Oblation and Surrender - Hedwig Lewis SJ

Oblation and Surrender 

Hedwig Lewis SJ

Through the Spiritual Exercises, a Jesuit makes two distinct commitments. The first is contained in the prayer to Christ the Eternal King, with phrases like: “I make my OBLATION: I want and desire… my deliberate determination … I bear…” [SE 98].  I commit myself to act as a worthy disciple of Christ. I am aware that God’s grace is absolutely necessary; I presuppose that Christ will “choose or accept me”. Nevertheless, this commitment is to a style of leadership centred on MY activity.

A second, couched in the prayer “Take and Receive” (SE 234), is the ultimate commitment suggested by St Ignatius. I SURRENDER my capacities to God. I make no promises to engage myself in God’s cause, or to accomplish or achieve anything. My inner faculties are at God’s disposal; God becomes the prime mover of my life. I place myself so completely in God’s hands that I do not even specify what God should give me. God’s grace “is enough for me’. I simply trust in God’s providence, with total Ignatian indifference. As GOD directs, I put my love into action.

Revive your Long Retreat commitment. Renew your oblation and surrender!

Ordination Of Rev. Fr. Simon S.J. and Sanjay S.J.

Kindly click on the picture to view the video of the Ordination ceremony.

Happy New Year-2013

Unconditional Love

Mother Teresa, a name which does not need any introduction has the power to inspire every heart to feel love. She spent the major part of her life serving poor in India but her message reached beyond India. She inspires us to believe that every one of us has God inside us and we must love poor and others not out of pity for them but because they are also a part of God. When we do something for them, we receive much more in return. Instead of looking at what we have done look at what we have received and you would realize how rich you are.

Once when asked, what we should do for world peace, she said, go and love your family. Everyone is hungry for love. Everyone is poor. When you feel you are unwanted and no one needs you, you are poor. The unwantedness is a great poverty. Do we really know the poor in our own house. May be they have food and clothes but are we sure that there is no one at home who feels unwanted. Love begins at home. Make sure your parents, your society, no one is poor. Turning your back to the poor is turning away from God. Love his people to love him.

પ્રિય મિત્રો ,
તમારી પાસે ગુજરાતીમાં કોઈ પણ લખાણ , કવિતા વગેરે spirituality વિશે હોય તો તમે એ અંતરાગ્નિ બ્લોગમાં રજુ કરી શકો।.
Please send the matter in PDF format.

Devasia

Inner fire

A Heart on Fire that Kindles other hearts.

A wonderful example of Love and commitment

Miss .Smita – who was in coma for the past eight years (the Sister of Fr.Snehal Parmar-Sevasi Tech) died at 2.00 a.m and the funeral is at 2.00p.m 28 Dec 2012 at Xavier’s Church Gamdi, Anand.

Kindly click the link above to view the interview of the  family of Fr.Snehal who serves as a wonderful example of love and commitment at the service of the bed ridden family member.

Ignatian Leadership Programme -Fr.Raymund Chuhan

Ignatian Leadership Programme

Sixteen middle-aged Jesuits of our province flocked together for their Ignatian Leadership follow-up programme at Saputara from 18 to 21 November. This was a second follow-up programme of this group under the able, wise and experienced leadership of Fr J M Heredero. This time the group had the privilege of yet another eminent Jesuit of our province Fr Franco, who brought in a lot of his experiences of the universal society. Both Frs Heredero and Franco, the odd couple as it were, came with well-planned inputs, centred on “effective and affective communication, dialogue and leadership.”

As the middle aged Jesuits climbed up the only Hill Station of Gujarat – Saputara, they also began to climb up slowly and gradually the heights of Ignatian Leadership. The group felt very much at home with each other, acting, reacting and interacting with each in sessions and outside sessions while relaxing. There was no inhibition of any kind from any quarter. To add to it the host – the Shamgahan Fathers – went all out of their way to prepare dishes that our Jesuits relished. At the end of programme the group decided to have a retreat in common in the coming Diwali Vacation at Mt Abu. It seems that the prevalent scarcity of Jesuit Leadership may reduce by such enriching and enhancing programmes in the province! Hats off to Frs. Heredero and Franco and of course the host. (Raymund Chauhan)

“Package tour” to Bethlehem -Fr.Hedwig Lewis

“Package tour” to Bethlehem

Hedwig Lewis SJ

Those who contemplate the Nativity tableau (“Crib”) with the Ignatian “composition of place” and “application of senses” can “draw much profit”.

St Ignatius suggests that you “compose” yourself so as to stay focused in prayer and find an entry point from exterior distractions to interior composure. Your imagination can then place you at the heart of the Nativity scene, so much so that you “smell and taste, with the senses, the infinite fragrance and sweetness of the Divinity.”

God speaks through your imagination just as he speaks to you through your relationships with other people, your ordinary experiences, desires, emotions and the like. And the active application of senses leads you to the passive reception of divine intimacy.

The “profit” you draw does not consist in the “lessons” learned during the contemplation. Rather, it is the realization of how God has impacted your mind-set through his word, powerfully enough to transform your life. The “profit” is God’s Christmas gift to you!

The Contemplations of the Second Week of the Spiritual Exercises offer a “package tour” of the sacred spots in the Holy Land. Why not take advantage of this pre-paid ticket for a return-trip to Bethlehem this Christmas?

Ignatian Family Confluence -Frs Anthony Pitchai and Richard Lopes

Ignatian Family Confluence

The Province Commission for Ignatian Spirituality under the co-ordination of Fr Shekhar Manickam organized the Ignatian Family confluence on 4 March at Jeevan Darshan, Vadodara. Fifteen Jesuits including Fr Jose Changa, the Provincial, along with 18 representatives including the Major Superiors of various Sisters’ congregations inspired by Ignatian charism and spirituality (working in Gujarat thus belonging to the Ignatian family) participated in this “unique and path breaking gathering, the first of its kind.” The objective was: Being together, sharing what is common to us both at the personal level and at the level of our apostolate, learning from each other certain Ignatian insights for mutual enrichment and charting a future Common Action Plan.

In his orientation address, Fr Changa warmly welcomed all the participants and stressed the need unitedly to discover, acknowledge and celebrate our common Ignatian roots, to listen to one another’s God-experiences, to speak about our ‘consolations’ and ‘desolations’ and to engage in ‘spiritual conversation.’

The eight Ignatian Family congregations present shared “The Meaning and Role of Ignatian Spirituality in their Congregation”. Their presentations highlighted the importance of Ignatian spirituality in their congregations and how it is lived out in their apostolates.

It was a positive family experience and much appreciated by all the participants. All those present felt that the Ignatian family meetings should be held on a regular basis in the future for creative collaboration. Our spiritual conversations, we hope, would help us to celebrate our common roots and thus become a vibrant Ignatian Family in Gujarat. (Anthony Pitchai / Richard Lopes).