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(3) STUDIES IN THE SPIRITUALITY OF JESUITS. Uyzi/2. BOSTON COLLEGE MAY. 2 z 1989. PROPERTY OF O'NEILL LIBRARY. The Disturbing Subject: The Option for the Poor Essays:. Adrien Demoustier, S.J. Jean-Yves Calvez, S.J. Experiences:. Nine U.S. Jesuits. MARCH. 1989.

(4) THE SEMINAR ON JESUIT SPIRITUALITY A group. of Jesuits appointed from their provinces in the United States.. The Seminar. studies topics pertaining to the spiritual doctrine. American. and. and communicates the results to the members of the provinces. This is done in the spirit of Vatican IPs recommendation to religious institutes to recapture the original inspiration of their founders and to adapt it to the circumstances of modern times. The Seminar welcomes reactions or comments in regard to the material which it publishes. practice of Jesuits, especially. The Seminar Jesuits of the. focuses. United. its. States.. Jesuits,. The. Studies, while. meant. are not exclusively for them. Others cordially. welcome. life. and work of the. may be common religious, laity, men. issues treated. Jesuits of other regions, to other priests,. women. Hence the. on the. direct attention. especially for. who may. find. also to. and/or. American Jesuits, them helpful are. to read them.. CURRENT MEMBERS OF THE SEMINAR L.. Patrick. Carroll,. S.J.,. is. pastor. of. St.. Leo's. Parish. in. Tacoma,. Washington and superior of the Jesuit community there. John A. Coleman, S.J., teaches Christian social ethics at the Jesuit School of Theology at Berkeley. Robert N. Doran, S.J., is one of the editors of the complete works oJ Bernard Lonergan and teacher of systematic theology at Regis College, the Jesuit School of Theology in Toronto. Philip C. Fischer, S.J., is secretary of the Seminar and an editor at the Institute of Jesuit Sources.. David J. Hassel, S.J., teaches philosophy at Loyola University, Chicago and regularly writes on topics in spirituality. Frank J. Houdek, S.J., teaches historical theology and spirituality at the Jesuit School of Theology at Berkeley. Arthur F. McGovern, S.J., teaches philosophy and is director of the Honors Program at the University of Detroit. Michael J. O'Sullivan, S.J., teaches psychology at Loyola Marymount University.. John W. Padberg, S.J., is chairman of the Seminar, editor of Studies, and director and editor at the Institute of Jesuit Sources. Paul Soukup, S.J., teaches communications at Santa Clara University. David S. Toolan, S.J., is associate editor of Commonweal and superior of the West Side Jesuit Community in New York.. A. Copyright. ©. 1989 and published by The Seminar on Jesuit. 3700 West Pine Blvd.,. St.. Louis,. MO. 63108. Spirituality,. (Tel. 314-652-5737).

(5) THE DISTURBING SUBJECT: THE OPTION FOR THE POOR. Adrien Demoustier,. and. S.J.. the. Jean- Yves Calvez,. S.J. /. Edward. Nine U.S. Jesuits. /. The. First. The Preferential Option for the Poor: It. Come From. Experiences of Solidarity with the Poor. in the Spirituality of Jesuits. March 1989. for Us?. F. Sheridan, S.J.. Studies 21/2. Companions. Poor. Where Does. Translations by. /.

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(7) For Your Information. .. .. .. The one-hundredth consecutive Jesuits will -. If. be published. in this present year, 1989.. you think that you have previously read. you are correct. it. issue of Studies in the Spirituality of. does in. It. first. began For Your Information .... this one. I. like the help of. that. repeat. sentence above,. in the last issue as. to call attention again to. it. how we would. our readers as we prepare for the one-hundredth issue. of Studies.. In that issue. prayers" that. and. activities. we hope. come out. publish a selection of "classic Jesuit. to. of the four hundred and. of the Society of Jesus.. examples of such prayers? The prayer. We. English or in any other language. sary.. Please send. it. to. me. name. shall see to a translation. as. all. much. in. neces-. June. 1,. publisher and year. title,. and place of publication of the book or other source. Send the prayer with. if. or. a bibliographical reference as possible,. of the author, the. the prayer. If you do not have. life. Do you have an example may be written by a Jesuit. at the Institute of Jesuit Sources by. 1989. Please also include as full for example, the full. years of the. fifty. in. which you found. the details, do not let that deter you.. information as you have. In advance,. thank you for your help.. A little. more than. a year ago. we began. a section of "Letters to the. To those who have written, our thanks; to those who have not yet done so, a word of encouragement; your views, pro or con, on the topics treated in Studies, we welcome. Letters should ordinarily not Editor.". exceed 750 words and should relate directly to an Studies.. cation. They may be edited. is. for reasons of space. for those. who have been. book: The Spiritual Exercises: It. is. A. clarity,. and publi-. inquiring about copies of the. Literal Translation. again available in a. new. Jesuit Sources, clothbound at $13.95. date. and. published in. at the discretion of Studies.. Good news Reading.. article. and a Contemporary. printing from the Institute of. and sewn paperback. more than ten thousand copies have been. sold. In. at $10.95.. To. prospect for.

