Andrew Hamilton's review of Beth Crisp's Beyond Crucifixion at the end of this Province Express reminds us that we
believe in a God who can ‘make light in darkness and bring endurance out of
pain'.
Living in a world of light and darkness we turn again to God in Lent for
help to be people of the light. We are nourished by stories from around our
world where Jesuits and companions seek to shine a light on the darkness. An
important part of my role is to support and encourage these efforts and one way
that I can do that is to make a formal 'visitation‘ every year to each of our ministries.
This year's round of visitations started with visits
to Sevenhill and Athelstone in South
Australia. In each Jesuit community we have Mass, a
meal and a meeting together and I meet individually each member of the community.
I also meet some of the lay partners with whom we are working. In Sevenhill I
attended a meeting of the Sevenhill Cellars Board and at Athelstone I met
student leaders and the College Council. The Cellars, Parish and Centre of
Ignatian Spirituality at Sevenhill form a unique sanctuary where thousands of
visitors each year are touched by the beauty and rich history of this place of
pilgrimage. At Athelstone I found students grateful for the opportunities they
have and proud of a school where students try to build one another up.
The readings at Mass with the community at Sevenhill
on the Feast of St Peter the Apostle provided an opportunity for me to talk
about our exercise of leadership. Our model is Jesus, the servant leader. A few
days later at Athelstone the Mass readings reminded me of the Ignatian insight
that God is always helping us, like a teacher, to become more and more the
people God calls us to be, people of the light.
In Lent God challenges us gently to face the things
that keep us from accompanying Jesus as he is crucified again and again in our
own day, in far away places of poverty, war and natural disaster and in places
much closer to home.
Fr Steve Curtin SJ
Pictured: Fr Steve Curtin SJ with St Ignatius' College Athelstone School Captain Will Shaw.