Discipuli Christi

When Jesus called his disciples, he called those who were close to Him (or at least want to be close to Him) and those who are eager to be sent for mission. Moreover, they are called into a community to build each other. We, Jesuits, are Jesus’ disciple of the present time. What does it mean to be Jesus’ disciple for the present time?

First of all, we are called to be close to Jesus himself. To be disciples and companions of Jesus, we need to be close to our leader Jesus, so that we can move and act accordingly to the movement and action of our leader. To be close to him help us to understand God’s will easily for that’s our aim in life and Jesus always did the will of God. Moreover, Jesus Himself who chose us and it’s not we who chose Him, just like the disciples did. We might not be very close to Him, for sure. But, that’s not important. The more important thing is whether we are willing to open ourselves to be closer to him or not. To be the real disciples, we have to open ourselves to be closer to Him. Peter, the leader of the disciples, in his early discipleship was not close to Jesus anyway. But, eventually he was, for he was willing to open Himself to be changed and to be closer to Him.

Secondly, to be Jesus’ disciples is to be sent for mission. It means that we are to be dispersed in small groups or even individuals. We are supposed to leave the warmness of our community and engage the danger and risk of mission. In this case, availability to be sent and moved everywhere is needed. Availability is an engagement to the vows of poverty and obedience.

Thirdly, we are called to a community. Community is part of our mission as Jesuits. Beside to be called to a mission, we are called also to build a community, where we gain the confirmation of our mission. We bring and share the consolation and desolation we get from the mission to the community. By sharing and exchanging experiences, we confirm each other’s vocation.