Defining the Catholic identity within a Jesuit style is not an easy task. However, Rev. John Randall Sachs gave five characteristics that explained his idea of an ideal Jesuit, as part of the Bellarmine Lecture Series.
Sachs used documents from the controversial Second Vatican Council, the ideas of which one audience member said could have a polarizing affect on the Catholic Church in the future. Sachs said in response that although the Council was controversial, the Eucharist would keep the Church together.
“I agree completely with his ideas on the Eucharist,” said Gerard Vibar ’08. “That is why Catholics remain faithful to the Church and stay together as a community.”
So what is Sachs’ view on Catholic Identity Today: The Jesuit Style, which was the title of his speech?
He summed it up with five characteristics: 1. Someone who lives before the mystery of God and his forever greatness, a person who has a deep awareness that God is greater than one can comprehend. 2. Someone who has “incarnational imagination,” the belief that the search for God is a journey into the world and God can be found outside the Church. 3. Someone who sees the Universe as a place where God comes to build his kingdom. The world is not simply a proving ground before heaven, but a place where what we do is of the utmost importance. 4. Someone who strives to be a contemplative in action: Instead of choosing between the scholarly life and active life, being conscious of and active in both. 5. Someone who is always ready to give best interpretation to what others say and do: A person who is inclined to put a good interpretation on a statement or action instead of condemning it for being against their beliefs.
Although Sachs said he doesn’t “embody these in the way I would like to,” he said that he does know people who do exemplify one or two almost completely.
In addition to the Second Vatican Council, Sachs used quotes from the Bible and other prominent theologians of the 20th century to validate his points.
Not everyone in the audience was completely sold on his ideas, however.
“I didn’t understand a lot of it and I didn’t agree with all of it, but I did think it was good,” said Richard Tyler, who taught in the Dolan School of Business for 28 years.
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