JESUIT
CONFERENCE OF SOUTH ASIA Assistancy Commission for Formation
JESUITS IN FORMATION
"God treated him at this time just as a schoolmaster treats a child whom he is teaching. Whether this was because of his lack of education and of brains, or because he had no one to teach him, or because of the strong desire God himself had given him to serve him, he believed without doubt and has always believed that God treated him in this way."
--The Autobiography of St. Ignatius
In the footsteps of St. Ignatius, the founder
of the Society of Jesus, today throughout the world, young men continue
to be called by God and led by grace into lives of service in the Society
of Jesus. The aim of Jesuit Formation is to form a community of passionate,
dedicated servants of God and to provide the tools by which the vocation
to build the kingdom of God can become effective in service. It is a
long and rigorous training of nearly fourteen years. And here is how
we do it.
PRE-NOVICIATE
It is intended to prepare a candidate to join the novitiate. It aims at the human and Christian development of the candidates. The suitability of the candidates for the novitiate is to be assessed at the end of this period. The duration of this period, though normally one year, is adapted according to the need of a particular person and the actual situation of the Province
NOVICIATE
The first two years of Jesuit formation is defined by its twofold purpose: a time of probation and of formation. It offers a series
of experiences and experiments, like, pilgrimages, work among
the poor, etc. which expose a man to Jesuit life. Key to this
time is the 30-day silent retreat, based on the Spiritual Exercises
of St. Ignatius, which lead a novice into an encounter with
God who calls him. After two years a novice applies for his
first-or simple-vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience and
becomes a Jesuit Scholastic or a Jesuit brother.
[A Scholastic is a Jesuit who is preparing for priesthood, while a brother is one who is not. Though the majority of Jesuits are or will be ordained priests, some Jesuits are not called to sacramental ministry but still wish to serve the Church in the Society. The Jesuit Brothers are fully members of the Society, but have some differences in their formation, since they will not be doing priestly sacramental ministry.]
JUNIORATE
Ordinarily it is a one-year period of training in humanities, the development of language skills, spoken and written, the study of literate and an initiation into the human sciences and the scientific culture of our times. The men are constantly driven to discover and reach out for excellence in all that they do. There are six common juniorates in the Assistancy.
COLLEGE STUDIES
The young Jesuit if he has not completed his Bachelor's degree, is sent to a college to pursue his studies for three years. It will enable him to mingle with educated young people from different social, cultural and religious background and to broaden their vision and to profit from the various academic and other programs.
PHILOSOPHY
Philosophy studies extend over two years and currently take place either at Jnana Deepa Vidyapeeth, Pune, or in Satya Nilayam, Chennai. It is a time of serious study and reflection that inculcate objective analysis, a scientific approach to questions, clarity of concepts and systematic reflection.
REGENCY
During this phase of formation, following philosophy, the men will be missioned to a long-term assignment to experience full involvement in the life and apostolic works of the community and companionship in mission. This phase, which lasts for two years, gives him experience and skills for later ministry while he also discerns his own call to priestly ordination.
THEOLOGY
Coming of his Regency, the Jesuit Scholastic returns to studies to prepare directly for priestly ordination. The four-year theological studies invite the young man to interpret the reality of the world in the light of Christian faith so as to commit himself to a transformation of the world and to the building up of the kingdom. For the scholastics the completion of theological studies leads to his ordination to ministerial priesthood. The two theologates are: Vidya Jyoti, Delhi and Jnana Deepa Vidyapeeth, Pune. Both of them have extension centres known as Regional Theological Centres
TERTIANSHIP
Three to five years after ordination (or the equivalent for a Brother), Jesuits undergo this "third probation." It repeats many of the experiences of Novitiate, including the 30-day retreat, but in light of the many years of Jesuit ministry. This "school of the heart" aims at an in-depth integration of the Jesuit's past and at helping him to ward a heightened sense of total commitment to his Jesuit vocation preparing him for the final-or solemn-vows, in which he will become fully and finally incorporated
Our men in formation in South Asian Assistancy: 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007
Province/Region Coordinators for Formation (PCF)
| Andhra | GAP Kishore | gujjula.kishore@rediffmal.com |
| Bombay | Luke Rodrigues | luke65@rediffmal.com |
| Calcutta | Kurian Emprayil | kuriansj@gmail.com |
| Darjeeling | Shaji Joseph | shajisj@rediffmal.com |
| Delhi | Mathew Padayatty | mathewpsj@gmail.com |
| Dumka-Raiganj | Thomas Kuzhively | cell: 09430928336 |
| Goa | Savio Abreu | savioabreu@iitb.ac.in |
| Gujarat | Ambrose Vedam | ambusj@gmail.com |
| Hazaribag | Geoff Meagher | geoffmeagher@gmail.com |
| Jamshedpur | Jerry Cutinha | jcutinha@gmail.com |
| Karnataka | Francis Menezes | panchusj@yahoo.com |
| Kerala | Jose Jacob | mjosejacob@gmail.com |
| Kohima | Jerome Veigas | jeromeveigas@gmail.com |
| Madhya Pradesh | Leander Xalxo | pcfmap@gmail.com |
| Madurai | Britto Peter | brittopetersj@gmail.com |
| Nepal | S. Arulanandam | sarul@hotmail.com |
| Patna | Alwyn Vaz | alwynvaz@rediffmal.com |
| Pune | Andrew Fernandes | afernssj@gmail.com |
| Ranchi | Shailendra Bara | pcfran05@yahoo.co.in |
| Sri Lanka | Baylon Perera | baylonm@gmail.com |
|
Year
|
Novices
|
Juniors
|
Collegians(UG&PG)
|
Philos.
