Staying faithful to the Jesuit Mission: Fr. Lombardi

July 31, 2012: The Son of God's mission to mankind, as decided by the Trinity while contemplating our Earth, came about so that men might find the right path on their journey in the world, that they might understand the reason for which they were created, the significance of the fact that they were called into life, their responsibility for all created things. St. Ignatius, whose feast is celebrated on 31^st July, speaks of leading us "to the goal for the sake of which we were created", said Jesuit father and Vatican’s spokesperson Father Federico Lombardi, on Tuesday at the International Colloquium on Jesuit secondary education. It is being held from July 29 in Boston on ‘The world is our home.’ The event, which brought together for the first time in the history of the Society of Jesus, the leaders of high schools around the world, aims to address common challenges, the mission and identity of the Jesuits, in the field of education.

The mission of the Son of God continues in the life of the Church and of the Society of Jesus; that mission gives meaning to our own specific mission as educators in the schools founded and run by the Society of Jesus, Fr. Lombardi said.

Faithful to its origins, the mission of the Society of Jesus has always been defined as a "service of faith". However, the service of faith has increasingly had to interact with the secularization of the modern world, and has been seen as being indissolubly linked to the promotion of the justice of the Kingdom announced by Christ. This is part of the mission of the Church, and the Society emphasizes the fact that, in carrying out that mission, it receives guidance from the Pope himself who, having a view over the universal panorama of the world and the Church, is best placed to identify the priorities for the work of the Society, Fr. Lombardi added.

The documents of the latest General Congregation also contain continuous references to the Pope's words to Jesuits concerning the great importance of their service to the Church in today's world.

In a series of talks about the pastoral care of the Church in Italy and in the diocese of Rome, the Pope has often spoken of an "educational emergency, confirmed by the failures which too often crown our efforts to form well-rounded individuals, capable of collaborating with others and of giving meaning to their lives". The Pontiff believes that, in order to combat skepticism and relativism, we must draw from three main sources: nature, Revelation and history, Fr. Lombardi told the participants.