Madonna - May/June 2007

Companions on the journey- Mark Raper SJ

‘What are you looking for?’ … ‘Come and see.’ … and they stayed with him that day (John 1: 35-39).

Do you remember your first day at your new school? Do you remember those first weeks when you had to find your way around a new timetable, new buildings, new smells, new teachers and new classmates? Do you remember your feelings at the time: excited, awkward, missing the summer holidays, confused by the many new faces and characters? ‘What are you looking for?’ Jesus asks. Could you even say at that time what you were looking for?

Some who were strangers then are possibly now your friends and some may remain so through your whole life. Some firm friendships that last through our lives can be traced back to specific moments at school or university, playing sport together, helping one another in study, having a conversation that somehow goes deeper.

Something like this happened when Ignatius Loyola signed up for his university studies in Paris in 1528. He clicked with a couple of other people from quite different parts of Europe, Francis Xavier from Navarre, and Peter Faber from Savoy, and they decided to room together. They were different characters, different personalities, but they fell into challenging conversations. ‘What are you looking for?’ they might have asked one another. Friendly, easy questions, which became the start of a profound search and of lifelong journeys for each of them. These first three were joined by other companions who together went on to found the Society of Jesus.

Our lives are a journey. Every day we make a journey: as the Benedictine Thomas Keating said: ‘If one completes the journey to one’s own heart, one will find oneself in the heart of everyone else.’ T. S. Eliot wrote of the journey of the Magi: ‘We shall not cease from exploration. And the end of all our exploring will be to arrive where we started and to know the place for the first time.’

Let us look at those three characters. Ignatius, who was a good deal older than the other two, had experienced a profound conversion, changed his way of life, and decided to put a lot of energy into studying and preparing himself for service of others. For him study was like drawing back the bow, and the subsequent mission into the world was the arrow released to find its target.

The world was changing a lot at that time, and so was the situation of the church. Ignatius was a contemporary of Henry the Eighth and just a few years younger thanchurch. At the same time there was conflict in Jerusalem, tension in north Africa and pressure on Europe after centuries of crusades. The pressure of conflict between Christian Europe and Islamic forces was building up to the crescendo of the Battle of Lepanto in 1571, 15 years after his death.

Ignatius was in awe at the universe and he gave attention to little things. For him the Trinity, who guides us on the journey to our own hearts, was all. Ignatius was the discerning one.

Peter Faber, the priest, the consoler, the healer, the helper who showed sheer empathy to all, was the welcoming one. Francis Xavier the patron of Australia and of the missions, the tough one, the missionary, the teacher, the guide, the courageous one.

Discerning. Welcoming. Courageous. These are three values that we adopt to guide our Jesuit Province. Frequently they are displayed frequently on banners at our meetings.

Ignatius observed the universe in wonder. He did not have the technical knowledge of a scientist, but his view of the universe influenced such people as the German Jesuit Christopher Clavius who reformed the calendar, established respect for the teaching of mathematics, taught Mateo Ricci and had a significant influence on Galileo Galilei.

Ignatius was aware of how God labours and struggles in us. He urges us to unite ourselves with this work of God in us and in our history. ‘This command that I enjoin on you today is not too mysterious or remote for you … it is something very near to you, already in your mouths and in your hearts; you have only to carry it out.’

Francis Xavier is a man in motion. He is urgent. He will stop at nothing to proclaim the good news. He wishes to reach those whose lives are miserable, because he has compassion for them, and as such they no longer reflect God’s image.

Peter Faber is a person who listens. His wisdom and counsel are readily accepted by others. He gives ‘companion’ and ‘friend’ full meaning. He is easy to approach, slow to condemn. This is why he was so good at ecumenism, and made such solid friendships among many Lutherans.

These three were friends. Their friendships began with questions, deepened through conversation, sank into their hearts and took root, and from then on totally directed the energy of their lives.

‘What are you looking for?’ Jesus asks of us, and we can ask, in his name, of one another. ‘Come, and see’, the answer will surely be, if we can hear it. And we may stay with him that day and for the days to come.

Extract from a homily delivered at the Jubilee celebration of the Feast of St Ignatius Loyola, St Patrick’s Cathedral, Melbourne, 31 July 2006.