2. SERVANTS OF CHRIST'S MISSION - Paragraph 2 - As the Society of Jesus, we are servants of Christ's mission

Sep 29, 2026

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Guided by the Society of Jesus’ understanding of Christ’s mission, the text reflects on strength drawn from the Crucified and Risen Christ alongside the Society’s own weakness during a period of testing and grace. It acknowledges personal and communal faults while emphasizing that graces come from Christ. It also describes emerging confidence challenges, the formation of a resilient community of “friends in the Lord,” and purification in faith through service, especially among the poor.

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CategoryReligion & Spirituality

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Reading Time15 min

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2. SERVANTS OF CHRIST'S MISSION

Mission as the Society of Jesus

Diversity of ministries worldwide

The Church’s mission shared by Jesuits

# 2.SERVANTS OF CHRIST'S MISSION 15 1. As the Society of Jesus,we are servants of Christ's mission.In the thirty years since GeneralCongregation 31,and particularly in the twenty years since General Congregation 32,the Society has felt boththe strength of the Crucified and Risen Christ and its own weakness:this has been a time of testing for us,butalso a time of great grace.Our many faults we know and confess;our graces are more important because theycome from Christ.Some have left us to serve the Lord in other ways of life;others,shaken by the events ofthis period,have a weakened confidence in the quality of our vocation.But we have also become,in a resilientway,a community of "friends in the Lord,"supporting one another in the freedom which Christian love brings,deeply affected by the deaths of our Jesuit martyrs in this period.In these years,throughout the Society,wehave been purified in the faith by which we live,and have grown in our understanding of our central mission.Our service,especialy among the poor,has deepened our life of faith,both individualy and as a body:out faithhas become more paschal,more compassionate,more tender,more evangelical in its simplicity. 16 2. The Society has also become a body more diverse than ever before,engaged in a variety of ministriesat the crossroads of cultural conflict,social and economic struggles,religious revivalism and new opportunitiesfor bringing the Good News to peoples all over the world. 17 —Jesuits in Africa are engaged in the challenge of building up a young and vibrant African Church,rooted inthe richness of different cultures,creating new bonds of solidarity among their peoples and struggling toovercome the global forces that tend to marginalize the whole continent. 18 Jesuits in Asia and Oceania are engaged in the struggles of the poor and the indigenous peoples for justice;especially in Asian countries where Christians are a small minority,they dialogue with other cultural andreligious traditions in an effort to put the Gospel in touch with Asian life and to bring the richness of Asianculture to the living of the Gospel. 19—Jesuits in Latin America,confronted by societies in which there are huge disparities between the lives of richand poor,continue to stand with the poor as they work for the justice of the Kingdom.They also enable thevoices of the poor to teach the Church about the Gospel,drawing upon the rich faith of the people and ofindigenous cultures. 20—Jesuits in former Communist countries,after long years of harassment and imprisonment for their faith,arehelping their people in their search for an authentic way of livingin a regained freedom. 21—Jesuits in Western Europe,through a tange of educational,spiritual and pastoral ministies,are helping tomaintain the vitality of faith and of Christian communities in the face of religious indifference.They also strivein a variety of ways to accompany and help those who are at the margins of society. 22一Jesuits in North America are dealing with the challenges of new forms of cultural and economic deprivation. They wotkin close cooperation with many others in trying to influence the complex structures of society wheredecisions are made and values are shaped. 23All ofus are engaged in the Society's mission in ways appropriate to the varied contexts in which we work.Forwe have one mission,shared by priests and brothers,and many ministries which we undertake as a service ofJesus Christ and his work of reconciling the world to God. 24 3.The Church,whose mission we share,exists not for itself but for humanity,bearing the proclamationof God's love and casting light on the inner gift of that love.Its aim is the realization of the Kingdom of Godin the whole of human society,not only in the life to come,but also in this ife.We exercise our Jesuit missionwithin the total evangelizing mission of the Church.1 This mission is "a single but complex reality whichdevelops in a variety of ways:"through the

FAQs

How does the text describe the Society of Jesus’ relationship to Christ’s mission?

It states that Jesuits are servants of Christ’s mission, shaped by both Christ’s strength and the Society’s own weakness during a time of testing and grace.

What themes are highlighted regarding the Society’s growth during this period?

The text emphasizes purification in the faith, a deeper life of faith through service among the poor, and a more “paschal,” compassionate, tender, and evangelical simplicity.

How does the text portray Jesuit ministry across different regions?

It describes distinct engagements: building an African Church, advocating justice for the poor and indigenous peoples in Asia and Oceania, standing with the poor in Latin America, supporting authentic living in former Communist countries, sustaining faith vitality in Western Europe, and addressing cultural and economic deprivation in North America.

Sep 29, 2026

Upload by Adam