What follows is a summary of Decree 6, one of 26 Decrees dealing with the Mission of the Society Jesus today issued by the 34th General Congregation [GC34] of the Society of Jesus.
Jesuits throughout the world have requested "a greater clarity and confidence about the nature of the priestly vocation as this is lived out in a Jesuit context." Since Vatican II many lay persons share more deeply in the Church's ministries. Religious order priests share a deeper relationship with diocesan bishops. Experiences of priesthood differ in various cultural contexts. Jesuit priesthood maintains a common apostolic calling with Jesuit brothers.
Jesuit religious share "a ministry of reconciliation' (2 Cor 5:18) in the service of Christ." As priests and brothers, Jesuits are "friends in the Lord sent in mission by Christ" and form "a complex apostolic body, wherein each companion shares in and contributes to a single apostolic vocation, respecting the personal call of the Spirit."
"By their ordination, Jesuit priests also share in the ministerial priesthood by which Christ, through the gifts of the Spirit, unceasingly builds up his Church, guides his people through the pastoral office, and leads them into the Kingdom of his Father." Since the beginning of the Society of Jesus and reaffirmed by Pope Paul VI, this "essential character ... is directed towards and necessary for the Society's apostolic mission to carry out whatever tasks the Church may ask of it." Priesthood is "a gift from God for universal mission."
Jesuit priestly service is exercised through "ministries of the Word and ministries of interiority, ministries of reconciliation and teaching, ministries of sacramental service, teaching catechism to children and the unlettered, ministries of social concern." These are exercised "where the needs are greatest, where there are not others to minister to these needs, and where the more universal good may be found." As priests, Jesuits minister to "those who have not heard the Gospel, those who are at the margins of the Church or of society, those who have been denied their dignity, those who are voiceless and powerless, those weak in faith or alienated from it, those whose values are undermined by contemporary culture, those whose needs are greater than they can bear."
"Jesuit priestly mission is directed, inseparably, towards justice for the poor and the reconciliation of the world to God through the preaching of the Gospel." All ministries that prepare for the Kingdom are open to the scope of Jesuit priests.
Exercising ministerial priesthood is characterized through "our apostolic mission to labor with Christ in proclaiming the Kingdom." Jesuit priests are urged to do "what they judge to be the most urgent and fruitful apostolic tasks, in an apostolic horizon unrestricted by divisions of class or culture, and with no regard for their personal gratification."
Jesuits try to direct their work as priests toward those not easily reached by the Church's ordinary ministry. They must promote and enhance the ecclesial service offered by other religious communities and by lay men and women. Jesuits try to bring a respect for the ways in which God is already at work among his people. Thus Jesuit ministry is always aimed at building up the human person; encourages us to become involved in disciplines central to ways in which human understand themselves; makes us take a positive attitude toward dialogue with others; opens the way to a positive ecumenical commitment; directs our attention toward those already rich in grace.
Ministries of the Word require profound and dedicated study, esp. A thorough knowledge of Scripture, tradition, skill in preaching, a human maturity and cultural breadth. Jesuits join the forms of ministry of the Word to the Church's celebration of the Eucharist.
Each stage of training marks a deeper entry into the experience of Jesuit priestly life. Nearing ordination a scholastic must consider the bold act of Ignatian trust in Christ's lordship of the Church: humble service of Christ is inseparable from a loving service of the Church. The first few years after ordination require the full development of confidence, wisdom and compassion. At this stage he requires help from fellow Jesuits and the people he is called to serve. It may be he will be confronted by his own weaknesses. After final vows he may be engaged in work that responds to the demands of our corporate mission and the broad range of activities proper to our Jesuit vocation. The task for the Jesuit priest in the face of multiple demands is to continue a life of faith and a generous and humble service of Christ. In retirement he is being offered a new way of carrying out his Jesuit apostolic mission by being called to live a life of priestly prayer for others. All priests and brothers and scholastics must have confidence in their own charisms.
Continue in dialogue with the Holy See regarding the Society's tradition to resist nominations to the episcopacy and, if useful, issue clear norms to be followed by Jesuits being considered for such.
Synopses of Other Decrees which are available.
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