On August 19th, seven quick months will have passed since a fresh batch of tertians arrived from Asia Pacific, the U.S., and Europe. We have often heard formed Jesuits tell us, “tertianship was the happiest year of my life,” and we echo the same sentiments as we leave the solid bonds of friendship we have forged during our trials and experiments. We leave contentedly knowing that we have made many good friends in Australia and we are sad that we cannot spend more time with you. You have made your communities feel like our homes and though we are leaving, we know that you will not be far from our hearts and prayers.
I can remember our first days in Pymble. We were all exceedingly kind to each other as we tried to learn something about the men with whom we would spend the next innumerable hours in conferences and faith sharing. Language was a barrier, and we relied upon what was common to us in order to communicate – our Jesuit heritage. Adrian Lyons was such a kind, patient, humble presence who permitted us to take care of ourselves as we settled in and integrated. Joe Sobb would make us laugh as he would demand that we lavish much deserved attention upon him. From the start, we knew we were in good hands and would profit greatly from the wisdom of our directors.
Our days in Gerroa were days of exploration in which we marveled at the great expanse of the ocean that is ubiquitous in Australia. We were filled with adventure as some of us went scouting the kangaroos, koalas, and platypi that we heard so much about, but we only found upside-down dead wombats on the roads. Days of sharing our stories were sacred, but the need to rest was so overwhelming. We watched great Australian films like Kenny, Footy, and a documentary on Gallipoli, and we were introduced to The Bill and Midsomer Murders. Though the time we spent there was short and we were knocked out of sorts because we could not bring our computers with us, we look back on that time as pivotal for setting the tone of the whole year. We knew we would move to a depth in our lives that many had not been able to do in other experiences.
We then began our conferences with Michael Smith and Marea Richardson on Love, Celibacy and Sexuality and Eileen Glass on Multicultural Communities. We negotiated ways to relate to one another as individuals and as a group that developed unique characteristics and we built confidence in the ways each person would contribute to the larger group. Adrian and Joe brought us through the Autobiography of Ignatius by using selected chapters that highlighted a unique aspect of Ignatius’ life and then we began our self-study of the Constitutions and Complementary Norms. All of this was leading to our main event of the year – the Spiritual Exercises.
Back at Pymble, Kevin Huddy attended smartly to our needs and provided us with helpful directions in which to navigate the heavily congested highways of Sydney. Brendan Kelly peppered us with kindness as our knowledge of his wisdom and care for the novices increased every day. Peter Beer set out to tend to his Lonergan papers while Des Purcell kept rearranging the flora across the edges of the lawn at Canisius. The “Golden Oldies” would shower us with questions about our countries and would tell us their stories of happy ministerial moments. Often we would get the community to join us on the front lawn for a game of Frisbee or Bocce Ball during recreation time.
Arriving at Sevenhill at vintage time made for a memorable month in the Clare Valley. The fragrance of the grapes, the fullness of the orchards, the dancing kangaroos, the dominating presence of the bull, and the fertile ducks helped us settle nicely into our routine at the College or at La Storta. The long walks through the golden trails helped us realize that God has been so good and generous to the earth, even though we often prayed for rain for the parched land. Ian Cribb joined Joe and Adrian as retreat directors and homilists and we realized that these men not only liked us, but loved us. What more could we ask for during such a vulnerable time of grace?
A highlight for many of us was the Seder meal on Holy Thursday we celebrated under Joe’s guidance. We encountered a Saving God who was delighted to lead his people out of bondage, but saddened that his Egyptian children had lost their lives. The significance of the meal took a solemn turn when the Fourth Cup was offered – a symbol of our daily Eucharist. Never again will we be able to look at Holy Thursday or any Eucharist in the same way.
Celebrating Easter with the Sevenhill congregation was a happy occasion. We also celebrated Ian’s 60th birthday on Easter Sunday and we honored Joe on his 70th birthday a few weeks earlier. We met the Adelaide area Jesuits and Greg O’Kelly at a great feast at the conclusion of our retreat and we visited the Archbishop of Adelaide. Though many of us were sad to leave Sevenhill, we noted the silence that fell over us because we knew we had just spent a transformative month of privilege that will not be repeated in our lifetime.
During the week afterwards, the group split up for holiday – with some traveling the Great Ocean Road back to Sydney via Melbourne, while others went north to Alice Springs, Uluru, Kata Tjuta, and King’s Canyon. A few individuals made their own trips. I had always heard that the great inner portion of Australia was sunburned, but Alice Springs and the whole area was a vibrant green with lush vegetation and overflowing streams.
Our next journey was to direct the Retreat in Daily Life at selected schools and parishes across the country. Felicity Flynn set up the assignments and helped us process our experiences at its conclusion. Some of us went into the farmlands west of Sydney, while others went down to Adelaide and Melbourne. A few lucky ones were sent to Hervey Bay and Runaway Bay, where the subtropical warmth makes every day a bright and happy one. We were so moved by the lives that were touched by God on this retreat. It makes us wonder what the world could be like if more people were able to dispose themselves to the workings of the Spirit in such honest and trusting ways.
Adrian then led a discussion on approaches to faith that he worked on during a sabbatical in the U.S. when he wrote “Imagine Believing.” Sandie Cornish capably directed us on a four-day workshop on faith and justice issues that contained voluminous data and information on the social needs of the church and the world. After a week when we concluded our examination of the Constitutions, Michael Head guided us on an informative outline of key events in the history of the Society following the death of Ignatius and in events leading up to the suppression and restoration.
Our last experiment was looming. Many of us believed that this experiment was designed to fill some time since the bulk of tertianship was over, but we were far wrong in that premature assessment. Our ministry to the disadvantaged turned out to be wholly significant to the unfolding of our long retreat into the real world of poverty and need. Several of us were sent to Greg’s diocese to cover parishes and provide talks, while others worked with ethnic or specialized communities. One directed the 30-day retreat at Campion House, while another directed religious sisters on retreat in Pakistan. I had the surprise good fortune of living among the people of Taranaki, New Zealand and serving as their parish priest. For me, the depth that I was able to enter into the stillness of my soul and also into the lives of the local people came as a cherished surprise that I will long treasure. Upon our return, we spent four days of keen listening to one another as we told our stories of the ways that these people enriched our ministry.
And here we are on a five-day retreat to conclude our time together. The silence of the retreat refreshes us as we process these grace-filled seven months. We have confidently placed our trust in one another and we honor the unique person that God has called to the Society. We will soon disperse and we will miss each other a great deal. We will miss Adrian and Joe and all the Jesuits at Pymble. The novices have departed, so it will be a quiet place over the next few months. Come and visit them because they appreciate your presence.
Our hearts are heavy and light at the same time. They are heavy because we will miss you and the generous hospitality and companionship you have provided us. They are light because we have met you and we will carry you forward with us in our future ministries. We are proud of you and you have earned a warm place in our hearts and we will remain connected through our prayers for one another. Please let us know about the significant events in your lives. We hope and pray that we can meet you again – for we are your brothers and we ask for your prayers as we venture forth in the hopes we will soon be professed in this least Society of Ours. Brothers, until we meet again….
John Predmore SJ August 2010
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