Dear Friends,

As the calendar year draws to a close I am reminded of how often life calls us to respond in new ways. I write this note to you while I am visiting the Kohima Region of Northeastern India. A communication like this used to take a great amount of time and boats and planes. Now it takes the click of a button. Here the teamwork with the Jesuits of the Wisconsin Province is very tangible. We are celebrating the opening of the Region’s new novitiate. We all should be proud of the success our twinning partner has had in our shared ministry.

You see more evidence of the work of Jesuits internationally in these pages of Jesuit Journeys. Scholastics from the Wisconsin Province have worked around the world in the past year. P.J. Shelton, SJ and Ben Bocher, SJ offer their reflections on this same region of India. Nathan Wendt, SJ found how much life can be different and friendships the same in El Salvador. Paul Lickteig, SJ didn’t need a passport as he discovered a new world clearing the debris left by Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans.

We also are very proud of the additions to our community. We welcomed eight Wisconsin Province men into the novitiate in St. Paul earlier this year and celebrated the ordinations of Fr. Daniel Hendrickson, SJ and Fr. Chris Collins, SJ in Omaha.

Juggling isn’t for everyone and neither is taking on life as a Jesuit. Brother Pat Douglas is featured on our cover and was greeted warmly at his First Vows by many other men who live their lives in the Society of Jesus as brothers.

I hope you enjoy this issue of Jesuit Journeys and will utilize Fr. Rick Abert, SJ’s article on praying in public, Fr. Roc O’Connor, SJ’s notes on selecting music for the Christmas season, and the Gesu parish staff’s suggestions on how to respond to panhandlers.

Life often calls us to respond in new ways. We thank you all for your generosity, prayers and standing with us during these changing times. We ask God to continue to bless all our lives, work, families and communities in the coming year.