(8) early. summer. are two. new books, The. Spiritual Exercises in. Everyday. A. Method and a Biblical Interpretation by Gilles Cusson, S.J., and An Introductory Commentary on the Constitutions of the Society of Jesus by Antonio de Aldama, S.J. The book by Father Cusson is a complement to his earlier book, Biblical Theology and the Spiritual Exercises. The commentary by Father Aldama comes from the knowledge and experience of a man who has spent more than forty years as a researcher and writer on the life and constitutional structure of the Society. Life:. Lastly, the previous issue of Studies (January 1989),. Jesuits. US. and Their Memberships," brought renewed. book, Carlos Valles's Living Together. set of frank. to. in a Jesuit. on "United. States. interest in another. Community.. a. It is. and practical reflections on topics ranging from friendship. power, from work to intimacy, from competition to. the context of Jesuit. community. sensitivity, all in. life.. John W. Padberg, Editor. S.J..

(9) CONTENTS. FOREWORD THE FIRST COMPANIONS AND THE POOR. I.. Demoustier,. 4. S.J.. Preludes: the poor. 4. The poor and the people. in the society of the time of. 4. St. Ignatius. The poor and the religious vocation of 7 The poor and religious poverty. .. Adrien. /. 6. Ignatius. The mission of the Company of Jesus and the poor of 9 Ignatius' life style on his return to Azpeitia. 9. society. Conditions and consequences of the foundation decisions. 11. 17. Towards a conclusion: the colleges. THE PREFERENTIAL OPTION FOR THE POOR: WHERE DOES IT COME FROM FOR US? Jean-Yves Calvez, S.J.. II.. /. Its. source in the Society of Jesus. Its. source in the Church. Who. 22. are the poor in the option?. What is expected of us? The option for the poor,. 26 the service of faith and the promotion of. 34. Conclusion. EXPERIENCES OF SOLIDARITY WITH THE POOR. III.. Graced History Tony. I. I. Dan Weber,. James K. Voiss,. Unmitigated Evil. Just a Chicken. Man. Rich are the Poor Vulnerability. A. .. I. .. .. /. Michael L. Cook,. Jack Morris,. in Spirit I. Man. I J.. Study of Sanctuary. I. I. S.J.. Kevin Connell,. Chuck Schmitz,. LETTERS TO THE EDITOR. 39. S.J.. 43. Phil Boroughs, S.J.. D. Whitney, I. S.J.. 41. S.J.. James E. Royce,. and not Competency. Rich Young. 36. S.J.. 37. S.J.. Poverty of the Imagination. A. 24. 28. justice. An. 21. 53. S.J.. 46 49. S.J.. 50. 45. 36. 21.

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(11) THE DISTURBING SUBJECT: THE OPTION FOR THE POOR Foreword. John W. Padberg,. S.J.. Editor of Studies. On. several counts this. Spirituality effort.. of Jesuits.. an unusual issue of Studies. is. First, this. an international collaborative. truly. is. number of "authors". Secondly, the. is. larger than for any. previous issue of Studies. Next, the authors of the parts of this issue are. States but. members of. from France, and. essays presented in the. among. first. two principal. the Society not from the United. their contributions are translated. from. French province. Then, the third part consists. of a series of very short personal reflections,. published. in the. all. of them originally. contributions to a booklet prepared for. its. members. by one of the American provinces. Lastly, the original impetus toward using in Studies the two French articles. Upper Canadian province who. came from. a. member. who. be identified. will. am. It is its. no secret that the "option. for the. equal heat, and some light in the. poor" and more generally. last. the opportunity arose to. what seemed. to the. make. members of. much. discus-. decades since the. second and thirty-third general congregations. When. members. sure, of the readers of Studies.. insertion into the life of the Society have occasioned. sion,. all. specifically. further along in this foreword, go the thanks of the Seminar I. To. also served as their translator.. of these generous contributors,. and,. of the. in. available to. thirty-. 1974-75 and 1983.. American. Jesuits. the Seminar on Jesuit Spirituality. two excellent essays on the subject, they eagerly accepted. it.. Both.

