The Universal Apostolic Preferences of the Society of Jesus for the next decade

Last week, the Superior General of the Society of Jesus, Fr. Arturo Sosa SJ, published the Universal Apostolic Preferences of the Jesuit Order, with the blessing and approval of Pope Francis. The preferences will guide the activity of the Jesuits for the next decade. Beside the importance of the Jesuit order in the life of the church worldwide, these preferences reflect well the Pope’s intentions for the activity of the whole Church, as He himself declared. The preferences are formulated as follows: First the reality as it is today, then “God’s dream”, that is – the way God wants men and women to live and build their relationships with one another, with Him, and with their common home. Next comes the response of the Order, the way they plan to act in order to fulfil God’s dream Hic et Nunc. Below is a summary of the preferences, the dreams and the responses. One can find the full description in the site of the Order: https://jesuits.global/en/about-us/universal-apostolic-preferences

1. FIRST PREFERENCE - DISCERNMENT AND THE "SPIRITUAL EXERCISES": helping people find Jesus Christ and follow Him.

Reality – how things stand: We are constantly being bombarded with images and options and there is almost no space to find our true self or to let God find us. We often don’t know or drown out our own desires, our passions and a sense of our true vocation. Without the wisdom of the Spirit we can easily have a sense that we are not in charge of our own destiny, puppets at the mercy of the moment.

God’s Dream: We get in touch with our deepest self, the space where God speaks to us, through discernment. Discernment is not only necessary when serious problems have to be solved, it is an instrument of struggle to follow the Lord better day by day and hour by hour. “When wisdom comes into your heart and knowledge is a delight to you, then prudence will be there to watch over you, and discernment be your guardian.” (Proverbs 2:10-11); “Wisdom is brilliant, she never fades. By those who love her, she is readily seen, by those who seek her, she is readily found” (Wisdom 6:12).

Our Response: In the next ten years, we want to share with others this most fundamental discovery of our own lives: Jesus Christ.

2. SECOND PREFERENCE - WALKING WITH THE EXCLUDED: walk alongside the poor, vulnerable, the excluded and those whom society considers worthless, in a mission of reconciliation and justice.

Reality – how things stand: We see the gap between rich and poor widen across the world and we hear weekly reports of hundreds perishing as they try to reach a new home. Political leaders have kindled hatred and erected walls between rich and poor, young and old, those at home and those who have to migrate. The reality of children who have been abused, physically or sexually, is also painfully and personally present to us.

God’s Dream: Jesus suffers and is crucified in and with His people, especially the little ones. He takes the hands of the excluded, abused and vulnerable. He says to them “Come, inherit the Kingdom”. We are all God’s children. “Blessed are those who mourn: they shall be comforted. Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for uprightness: they shall have their fill. Blessed are the merciful: they shall have mercy shown them. Blessed are the pure in heart: they shall see God. Blessed are the peacemakers: they shall be recognised as children of God. Blessed are those who are persecuted in the cause of uprightness: the kingdom of Heaven is theirs. Blessed are you when people abuse you and persecute you and speak all kinds of calumny against you falsely on my account.” (Mt 5:4.6-11); Jesus in the synagogue at Capernaum: “...to bring Good new to the poor, liberty to the captives and to the blind new sight” (Luke 4:18).

Our Response: We desire, first and foremost, a conversion in our own hearts, that makes us alive and sensitive to the suffering Christ in our midst. Our communities desire to be more hospitable and open, learning how to live more deeply in the Spirit of Jesus, a Spirit that welcomes.

3. THIRD PREFERENCE - CARING FOR OUR COMMON HOME: Work, with Gospel depth, for the protection and renewal of God’s Creation.

Reality – how things stand: Creation today is crying out as never before, labouring to be set free (Romans 8). Today’s environmental crisis is impacting in a particular way on the poor and vulnerable. Action is needed urgently by Christians and by all people of good will. Whole nations and peoples need an ecological conversion if we are to be honest custodians of this wonderful planet. We can still change the course of history.

God’s Dream: Our faith is one that wants creation to be cherished and renewed. A whole new way of living opens up as a consequence of a personal and passionate relationship with Jesus. We get the grace to transcend ourselves (Laudato Si’, 208). We get new strength to care for others and for creation (LS, 217). We can live with a new horizon, embracing Jesus’ vision of the Kingdom of God, of a renewed and transformed world and ecosystem where we are all brothers and sisters, responsible to each other. “God saw all that he had made, and it was very good. And there was evening, and there was morning-the sixth day.” (Genesis 1:31)

Our Response: At this vital time in our world’s history, the Society of Jesus commits itself to answer this call of our Creator over the next ten years.

4. FOURTH PREFERENCE - JOURNEYING WITH YOUTH: Accompany young people in the creation of a hopeful future.

Reality – how things stand: Youth is a time for fundamental decisions and the beginning of fulfilling our dreams. And yet, young people today face enormous challenges: the uncertainty of relationship in a digital era, diminishing opportunities for work, the growth of political violence, discrimination, degradation of the environment. All of this makes it difficult for them to find a road where they can build supportive personal and family relations based on solid spiritual and financial foundations.

God’s Dream: Meeting Jesus, young people can find the path to deepest fulfilment. “I have come that you may have life and have it to the full” (John 10:10). The 2018 Synod on Youth and Vocational discernment recognizes the importance of the perspectives of the young. We stand at their side. We glimpse the future with them. We walk with them in order to perceive and discern where the Spirit is leading our world and our Church; “I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. (…) Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen” (Ephesians 3:16.20-21); “The culture of encounter is a call inviting us to dare to keep alive a shared dream. Yes, a great dream, a dream that has a place for everyone” (Pope Francis to WYD 2019 participants in Panama).

Our Response: Young people have so many possibilities in this digital age which unites them as never before. We want to walk with them, discerning these possibilities and finding God in the depths of reality. Accompanying young people puts us on the path of conversion; it requires a new way of living in Jesuit community, a way that is more coherent, more personal, more open, more evangelical.