I found myself thinking again of the Father General of the Jesuits and the remarks he made during the Congress. He definitely is a spiritual man, someone one meets and knows immediately that there is something different about him. I felt the same when I met Jean Vanier. God dwells within men like these.
He spoke so well on collaboration and how the mission no longer belongs to just the religious but also to the lay collaborators. We must learn to share the power and control. If the mission truly belongs to God, then God is free to choose who serves there. It will not always be the clergy. We must be available. The response that was once, “Here I am send me” becomes, “Here we are, send us.” The man has a heart for service which he stressed was what really mattered. He believed that the Holy Spirit will decide what the laity can provide.
He told a story of Rumi saying we are all of us mirrors of God. When there is conflict or jealousy, it is good to remember that God gave me this partner to polish the mirror. We never stop learning and growing.
Suggesting that no one is 100% bad, Nicholas encouraged us to find the 1% in a person that the Holy Spirit can work. Cast out competition and jealousy and work together for the good of the Kingdom. He warned that a priest whose needs are at the centre corrupts everything.
I want to always look for the 1% in a person. It is so easy to miss it when the 99% screams in your face. I know my own mirror needs to be polished a lot. I hope that the Spirit will decide a beautiful future together of lay collaborators and Jesuits.
Peace,
Suzanne
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