Wisdom flows from Seven Fountains
Each two years young Jesuits from around the Assistancy come together. Their meetings have helped young Jesuits to know one another. They allow them to talk together about aspects central to their Jesuit calling and to lay the foundation for working together later in their Jesuit lives.
Over Christmas and New Year, brothers and scholastics from the Assistancy met at Seven Fountains Jesuit retreat centre in Chiang Mai, Thailand.
The theme of the meeting was leadership. For those who took part, the three weeks passed busily. Karel San Juan was the main facilitator for the first part of the meeting. Karel, who has studied at Gonzaga University in Washington, introduced leadership as understood in the Ignatian tradition.
Fr John Shea, Director of the East Asian Theological Exchange Program, also described different models of leadership found in the cultures of the Assistancy. After the lectures the participants could share their experiences and reflections.
Korean scholastic Jong Ju-hyeon was particularly struck by Fr John’s sketch of the difference between Asian and Western cultures. ‘Asian cultures are more collective; Western cultures are more individual’, he noted. ‘In the former, leaders are given a larger role than in Western cultures, and conversations take place in small groups rather than in the large group.’
Ju-hyeon reflected on this difference, remarking, ‘the experience of younger people in many Asian countries is now becoming more individual. This will be true of younger Jesuits too. This will affect the way in which Jesuits will be formed, and also shape their relationships with other young adults.’
The program allowed people to appreciate the variety of cultures in the group. Each morning scholastics from a different region prepared the prayer in a way that reflected their own culture.
The delegates also had several opportunities to come into contact with the local Thai culture and some of the works of the Jesuits in Thailand. The scholastics working in Thailand generously offered to guide their brother Jesuits to various sites around Bangkok and Chiang Mai.
These visits prepared them for what for many was the highlight of the meeting, the two days they spent in Karen villages. Village families hosted them, inviting them to dinner and lunch. They took part in a Mass to celebrate fifty years of the church in the village, and prepared catechetical presentations for the primary school children.
Christmas was a special time. Though far from their own homes, the participants enjoyed Christmas and New Year together, building relationships that will surely outlive the meeting.
Ju-hyeon reflected afterwards on the importance of the meeting. ‘I learned how to work together in our Assistancy’, he said. ‘Before we knew about each other’s cultures mentally, but not emotionally. If we are to work together later, this will have been a good step.’