(12) PADBERG. 2. of the essays were originally presented to an assembly of French Jesuits at Chantilly near Paris at the. The. first essay,. and the Poor/' cally in their. end of 1986.. by Adrien Demoustier, "The. situates the early Jesuits. First. Companions. and the early Society. contemporary milieu, describes certain of. their. histori-. "exem-. plary" experiences, and draws consequences and conclusions that will. probably for some of our readers be novel and perhaps unexpected.. Father Demoustier Jesuit. journal. of. is. one of the editors of the distinguished French Christus,. spirituality. and. also. is. one of the. tertianship directors in his province.. The second. essay,. by Jean- Yves Calvez, "The Preferential Op-. Where Does. tion for the Poor:. It. Come From. very recent history in describing briefly. came. be and. to. how. gives a soundly scriptural. that choice. Father Calvez. for. Us?" both recounts. the "preferential option". and theological. basis for. professor at the Institute of Higher. is. Studies in Paris and recently wrote Foi et justice: la dimension sociale. de Vevangelisation. al Assistants. From. 1971 to 1983 he was one of the four Gener-. of the Society.. The addresses of our two tier, S.J.,. Demous-. Centre Sevres, 35 rue de Sevres, Paris 75006, France; and. Jean-Yves Calvez,. To. principal authors are: Adrien. turn. now. S.J.,. 14 rue d'Assas, Paris 75006, France.. to the third part of this issue, the. Seminar members. thought that just as the original French "dossier" included other. documents which gave. specific details of. how. that option. was being. experienced today in France, so our American treatment of the subject might well. do the same. for the. United. States. Fortunately, at. hand was a booklet prepared by the Oregon Province, Laborers. in. His. Harvest: Essays by Jesuits of the Northwest on Experiences of Solidarity with the Poor,. containing forty-seven pieces by. members of. that. province precisely reflecting personally on the subject of such solidarity.. With the kind acquiescence of Craig Boly, dean of. Institute in. Spokane and editor of. that booklet,. we. St.. Michael's. include nine of. those pieces in this issue of Studies. Each of the authors will be identified. on the page. at. which. his contribution. is. published..

(13) FOREWORD Most. owed. He. it is. our original and continuing debt of gratitude. vividly,. to Father. who. Edward. first. 3. F. Sheridan of the. brought the French. Upper Canadian. is. province.. articles to the attention. of the. Seminar; he was their translator; he assured us of the willingness of the original French editor that. present a. member. in Toronto,. book,. Do. use them. Father Sheridan. is. at. of the Jesuit Centre for Social Faith and Justice. where he. Justice,. we. is. on the. editing a. companion volume. social statements of the. He was. most immediately. Society,. and before. to his earlier. Canadian bishops.. in the past the English Assistant of the. that provincial of. Upper Canada,. rector of the. theologate in Toronto, and professor of moral theology..

(14) THE FIRST COMPANIONS AND THE POOR. Adrien Demoustier,. To let. introduce this subject, "The First Companions and the Poor,". me, in the. first. S.J.. of. spirit. St. Ignatius,. propose three considerations as. preludes: 1.. 2. 3.. The poor and. the people in the society of his time. The poor and The poor and. the religious vocation of. St.. Ignatius. religious poverty. After that, this essay will then attempt a reflective description of the "way of proceeding" of the companions with a view to ing a question that. we pose. clarify-. but that they did not pose, or did not. pose in the same way. Attempting to steer a course between a pious discourse and a properly historical lecture, certain anachronism to. open. for ourselves a. we. shall. way. have to. risk a. to a better under-. standing of this subject.. PRELUDES: THE POOR The poor and the people. By. birth Ignatius. in the society of the time of. was not. rich but. so he was one of the "powerful," solidarity into set himself. earth". 1. 1. up. —and. which he was born. he was of a noble family, and. who. could exploit the system of. in order to take the opportunity to. —. own name "the esteem for a great name on become rich, and thus to be able to give liberally. in his. so to. St Ignatius. See The General Examen, no. 44. ([101]),. The Constitutions of the Society of Jesus,.

(15) THE FIRST COMPANIONS AND THE POOR and. 5. to extend his influence.. power" was. In sharp contrast to the type or class of "person of. man. the "poor person," the. of the people, of the. "little. people.". Such were those with no particular protection, who could. in. good. times live by their labor, but without any margin of security.. poor also included the to town, charitably. that. destitute, the beggars,. moved on from hospice. widowhood might. The. wandering from town. to hospice.. was enough. It. intervene, or sickness, or even a rise in the. cost of living, to break the equilibrium. and force. "little. people" into. vagabond marginalization. Cities. more. and towns maintained, poorly rather than. "hospitals" or "hospices.". well,. one or. They were generally small refuges of. only a few beds to harbor vagrants. These people were figures of Christ, other Christs, but society sought to protect itself. since they frightened others. from them. and were dangerous. Accommodated. for. a night, they received a small coin before being sent on their way. small. number of the. privileged poor, the poor of the. A. town who were. well-known, were allowed to sleep in the porches of churches and in the streets. These would play the "extras" at the funerals of distin-. who would remember them. guished citizens,. in their wills, leaving. them a new garment or a piece of money. The municipal carefully limited the. number of such people.. In time of. demic, they drove them out of the town without the. same time. pity,. authorities. war or. epi-. while trying at. to limit the crowds of starving peasants trying to. escape death by famine,. who. sought refuge in the. city. stocked with. "little. people" and. reserves of food.. The "poor,". then, are the. the wandering beggars, into. common. folk,. or. whose ranks the former were ever. danger of slipping.. edit.. George E. Ganss,. S.J. (St. Louis:. The. Institute of Jesuit Sources, 1970), 107.. in.

