Friends in the Lord
Jesuits reflect on Ignatian ideal of intergenerational collaboration, continuity, and companionship
By Amy Korpi
FROM THE START, OUR FRIENDSHIP WAS THE UNDERLYING POWER OF OUR JOURNEY TOGETHER.
When Fr. Chris Krall, SJ, entered the Jesuit novitiate in the early 2000s, his novice master Fr. Philip Shano, SJ, had recently undergone a serious illness that caused him to doubt his physical abilities.“However, by the time I came to the novitiate,” says Fr. Krall, “he was walking again and had ambitions to do much more. So, when I asked him if I could run marathons, he responded, ‘If you will let me train with you.’”
Since then, the two have run the Twin Cities Marathon and climbed 14,000-foot peaks in Colorado together. Their relationship goes far beyond challenging each other in exercise, though. Father Krall (now an assistant professor of theology at Creighton University) explains, “Philip guided me through the Spiritual Exercises and continues to inspire me in the metaphorical marathons and mountains of Jesuit formation and of life.”
“One of the gifts of true friendship is that it is mutual,” says Fr. Shano, now writing and serving in Spiritual Exercises ministry. “I know with all humility that I have offered a great deal to Chris. I am also aware of the ways I have gained from his energetic and fully engaged example. This makes perfect sense —as the very foundations of the Society are rooted in intergenerational friendships.”
Father Shano is referring to the 38-year-old Ignatius of Loyola and friends Francis Xavier and Peter Faber, both 23, who gathered in prayer while studying at the University of Paris—and would ultimately establish the Society of Jesus. “They shared the desire to allow their friendship to bear fruit in the world,” he says. “Then, when Ignatius missioned Francis to Asia, never laying eyes on him again, Francis wrote to his friend, ‘If the Lord our God has separated us by these vast differences, we are still united by our awareness of these strong bonds that unite us in a single spirit and a common love.’”
“I find that same strong bond in my spiritual friendship with Chris,” Fr. Shano adds. “I was immersed in his formation—teaching, living in community, missioning to apostolic ventures. From the start, our friendship was the underlying power of our journey together. And it continues to serve as a motivating force in our separate lives, gaining strength when we meet in person or communicate virtually.”
Jesuit Frs. Eugene Donahue and Jim Shea at Jesuit Retreat House on Lake Winnebago in Oshkosh, Wisconsin
Scholarly Colleagues
Around the same time that Frs. Krall and Shano met, Fr. Peter Bernardi, SJ, was teaching at Loyola University New Orleans and arranged for a guest lecture featuring Fr. Jared Wicks, SJ, who spoke about the newly elected Pope Benedict XVI. And thus began in earnest a relationship of academic and theological collaboration.
The two scholars have regularly conversed when they happened to be staying in the same Jesuit community. And now, Fr. Bernardi, scholar-in-residence at the Lumen Christi Institute and associate professor emeritus of theology at Loyola University Chicago, regularly visits Fr. Wicks at Colombiere Center in Michigan, where Fr. Wicks continues to research and write. “It is good to know that a Jesuit twenty years younger than myself is paying attention to my articles, which are not widely read in the U.S.,” says Fr. Wicks. “In addition, I was greatly encouraged by his endorsement of my book Investigating Vatican II: Its Theologians, Ecumenical Turn, and Biblical Commitment (2018), which the publisher, Catholic University of America Press, placed on the back cover.”
In turn, Fr. Wicks “gladly hears and admires” Fr. Bernardi’s findings from his research in French and Roman Jesuit archives. Father Wicks says, “He is for me a source of knowledge of theological publications in his area of expertise.”
Intergenerational (as well as intercultural) relationships are part and parcel of the Jesuit way of proceeding, says Fr. Bernardi. “It inspires me to be in dialogue with people like Fr. Wicks,” he explains. “We all benefit from the continuity and wisdom shared through friendships in the Lord that are indicative of the character of the Society.”
Supportive Community
Often, collaboration arises within the same ministry, such as in the case of Fr. Gene Donahue, SJ, assistant director, and Fr. Jim Shea, SJ, assistant director and hosting minister, at the Jesuit Retreat House in Oshkosh, Wisconsin.
“Although necessity sometimes dictates that a parish priest act as ‘a lone ranger,’ St. Ignatius envisioned an important aspect of Jesuit life to be that we live and work in community—as friends in the Lord,” says Fr. Donahue. “For example, whenever we approach a problem at the retreat house, the question we ask is, ‘How are we going to respond to this?’ If I need help with something, it’s natural to call on someone for help, and if they need help with something, they can call on me.”
An example of this support occurred a few months ago during a busy weekend retreat. “Some 48-hour flu bug was going around,” says Fr. Shea. “When a retreatant became ill and had no way to get home, I volunteered to drive her back to Milwaukee. When I returned to the retreat house, I learned another resident had just fallen ill and might need to go home, to a place even further away. Overwhelmed, I walked to my office trying to figure out what to do. To my surprise, when I opened the door, I found Gene sitting there, waiting for me!”
“‘Hold on a minute!’ he told me. ‘This is too much for one person. If you need something, I’m here to help you.’ I realized that he was right; we talked it over and found a solution that didn’t involve me trying to do more than was possible. Looking back, I was touched by Gene’s wisdom in searching me out and stopping me when I needed stopping. I hope that someday I’ll be wise enough to do the same thing for someone else.”
