A Great Adventure!

By John F. Costello, SJ

Thinking about my 50 years in the Society of Jesus, the phrase “A Great Adventure” came to mind.

Jesuit formation richly centers on learning to use the tools of Ignatian Spirituality to build a personal relationship with the Lord. Discovering what kind of person St. Ignatius was helped set up the model for finding what kind of God, God is. I found St. Ignatius to be an adventurer and God to be a God of surprises, a Great Adventurer.

After my ordination I returned to my roots in Chicago. By then, the afterglow of Jesuit formation had naturally ebbed as I eagerly took on my newly assigned mission in the province office. Settling into this assignment, I wondered about life’s usual ups and downs and which spiritual disposition to continue to adopt in encountering them in the years ahead.

Inspired by St. Ignatius and Jesus, I recall a memorable conversation with Fr. Bill Cunningham, SJ, a spirited lawyer in our community. He offered his much-appreciated counsel to my wonder. We talked about theatre as an imaginative lens to hone one’s disposition and focus for the unfolding vocational pathway. To my surprise (!) we discussed Charles Foley’s 1938 Irish production of The Great Adventure. In this play, up and down episodes of the main character are interspliced with the sudden appearance of a vivacious actor who slides onto center stage, head uplifted, arms raised to the heavens, shouting, “What a Great Adventure!”

Luggage

By Michael W. Maher, SJ

When I think of one word or phrase that best describes my life as a Jesuit, it’s silence. That might seem surprising, because Jesuits can be known for talking – and it’s a big part of many of our assignments. Certainly, I wasn’t silent when I was teaching at universities like Creighton, and I hope I influenced students to have a sense of social justice and be sensitive to other cultures, to appreciate them, and to see what’s really there.

In my work at Holy Rosary Mission and Red Cloud Indian School on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation, however, I believe my greatest contribution was to be silent so the Lakota people could speak for themselves, so others could know them firsthand. They have the final voice.

It’s been a great gift to be able to combine the social apostolate with the intellectual apostolate these past 50 years. Early on, I was able to use the internet and work in the area of computer-assisted instruction, cooperative and distance learning models. And I felt of great use when I was supporting efforts to address AIDS, by helping people get tested, and delivering meals. Yet I’m most grateful to the province for sending me to the reservation and trusting me to be part of that apostolate. It is in fact why I entered the Society – and why I entered as a Midwest Jesuit even though my background is on the East Coast. I wanted to serve the Lakota people. In return, I felt a strong family connection, that I truly belonged there.