(16) DEMOUSTIER. 6. The poor and the. religious vocation of St. Ignatius. Ignatius 's vocation led status of a penitent.. It. him. to. adopt the socially recognized. was when he adopted the habit or garments. of such a person and had to lay aside his gentleman's dress that he. encountered the poor with journey. to a. He. tells. whom. he would walk daily on. "He went. as secretly as possible. his fine clothes. gave them to him and. the story himself:. poor man, and removing. his pilgrim. put on his desired attire." The sequel was that the unfortunate. was suspected of having stolen those. man. fine clothes.. [He was asked] whether he had given some clothing to a poor man, the poor. man had. said.. Answering that he had given the. man. of compassion started from his eyes for the poor. to. as. clothes, tears. whom. he had. given his clothing, because he had been suspected of stealing them. But. no matter how much he at. tried to avoid esteem,. Manresa before people were saying great. Taught by. this. he could not be long. things about him.. .. .. }. poor fellow, Ignatius began to learn what humiliation. was, but also sensed that form of consolation experienced in tears of. compassion. The importance of tears in his mystical. known. His It is. Spiritual Exercises. likewise consolation. of God, whether. it. mentions. when one. it. be because of sorrow. ately directed to the praise. is. well. explicitly:. sheds tears that. sufferings of Christ our Lord, or for. life. move. for sins, or. because of the. any other reason that. and service of God.. to the love. is. immedi-. 3. After the experience of Manresa, to which the above adventure. was an introduction, Ignatius wanted. to. depend only on God while. pursuing his pilgrimage; so he renounced the security of either com-. panionship or financial resources.. He. lived close to the poor,. different kinds of humiliation, noting each time that they. 2. St.. Ignatius'. Own. Story, trans. William J.. Young,. knowing. were experi-. S.J.. (Chicago: Loyola University. J.. Puhl, S.J. (Chicago: Loyola. Press, n.d.), 16, no. 18.. 3. The. Spiritual Exercises. of. St.. University Press, n.d.), no. 316.. Igpatius, ed. Louis.

(17) THE FIRST COMPANIONS AND THE POOR enced with the support of intense consolation. This. when. Venice he was. arriving in. is. the. 7. way. common. when he allowed. when he was searched. took him for a spy and hustled him off in streets.. They ended up judging him a. poor, Ignatius learned. was thanks. own.. It. what. his conversion. how. to. leg. So,. himself to be manhandled by a. guard and dragged by the arm through the. his return journey,. was. alone at nightfall without shelter,. left. unable to keep up with his companions because of his lame too, at Jerusalem,. it. to the skin his. city;. again,. by soldiers who. underwear through the. half-wit.. 4. In the school of the. renounce every project properly. to this humility,. on. his. which enabled him to recognize. and experience of the Lord had inscribed. in the. very depths of his being, that he discerned his true future in the desire to acquire. some education and. mism of contemporary ".. .. .. and. to help souls.". culture.. he. finally 5. to enter fully into the dyna-. felt. The poor. more. inclined to study so as to. be able. person, according to the "sacred teaching". of the Spiritual Exercises,. 6. is. the one. who. is. not protect himself from humiliations, and. not protected or does. who. thus achieves the. humility which permits a genuinely free election. This. is. the. first. guideline: the rejection of society's standard as a criterion of decision.. Blessed are the poor.. The poor and. On. religious poverty. his arrival in. who was then. Barcelona he told Isabel Roser and Martin Ardevol,. teaching grammar, of his inclination to study. Both. approved. it,. to supply. him with what was necessary. Ardevol offering to teach him without charge, and Roser. So Ignatius bargained with society. 4. St.. 5. Ibid.,. 6. The. 7. St Ignatius'. Own. Ignatius'. Spiritual Exercises, nos. 145-46.. Own. to procure the. Story, nos. 41, 48, 51-52.. no. 50. Story, no. 54.. for his support.. 7. means necessary.

(18) DEMOUSTIER. 8 to enter into. its. culture.. It. would have been an easy matter. if. he had. remained alone. But from the time when he was no longer a complete beginner in his schooling, he undertook at Alcala to begin his. "He worked. apprenticeship in spiritual direction. tual Exercises,". ions. 8. he. tells us.. at giving the Spiri-. By then he had been joined by compan-. who were his disciples. The rest of the Pilgrim's. journey, to the end of his account, can. be understood as a groping search for some way. for a. group to. live. as such in the society of their times, without renouncing the originality. of their project: to be of the poor, but preparing "to be of help. to souls". were. by completing their. tried.. studies.. A. number of arrangements. Every attempt led back to a rather wandering status and. The group lodged with the caretaker in else boarded in some home or institution.. to begging.. a hospice or. prison or. Ignatius even. contemplated. living as a servant in the. employ of an academic mem-. ber of the university. Eventually they became paying guests in the university colleges. Finally,. about the time of their vows at Montmartre, the com-. panions could foresee the end of their studies, each having resolved his financial. vow of. problems more or. less successfully.. poverty, understanding. it. to. mean. They then made. a commitment to have. neither property nor sources of revenue and to live it. was not. their. on alms. Though. feasible to live together, they did offer each other support.. Without willing or stating. were readopting some-. explicitly, they. it. thing of the primitive perspective of the great mendicant orders, to. preach in poverty "like the apostles," without property or assured revenues, either individual or collective. In. passage to Jerusalem,. this. At the conclusion of the Society of Jesus in. was. life. Ibid.,. no. 57.. while waiting for. life.. when. they were establishing. the companions ended by adopting the. of the traditional religious orders. They. became the voluntary poor of. 8. way of. their quest,. Rome,. heritage and the rule of. their. Italy,. Christ, irrevocably engaging themselves.

