Being Powerless

(a small reflection on movie Ran)

The movie Ran revolves around the lusts for power among two of three sons of Hidetora, Taro, and Jiro. The movie ends with their tragic deaths, where they kill each other. Power has become a source of chaos (Ran) even among brothers and between father and his sons. Since having power is very tempting, how should we Jesuits deal with power?

Jesuits do have power. We know that. Where does that power come from? It does not come from money for we don’t have money to get such power, nor from the large numbers of our membership for it’s not comparatively a large number. It doesn’t come either from our intelligence for only some of us are really smart. I believe it comes from our effort to build trust. It has been more than 450 years since St. Ignatius and his companions began this great work that all of Jesuits around the world build on (or try to do so) this trust. It is because of this trust that we can last more than 450 years, work in many fields, and help millions of people. Above all, I believe that this power also come from God.

So, it’s inevitable that as a Jesuit we have (or will have) that power, whether we are aware of it or not. People, especially most of Catholics and those who know Jesuits, will admire and give Jesuits a special pace as a leader. Even as a priest or religious himself, we can obtain such a power. Now, since this power can be a great temptation, what am I going to do with this power? As a Jesuit, I have to deal with it wisely and I will do what a Jesuit should do. Power is only one of the means provided for us to reach the aim, that is, to help souls and glorify God.

It will not be fair if I use my power for myself, so the first thing to do is to share it by cooperating with other Jesuits, other religious and lay people. Then, I will use my power to raise funds for those in need and to invite more people to help others. In other words, I will try to use that power not primarily for my sake, but always for the sake of mission and glorifying God. For me, it sounds very idealistic and difficult. I realize that power may be a big temptation. For now, I want to learn to be humble so that when I have such a power I will not misuse it, but utilize it according to our way of proceeding. In the Society, superiority means service. This is what I want to learn from this time for formation is the best time to learn and to nourish many virtues, especially, that of humility and obedience.

A characteristic of a good superior is that the more he has, the more he serves and the humbler he is. Also, he will feel that he is not powerful, but rather powerless for he realizes that God is above all. Therefore, such a superior will always surrender himself to God and let God guide him in making use of his power. I want to be a great leader like that: having power, but at the same time being powerless, admired but also humble. In formation, there are many opportunities to serve others as a leader, and I will try to do my best in learning how to be a good superior.

Superiority means service