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WISDOM LANGUAGE
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4. How do we go about it??
At this point, I recall Fr. Arrupe who used to speak very
strongly about the option for the poor. He came up with a triple
response which – consciously or unconsciously – used the
Biblical terms of the many and the few. The idea is that God
cares for the many, but he chooses the few to be his
co-operators to care for the many. Arrupe put it this way
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All Jesuits have to work for the
poor
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Many Jesuits have to work with the
poor.
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A few Jesuits (called by God and
Obedience) have to live like the poor.
This is how we started out with some
communities in the middle of a poor neighbourhood, sharing
the life of the poor and being totally at the mercy of life
in the neighbourhood. I am reminded too of Cardinal
Bergoglio who, as Archbishop of Buenos Aires refused to live
in the Episcopal palace. He lived in a little room above his
office and shared meals with the common people. He is
following the same line now as Pope. You saw him at the
World Youth Day at Rio. He had to change cars twice. He had
a wonderful car given to him by the German government with
all the luxuries of a Head of State. He never used this car.
Then they gave him a little humbler car, but still a good
one. And he still said no. Finally they got a utility car,
one that any ordinary employee can have. And he used that
one. Of course, this can have its difficulties in Rio,
because the people surrounded his car, but he seemed to
enjoy it fully. He feels that his vocation and the vocation
of every priest is to be not only with the poor but also
very much like the poor. He says that the shepherd must
smell of the sheep. (I wonder, what is the smell of a
Jesuit?).
To get back to our topic, we can apply the classification of
Fr. Arrupe in our terms, beginning with the few:
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A few CLC members, who have the
talent and capability and opportunity, are called to
intellectual work such as research, investigation,
writing etc.
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Many CLC members are called to
become excellent, qualified professionals.
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All CLC members are called to fill
our world with Wisdom through reflection, meditation and
thought.
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