CURIA PRAEPOSITI GENERALIS SOCIETATIS IESU
TO ALL JUNIORS,
Dear Brothers, On this good occasion, I would like to write a letter for all of you Juniors in the Society of Jesus, wherever you are. There is no special purpose for it, but I think it is good to write a letter to you all. In this letter, I would like to give you a further understanding on who you are and what your role in the Society should be. Knowing your identity and your role will guide you in living in your community and in the Society. I am sure that your directors have given the explanation and description about who you are, your goals, and how to attain them. But, I would like to emphasize some things. The importance of this letter is to help you know your position and role in the body of the Society. It is important to know yourself and your role in order to make better discernments in your life. As you know, our body has many different parts and each part has its function, its role, and its uniqueness. A problem in one of those parts will affect other parts and the whole body. Our Society is like our body. Jesus is our head or our leader. And each of us takes a part in the whole body. Each of us takes different but important roles in the whole body of the Society. That’s why we cannot say someone’s membership is more important than someone else’s. All of us have the same importance in the Society. Our apostolic, academic and spiritual lives are connected to each other. One’s role in the Society will also be affected by other members. That is Master Ignatius’ view of the body of the Society of Jesus. In this letter, I will focus on who you are, where you are going, and what you should do. Further, based on your own reflection, you may wish to find your own way of reading the ideas in this letter. Who Are You in The Society? Most of you come directly from Novitiate after you have pronounced your first vows. And, some of you however will do your juniorate program after philosophical study. Coming fresh from the Novitiate makes you the newest member of the Society. You are the youngest among those in the Society who have pronounced vows. Being the youngest doesn’t mean being the least on experience and the worst in doing mission. But, for some of you it means so. When I was a junior, sometimes I felt that my seniors look down on me. But, then I realized that we are the same in the Society. We come from the same Spiritual Exercises. We are under the same founder, our father Ignatius. We live the same vowed life together. All of us are the sons of the Society, parts of the whole body. The only difference is that ones join before the others and we have different roles. But, the life in Society of Jesus is of the same importance. One makes the Juniorate program after Novitiate. There, Juniors are supposed to undertake special studies, mostly in the humaniora as preparation for their philosophy studies. The Juniorate program bridges the two-year Novitiate and philosophical studies. There will be a pretty big cultural shock in this transition time for you are going to see the same world but now with a new point of view. Young members are usually full of idealism for they come fresh from the Novitiate with all the idealism of being a good Jesuit is nurtured. After the Novitiate, it is the time for you to see the world with a new viewpoint, which will be different from before. From idealism, you come into realism. And you will be somehow disappointed knowing that that your idealism is different from the reality you are now in. Where are you going? Academically, you are going to study philosophy after your juniorate. Apostolically, you are going to prepare for your future that you will be sent for mission. Spiritually, you are going to live your vows, actualized in you daily life. And, you are supposed to integrate these things in your life. It means you are going to live your academic, apostolic and spiritual life all together within the vows you have taken. Therefore, you will need the other members of the Society to help you to do it. In this case, you will really need the good example of your seniors for you do slowly be incorporated by the Society, even as you incorporate yourself into the body of the Society. But, your seniors may not give good examples that may make disappoint you. You know that what you learn from your seniors will affect very much your being Jesuit. And you may wonder how to be good Jesuits if you don’t see any good examples. The identity of a Jesuit is a man on a mission. And, your mission in juniorate program is to study to prepare yourself well for philosophical or other studies, to maintain the spiritual life you have gained in your Novitiate, and to train yourselves for some apostolic work. But, your community is also your mission. You are going to find your role in your community because that too is your role in the Society. For Your Reflection As a young member you may demand more to the Society of Jesus and her members. You demand them to give you good examples and to be generous to you as the youngest in the Society. But, actually, to be a Jesuit is to give, more than to demand. Therefore, although you are the youngest in the Society, it is your mission to give to your community a good example too. Realizing that your lives may have good effects on the others, you shouldn’t hesitate to remind the older members of the Society if they do something wrong. We make mistakes not only when we do something bad but also when we do not do something good. It will be terrible if you do nothing or even followed their unfair examples. As you reflect on this letter, you may find your own way of proceeding which is good for you in facing this situation. It will be very different for each of you, depending on your understanding of yourself and your community. At the end of this letter, I suggest you to ask yourself what I can do for the Society and not what I will receive from the Society. Keep on reflecting! Your friend in the Lord Agustinus Wahyu Dwi Anggoro
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