroom.”
The Jesuit identity is one of collectivity and shared resources according to Fr. Thomas. With much criticism the Jesuits have dealt with, they continue St. Ignatius’ pilgrimage ways, by focusing on the needs of all people. Reckoning with the question of “why Jesuits matter” is challenging for they matter in many different ways as posed by Fr. Thomas.
“It is the importance of what we do, but more importantly how we do it,” says Fr. Thomas.
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