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Jesuit Journeys
Winter 2001
Dear Friends:
"Pray as if everything depends on God and work as if everything depends on you." This famous dictum of the founder of the Jesuits, St. Ignatius of Loyola, came to mind again recently when all the major superiors of the Society of Jesus attended a conference in Loyola, Spain.
I heard Jesuits from around the world talk about what it means to live in places like China, Colombia, Cuba, East Timor, Russia, and Vietnam. I felt great admiration for the work my brother Jesuits are doing within these demanding and sometimes dangerous environments.
During a break in our sessions, Fr. Peter-Hans Kolvenbach, SJ, the leader of the Jesuits, spoke with me about the Kohima Region of India. This area in the northeastern reaches of the country is rich in manpower, poor in resources, and experiencing growing pains as it progresses to establish itself as a province. Fr. Kolvenbach told me Kohima is in need of a partner to help it through these growing pains and asked for our help.
Fr. General's choice of the Wisconsin Province was an answer to the prayers of Fr. Hector D'Souza, SJ, superior of the Kohima Region. With limited resources, he faces the daily challenge of educating and training many new seminarians while he and his fellow Jesuits work to spread the Good News in this part of the world. I accepted Fr. General's request knowing we too will benefit from the arrangement as a story in this issue of Jesuit Journeys (page 4) explains.
Without your prayers and support the Jesuits of the Upper Midwest and Great Plains could not have said yes to the Kohima Region. Your generosity and compassion inspire us to pray hard and work hard to build a better world for all God's people. We are grateful and remember you daily in our Masses and prayers.
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