Jesuit Journeys
Winter 2004

In preparing to write this article, I knew early on that I wanted to write about Fr. Pedro Arrupe, SJ, former superior general of the Society of Jesus. But clearly, I had a problem. How could a man who is not a canonized saint be a suitable subject for a feature called “Listening to the Saints”? While Fr. Arrupe may not officially be a saint, there is no question that he was influenced by more than one and lived a charismatic and sometimes controversial life rich in saint-like qualities. And he, in turn, was profoundly influenced, as all Jesuits should be, by St. Ignatius of Loyola. When I was coming of age as a high school student in the 1960s, my idealism was nurtured by leaders like President John F. Kennedy and the Rev.Martin Luther King, Jr. They inspired me as a young man in much the same way Fr. Pedro Arrupe, SJ inspired me as a young Jesuit.

Fr. Arrupe was elected superior general the year after JFK was assassinated, shortly after I entered the Jesuits and a few years before Rev. King also died by an assassin’s bullet, as did President Kennedy’s younger brother Bobby while campaigning for president. In times that were darkened by sad events such as these assassinations, global conflict, and moral confusion, Fr. Arrupe was a bright beacon for young Jesuits in formation such as myself.

At the 10th International Congress of Jesuit Alumni of Europe in Valencia, Spain in July 1973, Fr. Arrupe caused a stir by calling strongly on us to promote a faith that does justice with an urgency some found uncomfortable. To accept what Fr. Arrupe said in the manner he encouraged is not an easy thing. He truly wants us to break with our personal comfort zones to become “men [and women]for others,” a phrase he made famous that is now the hallmark of just about every Jesuit institution and ministry. So how do we get to that place our faith in Christ calls us to and Fr. Arrupe urges us to go?

We need to listen in the interior of our hearts to God’s voice, a voice that calls us not only to do the right thing, but to do so in a way that is good for us and for our neighbor. In trying to hear and listen to God’s voice, we are often confronted with more than one seemingly good option.What do we do then?

St. Ignatius, founder of the Jesuits, suggests a process of reflection he called “discernment of spirits.” Discernment of spirits means figuring out which path God is calling us to follow when we have a difficult choice.My past two ministries as a Jesuit – former president of the Jesuit Partnership and current Director of Vocations – have taught me, along with the study of the Ignatian texts on discernment, about how helpful it can be when we face difficult decisions to apply the Ignatian discernment of spirits.

I have written and spoken at length as vocation director about how Ignatian guidelines for the discernment of spirits apply to vocational decision-making for someone considering the call to religious life. The same discernment skills which are needed to discern a potential vocation from God to be a Jesuit are also required of all of us who strive to be Christ-like men and women for others in our current state of life.

Men and women who come to religious life have other options. They are intelligent, healthy, talented human beings who could find fulfillment in other pursuits. Usually, however, the call to do something more, something radically different with their lives, does not go away. They have to sort through the options to come to the right decision.

Balancing family commitments and necessary self-care with the Christian call to love and serve others, especially the poor, and work for justice in our world also creates many difficult questions. How do I use the God-given talents and skills I’ve developed over time? To what extent do I use my talents to profit myself and my family versus using them to serve others, particularly the poor and disadvantaged? Can I use my talents in work that serves others and the poor? What if doing so means making less money? These are important matters for discernment.

St. Ignatius tells us that to make a good, prayerful decision, we must have the following attitudes and qualities: Openness:We must approach the decision in question with an open mind and heart.We cannot find God’s will for us if we enter the decision-making process with a pre-conceived outcome based on our self-will and self-interest. Courage: Such openness and generosity require courage, for God might be asking something difficult, challenging, and even risky of us.

Interior freedom: The interior freedom required of us is for our whole and deepest desire to be or to do whatever God’s will is for us with no conditions attached. A habit of prayerful reflection on one’s experience: We must take time to pray regularly and be attentive to God’s voice within us and try to distinguish it from other inner voices coming from perhaps unreflected upon cultural values or other sources.

Having one’s priorities straight: There is a ruthless logic to Ignatius’s spirituality. If serving God and neighbor is the ultimate goal of our lives, then everything else must be kept in the subordinate position of a means to that end. This means that in all our decision-making things are to be valued and chosen only insofar as they contribute to our ultimate goal in life and rejected insofar as they deter us from that goal.

I realize these guidelines are very challenging and present us with a very tall order. Nonetheless, I believe these Ignatian guidelines for the discernment of spirits give us helpful ideals for our decision-making regarding how to give of ourselves to others, and thus be men and women for others. But what can we do if we are not moved, as Fr. Arrupe urged, to be a man or woman for others? Perhaps we can pray for the grace for what Ignatius calls “the desire for the desire” to hear God’s voice and for God to move our decision- making in this direction.

About Fr. Pedro Arrupe, SJ The 28th general of the Society of Jesus (1965-83), Fr. Pedro Arrupe, SJ was born Nov. 14, 1907 in the Basque country of Spain. He abandoned medical studies and a promising career to join the Jesuits in 1927. After studying theology in the U.S., he was ordained at St. Mary's Seminary in Kansas in 1936 before going to Japan in 1938 where he spent 27 years as a missionary. He lived near Hiroshima in 1945 when the atomic bomb was dropped and headed the first rescue party into the city. Utilizing his medical skills to help the wounded, he transformed the novitiate into a make-shift hospital for over 200 dying people, calling it “a permanent experience outside of history, engraved on my memory.” Fr. Pedro Arrupe, SJ (left) with Pope John Paul VI. Postwar Japan’s shift from emperor worship to a society influenced by western democracy taught Fr. Arrupe much about the conflicts and blessings that can result when different cultures collide. The experience helped Arrupe conclude that Christianity’s claim as a universal religion is indeed valid if the temptation to make it a vehicle for cultural, political, and economic domination is avoided and attempts to harmonize beliefs with indigenous cultures are nurtured. A close advisor described him as “a second Ignatius, a refounder of the Society in the light of Vatican II” whose dream was to unite all the great desires and talents of the Society under a single mission. That dream was crystallized in a document of the 31st General Congregation (decree 4): “Our Mission Today: the Service of Faith and the Promotion of Justice.” Fr. Arrupe was vice provincial (1954-58), the first Jesuit provincial for Japan (1958-65), and was elected superior general at the 31st General Congregation of the Society of Jesus (1965). He resigned due to ill health in 1983 – the first and only superior general to resign instead of remaining in office until his death. He governed the Society in a time when some Jesuits resented what they thought were breaks from hallowed traditions, while others called out for quicker change. Through it all he emerged as a personal, caring, and devoted man of the Church with a deep, faithful commitment to the poor and those who work with them. When he died in 1988, he was probably one of the most loved and admired generals in Jesuit history.

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