The Mission

Yes! I definitely think the Jesuits did the right thing by not leaving with the bishop. I think often we lose sight of what God wants from us, and get caught up in the matters of the world. That is what happened to the bishop, who instead of talking to God, simply focused on the Church which is made up by humans and therefore bound to make mistakes. I think he was also blinded by power, not necessarily his own, but the power of those around him. For instance, he had to deal with the great European powers of Portugal and Spain and their respective kings.
While the movie was going on it was very difficult for me to decide what I would do in that situation. Seeing father Rodrigo and Father Gabriel in the last scenes made me think that the Church needs both kinds of people. Rodrigo used his training as a missionary to help the Native Americans, he picked up arms when he needed to pick up arms. And Father Gabriel remained serene, and true to himself to the very end. Seeing him carry the exposed Sacrament while the church caught on fire, was very powerful.
I think if I were in their shoes, I will like to be like Father Gabriel. It took a lot of courage to carry the Eucharist literally until his death. But my favorite part was that when Father Gabriel falls, another man picks up the Sacrament and continues walking. I took this as a sign that God's mission keeps going, with or without us, we just do a little in God's greater plan.

Discerning Mindset: Finding God in all Things

The title was the caption of the first picture I took in Loyola during orientation. It was the one that first caught my eye, maybe because it is the last one, but perhaps because that is precisely what I sought to do here: to find God in all things.
There are other that has caught my eye along my years here. For instance, "appreciation of things both great and small" more specifically because of the small. And "linking faith with justice" because they seem so unlikely to link but yet such an obvious pairing.
However, these are not the ones that I would like to write about today. I just went outside of the library and read each of them one more time. And a new tile caught my attention this time.

"Contemplative vision formed by hope"

This phrase made me want to look words up. Contemplative means "expressing or involving prolonged thought." So it is all about forming a vision. I think this has become a new interest in my life, because I need to figure out not only the vision that God has for my life, but my own vision.
I need to form my vision, and I like that it is formed by hope of all things. This vision not only implies seeing yourself in ten years. It means the same vision which you use to see the rest of the world, and that is the fact that interests me. We need to change our vision, we need to put some thought in it, and we need to see the world like God sees us, with hope. Hope that people are good, hope that it will all be okay. The phrase will be so different if it ended with love, instead of hope.
I think this is what a Jesuit education has taught me. It has changed my vision, it has shaped me to see the world through hopeful eyes, and to put some thought into it.

A picture says a thousand words

Week 1: Because the main goal of this week is to know we are a loved sinner.
This message, said by Mahatma Gandhi, calls us to do what God is already doing with us.
We must focus on the person, not the action.

Week 2: Because this is the week of decision making and rules of discernment.
And most of the time the process of decision making is vague and unclear, like these arrows,
but we need to face it anyway.

Week 3: Because the Cross is the inevitable symbol of this week.
It was either that or a burning heart, but the sunset in the back fulfills this burning sensation.
It is the darkness from the death of the symbol, and the sun in the back of the Light of the World.

Week 4: Because the Contemplation of the Love of God is the most important part of this week.
And because there is something powerful in the simplicity of these three words of the Scriptures.