(19) THE FIRST COMPANIONS AND THE POOR in. and through the community not only. community poverty, used. Poverty. own nothing. to. but,. 9. by. their. ownership even of everything they. to abdicate. became a sharing of goods and a. public, institutional. proclamation of evangelical fraternity. Religious poverty provided them the opportunity to affirm, in the Christian society of their time, the obligation of Gospel sharing, access to which. discovered in the. is. life-style. of poor beggars. Their. mutual personal engagement became a public contract to own nothing as of right, not even an alms received.. They would. carry. on. their. ministry gratis, but they recalled from their experience as students that. it. was necessary. enter into. its. to receive. culture in order to evangelize. purposes of formation not so ty as. from society the accredited it.. right to. They would accept. much an exception. to. for. mendicant pover-. another form of preparatory poverty, making use of the semi-. public social institution of the colleges, precisely to provide the. whose. poor an access. theoretical purpose. was. to education.. Voluntarily poor and united in a public body, the companions. sought the opportunity to remain poor through the adoption of religious poverty.. THE MISSION OF THE COMPANY OF JESUS AND THE POOR OF SOCIETY Two. experiences. his return to his. companions. at. — one. lived. homeland from. by Ignatius alone at the time of Paris, the other shared. by the ten. the time of the foundation of the order. —would. provide models.. Ignatius's life-style on his return to Azpeitia. This. is. the. first. he was welcomed by his rank. Ignatius,. He went. experience. his brother,. Coming back. to the land of his birth,. eager to give him. however, declined. all. the honors due. his hospitality.. instead to the hospital, and then at convenient hours sought.

(20) DEMOUSTIER. 10. alms throughout the town. In. this hospital. he began to. talk. on. divine. many who came there to visit him, and by God's grace gathered no little fruit. As soon as he arrived, he made up his mind to teach catechism daily to the children. ... He also made an effort to get rid of some abuses, and with God's help he removed some of. things with. them. 9. He. used the credit which his reputation as a. in his. own. man. of. district to influence his fellow citizens to. God. gave him. some. decisions. and moral reform, the repression of gambling. for social. time. (at that. a plague which generated poverty), and of priestly concubinage.. "he saw to. Finally,. made. it. for the poor,". We. that. 10. some. a measure of social justice.. can read in. this description. dwelling place accessible to. and. provision was officially and regularly. all,. a. something of a paradigm: a. way of. life. which assures freedom. entails frequent contact with others, a ministry of individual. direction. and public preaching. Addressed. first. to children but. soon. to the general public as well, this preaching succeeded in inducing. society to reflect social justice.. A. few months. wrote of the. on. public morality and to establish a greater. later, alluding to his. his desire "to. embarrassing. studies.". its. 11. preach as a poor man, and certainly not with. abundance. I. now. in. Rome. to. found the Society of Jesus. Their. this. time of. lived. by the ten companions. first. itself.. place of mission, indicated. They were. living in a vast. Ibid., nos. 87-88.. 10. Ibid.. 11. See a penetrating analysis. de Loyola: L'analyse sociale 12. during. during the winter of 1539-40, at the time of the deliberation. by the pope, was the Eternal City. J.. enjoy. 12. The second model experience was. 9. journey to Spain, Ignatius. Dominique Bertrand, S.J., La politique de (Paris: Le Cerf, n.d.), 367-71. in. saint Ignace. Letter to Jaime Cazador, 12 Feb. 1536, in Letters of St. Ignatius Loyola, trans. S.J. (Chicago: Loyola University Press, 1959), 16.. Young,. Wm..

(21) THE FIRST COMPANIONS AND THE POOR. 11. palazzo belonging to a wealthy friend because the hospice did not. admit such a large group. ty.. They participated. Two. of them were teaching at the universi-. in theological debates at the Vatican.. They were. giving the Spiritual Exercises to retreatants, engaging in spiritual direction, preaching in the churches, to the unlettered.. happened. It. and teaching Christian doctrine. that famine. had driven a crowd of. peasants from the environs into the city in the hope of finding something to eat.. The companions went. to the help of these. poor people,. gave them what food they could gather, with their host's permission transformed his house into a refuge, organized the accommodation of these unfortunates in the city hostels, and by religious instruction sustained the morale of the hungry exiles from their homes.. drew and. in their. ladies. wake. the upper classes of. from the. who. nobility,. Rome,. in turn. They. including cardinals. used their capacity for. organization and familiarity with social conditions to mobilize. relief.. 13. Presence to the poor and action on their behalf through the society of the time. were. integral to the founding activity of the. companions, quite as much as learned preaching, pastoral action, and spiritual direction. Indeed,. it. was. this. way of. life,. it. seems, which. drew the attention of the companions themselves and of the ambient society to the. Gospel character of what they were. ministries were, in a way,. men were and. these. more. living.. Their other. ordinary, less remarkable, given what. the formation they had received.. Conditions and consequences of the foundation decision In the. ions. meantime, the pope was beginning. on missions beyond Rome,. to the great ones of this world. call. to. Jesuits. engage. in activity. were led. to send the. compan-. to support the action of his legates It. was. partly in. consequence of. with important personages that the. to the decision to. this first. found the Society as a religious. order.. 13. G. Wilkens, Companions de tesus (Rome: Centrum Ignatianum. Recherches no.. 14, 308-309.. Spiritualitatis, n.d.),.

