Decree 2 - Servants of Christ's Mission - 15-26

Sep 29, 2026

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Decree 2 sets out the Society of Jesus as servants of Christ’s mission, describing the period following General Congregation 31 and 32 as both a time of trial and a time of grace. It acknowledges personal and communal faults while emphasizing graces received from Christ. The decree then presents the Society’s diverse apostolic engagements worldwide—Africa, Asia and Oceania, Latin America, former Communist countries, Western Europe, and North America—highlighting solidarity with the marginalized, dialogue, justice, and the deepening of faith. It also connects the mission to the Church’s total evangelizing work and to Ignatius’ calling at La Storta, shaping the spiritual pattern of service through the Spiritual Exercises.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryReligion & Spirituality

FormatPDF

Pages7

Reading Time18 min

AccessFree to download

Decree 2: Servants of Christ's Mission

The Society as servants of Christ’s mission

Diversity of ministries across regions

The Church’s mission and the Jesuit mission

Ignatius at La Storta and the Spiritual Exercises

Decree 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 General Congregation 31, and particularly in the twenty years since General Congregation 32, the Society has felt both the strength of the Crucified and Risen Christ and its own weakness: this has been a time of testing for us, but also a time of great grace. Our many faults we know and confess; our graces are more important because they come from Christ. Some have left us to serve the Lord in other ways of life; others, shaken by the events of this period, have a weakened confidence in the quality of our vocation. But we have also become, in a resilient way, 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, we have been purified in the faith by which we live, and have grown in our understanding of our central mission. Our service, especially among the poor, has deepened our life of faith, both individually and as a body: our faith has 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 ministries at the crossroads of cultural conflict, social and economic struggles, religious revivalism and new opportunities for 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 in the richness of different cultures, creating new bonds of solidarity among their peoples and struggling to overcome 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 and religious traditions in an effort to put the Gospel in touch with Asian life and to bring the richness of Asian culture to the living of the Gospel. 19 —Jesuits in Latin America, confronted by societies in which there are huge disparities between the lives of rich and poor, continue to stand with the poor as they work for the justice of the Kingdom. They also enable the voices of the poor to teach the Church about the Gospel, drawing upon the rich faith of the people and of indigenous cultures. 20 — Jesuits in former Communist countries, after long years of harassment and imprisonment for their faith, are helping their people in their search for an authentic way of living in a regained freedom. 21 — Jesuits in Western Europe, through a range of educational, spiritual and pastoral ministries, are helping to maintain the vitality of faith and of Christian communities in the face of religious indifference. They also strive in a variety of ways to accompany and help those who are at the margins of society. 22 —Jesuits in North America are dealing with the challenges of new forms of cultural and economic deprivation. They work in close cooperation with many others in trying to influence the complex structures of society where decisions are made and values are shaped. 23 All of us are engaged in the Society's mission in ways appropriate to the varied contexts in which we work. For we have one mission, shared by priests and brothers, and many ministries which we undertake as a service of Jesus 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 proclamation of God's love and casting light on the inner gift of that love. Its aim is the realization of the Kingdom of God in the whole of human society, not only in the life to come, but also in this life. We exercise our Jesuit mission within the total evangelizing mission of the Church.

FAQs

What does Decree 2 say about the Society of Jesus in relation to Christ’s mission?

It states that the Jesuits serve Christ’s mission as servants of the mission, experiencing both the strength of the Crucified and Risen Christ and their own weakness as part of a period of testing and grace.

How does the decree describe Jesuit work in different regions?

It highlights distinct engagements: building a young African Church, defending justice for the poor and indigenous peoples in Asia, standing with the poor for the Kingdom’s justice in Latin America, supporting authentic living in regained freedom in former Communist countries, sustaining faith in Western Europe, and addressing cultural and economic deprivation in North America.

How is Ignatius’ mission at La Storta connected to the Spiritual Exercises?

The decree links Ignatius being taken as servant at the Eternal Father’s will to the Spiritual Exercises, presenting a vision of sharing Christ’s hardships, labor, and victory as the pattern for those called to the service.

Sep 29, 2026

Upload by nayy☆