Earlier this month the British Jesuits held nine days of prayer for vocations. During this time, they posted an image and quote every day on Facebook. One quote, about halfway through, really struck me...
To a young man who wishes to become a Jesuit, I would say …
Come if serving Christ is at the very centre of your life.
Come if you have broad and sufficiently strong shoulders.
Come if you have an open spirit,
a reasonably open mind,...
and a heart larger than the world.
Come if you know how to tell a joke and
can laugh with others and …
on occasions you can laugh at yourself.
Fr. Pedro Arrupe SJ
On this her feast I asked Philippine Duchesne what she would want to say, arising from her own experience, to a young woman thinking about becoming an RSCJ? All of the above, she replied, and in addition...
Come if you hunger for time with God in prayer, even - and especially - when prayer is dark and unrewarding.
Come if the love of God impels you to go beyond the safe and familiar... root yourself in that love and it will enable you to take risks, overcome setbacks, cope with loneliness and live with insecurity.
Come if you want your heart to grow bigger, your spirit to become more adventurous and for everyone to know and love the One who is the source of your joy.
Come if you believe you could do this better with others than you ever could alone.
Come if you want to grow in integrity and openness to God... and come especially if you are convinced that everyone else is so much holier than you. Learn, as I have, to trust the wisdom of these words by my friend Sophie: Believe that Jesus will make up for our weakness, our slowness, even our blunders, when it is our will and our chief desire to do everything to glorify him, to make him known and loved...
Come if there's a fire within you and a longing which will not be satisfied with anything else...
Happy Feast everyone!
If you would like to know more about Philippine, go to https://rscj.org/philippine-reflections for reflections from the USA, the country for which Philippine worked, prayed and suffered unceasingly.
Come if serving Christ is at the very centre of your life.
Come if you have broad and sufficiently strong shoulders.
Come if you have an open spirit,
a reasonably open mind,...
and a heart larger than the world.
Come if you know how to tell a joke and
can laugh with others and …
on occasions you can laugh at yourself.
Fr. Pedro Arrupe SJ
On this her feast I asked Philippine Duchesne what she would want to say, arising from her own experience, to a young woman thinking about becoming an RSCJ? All of the above, she replied, and in addition...
Come if the love of God impels you to go beyond the safe and familiar... root yourself in that love and it will enable you to take risks, overcome setbacks, cope with loneliness and live with insecurity.
Come if you want your heart to grow bigger, your spirit to become more adventurous and for everyone to know and love the One who is the source of your joy.
Come if you believe you could do this better with others than you ever could alone.
Come if you want to grow in integrity and openness to God... and come especially if you are convinced that everyone else is so much holier than you. Learn, as I have, to trust the wisdom of these words by my friend Sophie: Believe that Jesus will make up for our weakness, our slowness, even our blunders, when it is our will and our chief desire to do everything to glorify him, to make him known and loved...
Come if there's a fire within you and a longing which will not be satisfied with anything else...
Happy Feast everyone!
If you would like to know more about Philippine, go to https://rscj.org/philippine-reflections for reflections from the USA, the country for which Philippine worked, prayed and suffered unceasingly.
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