(22) DEMOUSTIER. 12. The. conclusions of Dominique Bertrand's analysis,. from the viewpoint of posed to the. was. were sent. for a mission. work with and. to. which concerned. rather. can readily be trans-. companions' relations to the poor. 14. level of the. his lead. If Jesuits it. Ignatius's political ideas,. made 1. follow. for important persons,. all classes. of people. They took. advantage of their mission to the powerful to preach in the churches, to teach Christian doctrine to the. but also to minister to the dying,. sions,. The condition on which. etc.. socially,. people, to hear confes-. the hospitals and prisons,. visit. their mission. both geographically and. part,. common. depended. most. for the. was the conversion of the. powerful. This included necessarily the conversion of the great to a. sense of social responsibility to the people. much. as they, to spiritual help. common people needed. to. and. who had. a right, quite as. to temporal relief as well.. be protected by the normal. social. The. mecha-. nisms of their society from a miserable destitution and to be respected in their. human. dignity.. The. great could not experience genuine. conversion without turning to the poor. Proximity to the poor, the choice to. them rather than others and,. visit. to live close to. became a high. them. in the. measure possible,. in the hostel or the hospital, for example,. priority of the. mission was to the powerful.. companions' mission, even when that It. was. this. choice of proximity to the. poor which gave orientation to their presence to the. The. first. Jesuits did not theorize. great.. about their lived experience in. their various missions. Their accounts, however, permit the reader to. appreciate the coherence of that experience. In Bertrand's expression, it. was. really a choice to. mesh or. interrelate the. two extreme. of society, a "differential choice of the extremes.". Proclamation of the Gospel. But. is. addressed to. all. levels. 15. without exception.. effectively to address all required, at least in that era, that the. preacher cultivate the goodwill of the great, convert them to the. acceptance of their duty to use their power for the. 14. Bertrand, 367-71.. 15. Ibid.,. 304.. common good.

(23) THE FIRST COMPANIONS AND THE POOR. —above. therefore,. all,. 13. on behalf of those threatened with marginali-. zation, the poor.. The. priority of "ministry to the high" required the adoption. and declaration of an antecedent. The. low". more. or,. go to the high, intending the service of. accurately, of being able to. the lowly.. priority "to the. "to the low". is. therefore the necessary intentional. point of departure.. The poor. life-style. of the Jesuits. on the edge of indigence. —. —. they were themselves always. oriented their. ing that the base, the connatural base, as. the poverty of religious. of the. attain,. activity. It it. at indicat-. were, of their mission was. organized on the model, impossible to. life,. of the poor themselves.. life. aimed. It. was a. religious life. oriented towards the poor because inspired by what proximity to the. On. poor teaches. Constitutions. this. point. it is. worth rereading the passages. where the word "poor". found.. is. in the. 16. This need, which was also a taste, a preference, points to a certain. way. in. which the companions situated themselves quite spon-. taneously in the exercise of their ministries.. other task imposes. works of .. .. piety,. itself. What one does when no. are the customary ministries,. good works.. I. still. called. quote Bertrand:. presence in the prisons and hospitals, and teaching Christian. .. doctrine there, concern to help "repentant. women,". kinds of relief. all. of the poor, arranging reconciliations, spiritual help to the simple and to unlettered children.. Such ministry went well. with,. and was even. sustained by, a predilection for a certain style of "pilgrim" preferred, without rigidity however, to journey. the "high" style of travel cally. ed. with. all,. on horseback and. for instance, in inns.. streets, the. shops of. Rome. .. .. .. They. to. on. foot, at. be able. to. life.. once. to avoid. mix evangeli-. liked public places,. in particular, to. They. crowd-. be able to gather a. good-sized crowd for proclamation of the word of God.. 17. Since pressure could easily lead to allowing themselves to be. 16. Constitutions, [54, 81, 240, 331, 338, 562, 650].. 17. Bertrand, 487-88..

