Charisma!

We can all think of people who have it. Usually they are individuals who are politicians, entertainers, civic or business leaders, and so on. This edition of Jesuit Journeys highlights the way in which charisma belongs to a group through its founder.

Jesuit Cardinal Dulles explores the charisma or grace that was given to the work of the Church through St. Ignatius and what that means for the Society’s service of the work of the Church today, especially as manifested in the 10 features of the spirit of St. Ignatius that he identifies.

The charisma of the Society is for mission, for the benefit of others.

The stories of Cristo Rey in the Twin Cities, the ministry of the Spiritual Exercises, the work of the Jesuits in the Kohima Region of Northeast India, and the involvement of Creighton and Marquette University students in working for service and justice, concretize the missionary character of the Society’s charism for today. Each of these stories brings out what Fr. John O’Malley, SJ identifies as the five missions of the Jesuit Charism: the Pastoral-Spiritual, the Ecclesiastical, the Social, the Cultural, and the Civic. As you read the stories they will speak of the Society’s mission to help souls, to proclaim and defend the faith, to promote the common good, to advance the dignity of the human person, and through education to contribute to the civic good. Each of these stories brings out the different but unique ways in which the charism of St. Ignatius founds the ministry of Jesuits and inspires lay men and women to live out the missionary invitation that they have received from God.

Charisma! It’s for mission.