The first Magis event for the Jesuit Conference of Asia Pacific begins in a month. On Boxing Day, youth from seven provinces and regions in the Conference will converge in Yogyakarta for the nine-day workshop. Organised by the newly formed JCAP Youth Ministry team, Magis JCAP will help encourage Ignatian Magis formation in Asia Pacific. It is patterned on the Magis formation programme that the Jesuits in Indonesia have been running for youth since 2008.
Although the Jesuits do not have any parishes, schools or universities in Vietnam, they have found a way to reach out to young Catholic students. In what they call their “pastoral ministry of/for students”, they provide, in church-based settings, classes on catechism, Ignatian spirituality, and leadership to help Vietnamese Catholic students become rooted in and widely apply Ignatian spirituality in their lives, and live a life of faith.
After almost 30 years, Shakespeare returned to the stage in Kuching thanks to the students of St Joseph’s Private School, a Jesuit-run institution in Malaysia. The 100-strong cast and crew dazzled audiences at the Archdiocesan Curia and Cathedral Parish Centre (ACCPC) of St Joseph’s Cathedral with their performance of a modern English version of William Shakespeare’s “The Tempest”.
For a long time Africa has been considered as a “hopeless” continent, a continent whose story is that of wars, violence, injustice, dictators, poverty, disease and a lot of other misfortunes. However, there are clear signs across Africa that this “story” is about to change as we witness a new generation of young Africans taking action. Young people in Africa constitute the majority of the population of the continent. This young population of Africa, armed with the determination to make a difference and “yes we can do” attitude represent a new dawn and hope for a better future.
The British Jesuit Provincial, Fr Dermot Preston SJ, recently delivered a lecture as part of the Faith Matters series in Westminster Cathedral in London.
Fr Thierry Meynard SJ, director of the Beijing Centre, spoke to Erenlai Magazine about his interest in China, the importance of learning about China and the services provided by The Beijing Centre for Chinese Studies, a Jesuit work founded in 1998.
Xavier University undergraduate Mary Joy Conquilla never dreamt that she would ever build a house as a gift, but she recently did just that in a Jesuit education programme conceived to encourage students to apply Ignatian pedagogy in their everyday lives.
Ignatian News Network provides a behind-the-scenes look at Hearts on Fire, an Ignatian retreat programme for young adults, which is offered by the Apostleship of Prayer in the United States. The day and a half retreat, for single or married people aged 18 to 39, is led by young Jesuit priests and scholastics. In this experience, the retreatants are led through the Spiritual Exercises and are given one-hour guided meditations.
Three Filipino Jesuits came up with an interactive version of the Spiritual Exercises for Ateneo de Manila University’s Ignatian Festival in July. Using installation art, Br Eric Esteba SJ, Sch Alvin Laput SJ and Sch Eric S Escandor SJ developed CONTEMPLATIO, a 45-minute prayer exercise designed mainly for young people who want to deepen their faith and enrich their Ignatian identity.
Sogang University undergraduate Sol Jee Ahn was at MAGIS and World Youth Day 2013 with a group of 27 pilgrims from Korea. She shares with us how MAGIS helped her feel closer to God and loved as a child of God.