(24) DEMOUSTIER. 14. occupied in tasks socially more distinguished, the companions had to provide a counterpressure, proximity to the. common. When. people.. they were departing for the Council of Trent, Ignatius gave Lainez,. Salmeron, and Favre the following instructions: For the greater glory of journey to Trent. God. our Lord, our principal objective in. after having arranged to live together in. is,. this. some. suitable place, to preach, to hear confessions, to give public instructions, to. teach. little. children, to give example, to visit the. poor. public hostels and hospitals, to exhort our neighbor to Christian. Ignatius. knew. in the. living.. 18. very well that his companions were going to Trent for. the spiritual assistance of the Fathers of the Council and of their suites, so his insistence. on preaching. 'Teach the children. significant.. possibilities of. time and place.". was not merely symbolic but for the sick," as. normal. becomes. all. the. more. at a convenient time, according to the 19. to. The. visiting in hostels. and hospitals. be done "at times more convenient. though they were the masters of the place!. The customary as the. to all. ministries,. activity. works of piety, are somehow presented. from which one. is. distracted by the mission to. important persons or the service of institutions and to which one always returns promptly, as. The members. will also. to the extent that the their. own. it. were, as soon as possible.. occupy themselves. more important. in corporal. works of mercy. spiritual activities. permit and. energies allow. For example, they can help the sick, especially. those in hospitals ... or do what they can for the poor and for prisoners in the. do. jails,. both by their personal work and by getting others to. 20 it.. Thus writes. St.. Ignatius in the Constitutions.. In 1552 Ignatius. young. had a secretary write. Jesuit in his formation years:. Ignatius, 95-96.. 18. Letters of. 19. Ibid.. 20. Constitutions, [650].. St.. to Sebastiano. Romeo, a.

(25) THE FIRST COMPANIONS AND THE POOR Visit the sick. and. if. they are in prison, go. help for. may do latter.. The. and the poor who are without resources. them from the. visit. them, and see. who. rich or those. if. 15. in that country,. you can get some. are better. off,. so that you. a material service to the former and a spiritual favor to the. 21. newsletters sent to the whole Society never omitted this. dimension. 22 Polanco, in his Chronicon, an annual collection of edifying items. and events. to the credit of the Society culled. from the archives, emphasized. We. this. can take as an example. by the author. aspect of the apostolate.. where the. Sicily,. particularly favorable, thanks to the presence of the viceroy,. Vega, a great noble and a profoundly. Juan de. man, a sagacious. spiritual. statesman and an authentic disciple and friend of Ignatius.. own. thanks to him and in part on his. on him. also to the ministry of Father. some. at. was. It. initiative that the first college. explicitly destined for non-Jesuit students. 1548. Polanco reports. was. situation. was founded. at. length, but gives. Jerome Domenech. Messina. in. prominence. and. in the prisons. to his efforts for their reform. In visiting the prisons Father Jerome remarked that a great. poor people were held prisoner. for quite small debts.. the viceroy that from fines levied, a certain. He. number of. arranged with. amount should be. allocated. to discharge their debts, with the result that twenty of these. Some. debtors regained their liberty.. of. poor. them had passed one or two. years in prison, others even three, and certainly not without grave. damage. to their wives. and. children.. For fourteen others he obtained. permission to leave prison with a guard, to labor on public works, building a bastion. In this ty.. way they earned. sufficient to gain their liber-. 23. The matter came up again. Monumenta. the following year.. 21. Epist. Ignatii., 4:457, in. 22. For example,. 23. Juan Alonso de Polanco, Historia. Historica. S.J., series 1. (Madrid, 1906).. that of 1556, translated by Bertrand, 543-47.. (Madrid, 1894), 1:241,. n. 197,. S.J.,. Vita S. Ignatii,. or Textes Ignatiens. II,. 94-95.. Monumenta. Hist.. S.J..

(26) DEMOUSTIER. 16. Father. Domenech preached. encouraged by the. latter. regularly in the presence of the viceroy;. and aided by a companion, he sought. gather alms to free from the public. jails. those imprisoned for debt.. to. The. viceroy gave the example of generosity, the city imitated him, and private citizens followed in turn.. released their sins. .. .. As long. to. be. having been already freed from the debt and prison of. .. by confession and communion.. and devotion. who had. So such poor prisoners began. is. It. was the. whose. zeal. evidenced in an extraordinary way by his works of piety,. spontaneously suggested. this.. 24. he had strength and time,. as. viceroy,. Ignatius, as. we know,. devoted great personal effort to the reintegration into society of. reformed. prostitutes.. He. used his expertise in the area of the law of. associations, recently acquired. by. his. work. in. composing the Constitu-. put the finishing touches on statutes which would assure that. tions, to. work an autonomous. He. legal existence.. labored as well on the. restoration of a confraternity of gentlemen for the relief of the poor. "ashamed. to beg.". In all these. documents one can sense an. clear, to the institutional. attention, discreet but. dimensions of problems. Ignatius encouraged. the foundation of cooperative lending institutions.. The "works of. piety" of the Jesuits in favor of the poor tended to take. thing of the nature of a partial reform of society.. on some-. They may seem. timid to us. That age, however, had not yet conceived the idea of action. on. social structures as such, nor did. ries to think in. it. have the mental catego-. those terms. But their "way of proceeding". moved. in. that direction, notably in a reorganization of medieval confraternities,. orienting. them towards. ble.". the sixteenth century, almsgiving had an economic and. In. social action. socially effective function. tion of. money. which was not uniquely "charita-. inasmuch as. to those social sectors. it. helped to extend the circula-. where an economy of. subsis-. tence remained predominant. Contemporary documents, however, present manifold indications of concern for a better organization of. 24. Ibid.,. 283, n. 244,. and Textes Ignatiens. III, 3:25-26..