|
Regents
|
Theologians
|
|
2002
|
264
|
115
|
380
|
164
|
188
|
302
|
|
2003
|
268
|
112
|
359
|
180
|
179
|
250
|
|
2004
|
285
|
104
|
371
|
192
|
178
|
266
|
|
2005
|
293
|
114
|
355
|
200
|
193
|
289
|
|
2006
|
273
|
130
|
367
|
180
|
196
|
264
|
|
2007
|
284
|
145
|
375
|
184
|
174
|
275
|
Juniorate Staff Meeting held at Dhyan Ashram, Kolkata14-19, September 2006
South
Asian Assistancy Juniorate Staff Meet 2007 PCF MEETING 2007 at Dhyan Ashram, Kolkata
ACF Meeting - 2008 in Shillong
Assistancy Juniorate Staff Meeting
Held at Mount St Joseph, Bangalore from 22 to 27 September 2009 - a report.
This year, the South India Common Juniorate, Trivandrum organized the Assistancy Juniorate Staff Meeting at Mount St Joseph, Bangalore from 22-27 September 2008. Fr. Justin Emmanuel SJ, coordinated the meeting. Around fifteen Jesuits of our South Asian Assistancy attended the meeting.
The participants:
1. Fr Orlando Torres SJ, General Councillor for Formation
2. Fr Vijay Prabhu SJ, Provincial of Karnataka
3. Fr K.C. Philip SJ, Assistancy Delegate for Formation
4. Fr Edward Mudavassery SJ, Rector of VJ, Resource Person
5. Fr Kenny Misquitta SJ, Pune
6. Fr Gerry Rego SJ, Culcutta
7. Fr Patrick Vincent SJ, Culcutta
8. Fr Emile Coelho SJ, Hazaribag
9. Fr Issac Kujur SJ, Hazaribag
10. Fr Tom Keogh SJ, Hazaribag
11. Fr Edison Armstrong SJ, Patna
12. Fr Justin Emmanuel SJ, Trivandrum
13. Fr Joe Pulickal SJ, Trivandrum
14. Fr Rachans Lukose SJ, Trivandrum
15. Fr Victor D'Silva SJ, Trivandrum
Fr. Orlando Torres
SJ, the General Councillor Delegate for Formation was with us
for two days. His presence and sharing enriched us and also
helped us to know and have a global perception on the formation
programme in the Society of Jesus. In his inaugural address,
Fr. Vijay Prabhu SJ the Provincial of Karnataka enlightened
us with his thought provoking and challenging message on the
need and importance of Jesuit intellectual life in our formation
programme. Fr. K.C. Philip SJ the ADF was present for the entire
meeting and chaired the planning sessions.
The First three days were devoted to sharing and discussion
on 'GC 35 and Formation' by Fr. Edward Mudavassery SJ, the Rector
of Vidyajyoti, Delhi. The rest of the days were spent on learning
lessons from each juniorate and planning for the coming year's
common programmes at the assistancy level. The sessions on 'GC35
and Formation' enabled us to know the background of each decree
and its spirit. It made us realize the Herculean task of giving
the right kind of formation to our younger generation in the
spirit of GC35. The study of GC35 instilled in us a new spirit
of understanding, and a new orientation to life and formation
in the Society. The following questions were proposed for further
discussion and sharing:
1. In the light of GC35, what are the new elements that could
be incorporated in the curriculum of the juniorate programme?
2. What are the skills of accompaniment to be employed in dealing
with the younger Jesuits?
3. How can the formators use their skills to deepen the spiritual
foundation of the juniors?
In our sharing, these were the points highlighted:
1. The approach of the GC35 could be incorporated in our curriculum
with special reference to Decree Six, no.9.
2. Initiate an ecological living in the juniorate life.
3. Provide opportunities to develop organizational and leadership
skills.
4. Incorporate cooperative learning in our methodology of teaching.
5. Reconciliation can be an approach in the spiritual direction
which is the basis for any spiritual conversation.
6. The formators need to understand the postmodern mind set
of our younger digital generation.
7. Formators to be self integrated, men with human qualities
like listening, understanding, encouraging and non-threatening
attitudes.
8. Find out various ways and means through which we can inculcate
the rich tradition and heritage of the Society of Jesus.
Fr. K.C. Philip SJ chaired the planning sessions. We have fixed the date for Assistancy level juniorates Common Tests to be on March 17 2009. The topic for the juniorate common Essay competition for this year is, 'Communal Violence and my response to it'. The topic for short story writing was not fixed. The next juniorate staff meeting has to be organized by the Patna Juniorate. On behalf of the participants, Fr. Kenny SJ, the dean of Pune juniorate, thanked the Mount St Joseph community for their warm welcome and wonderful hospitality. A special word of appreciation and thanks to the Karnataka Province, especially to Fr. Vijay Prabhu SJ who generously and graciously met all our expenses of the meeting and who personally saw to it that everything was made available for the success of the meeting. Kudos to Fr. Justin Emmanuel SJ, the Dean of studies of Trivandrum juniorate for successfully organizing the meeting.
Fr Rachans Lukose
SJ
And Justin Emmanuel SJ