(27) THE FIRST COMPANIONS AND THE POOR society so that the indigent poor could. 17. be reintegrated into the. general population.. The. Jesuits of the first generation. the people. rich. and. They were. careful to. wanted. be close. striving for their conversion. be present. to. to all. to the poor, turning to the. because. it. they could render to the people as a whole.. marginalized or the excluded poor into the. was the best service. To. "little. reintegrate the. people" presup-. posed the conversion of the powerful to the acceptance of their responsibilities.. The aim. or final purpose, however, was to lead. a sharing which evidenced a Gospel communion, that. all to. communion. which the poverty of the religious body wished to proclaim. institu-. tionally as in the process of being realized.. That boundary beyond which the poor become the excluded even from the. "little. people," a boundary which had to be. crossed in the opposite direction society, that dividing line. if. they were to be integrated into. was the central. axis. a Gospel sharing could be organized. That. wretched was essential as the action.. It. was. in starting. destitute,. on which the quest. is. why. proximity to the. axis of reference for all. from the destitute that. to the rich, to integrate the latter into the. it. for. forms of social. was possible. movement of. to. go. charity,. reintroducing the marginalized into the fraternal sharing of the. "little. people.". Such was the central gear which meshed into contact with each other the twin choice of extremes of the rich and the poor.. TOWARDS A CONCLUSION: THE COLLEGES Paradoxically, situating the colleges in this perspective opens the. way. The colleges occupied a middle place between the service of the great, who had no need of them since their children were educated by private tutors, and the little people, who did not go to school at all. Falling somewhere between private charitable action and a social service, they were, in some way, the pivot of a to a conclusion.. sociocultural activity, thanks to the service Jesuits rendered through.

(28) DEMOUSTIER. 18. them. to society. and. to the service society rendered to the Jesuits in. return.. At the time of to provide. it. its. foundation, the Society of Jesus asked society. with the sources of revenue necessary to assure the. young. cultural formation of. funding, colleges,. still. Jesuits. It. was a question of founding, or. in the medieval sense of the term:. whose purpose was. institutions of semipublic right. autonomous. to enable. poor. students to engage in university studies. Early in 1547 or 1548 the. Society agreed to take charge of colleges no longer exclusively for Jesuit students, but gratuitously; thus. it. still. staffed. by Jesuit instructors able to teach. helped secular society to enter massively into the. path of the evolution which was carrying. it. into. its. future, the civili-. zation of printing, in a dynamic promotion seeking to widen. The. social effect. was. its. base.. to facilitate access for the greatest possible. new culture of the book and of the written word, without adding new barriers on the basis of social or class distinctions number. to the. over and above those that already existed. tius to. have refused any such. selectivity for. and. have understood that. it. to. age groups.. who. He. insisted. on. entrance into the colleges. was necessary and imposed. to begin with the lower it. upon. his. companions,. did not always understand the policy. This opened our schools. to the cultural. dynamic which was shaping the future and. incipient middle classes, also. that. was the genius of Igna-. It. opened them. from whose ranks would issue the. to the poor.. The. to the. great;. schools began with the youngest. possible students, given the limitations of the Society of that time.. was, of course, to. foster. ill. literacy.. it. It. prepared to take charge of a systematic program. Contemporary society. in. general showed. itself. incapable of organizing institutionalized primary schooling until a. good century. later.. But, in fact, a. number of. the colleges did provide. such instruction in reading and writing without making an issue of. and some,. in. learn their. ABCs.. France, for example, accepted students. To assume. who had. it;. to. the responsibility of colleges was to enter a contract. of mutual service with society, since these colleges enabled the Soci-.

(29) THE FIRST COMPANIONS AND THE POOR. 19. ety of Jesus to form Jesuits while assuring a determined form of poverty.. The. Society was not, properly speaking, the owner of the. an authentic form of religious. colleges. These, however, permitted. poverty, though. it. was not mendicant poverty. like that of the "pro-. who had pronounced. fessed houses" in which resided the priests. (professed) final vows.. The. distinction. between the colleges and these. "professed houses" permitted the coexistence of the demands of religious poverty. and of the need. to take advantage of the cultural. of their society. Ignatius hoped in. facilities. this. way. to avoid the. mitigation of poverty, of which the great mendicant orders had. become. victims.. The "professed house" work. Jesuits to. tion. from. gratuitously.. earliest years. their establishment. had. The. and. colleges assured a gratuitous forma-. for everyone, Jesuit or not. In addition,. an. as. on alms, which permitted the. lived. effect not intended nor. even clearly. conscious the redistributing, for the benefit of the less rich, of a. number of ecclesiastical foundations or benefices whose were not at all poor, but who received the revenues as. considerable beneficiaries. of right. Despite the repeated protestations of Church councils, the. churchmen of the sixteenth century, cardinals. in the lead,. lated benefices for themselves, a practice which. accumu-. was equivalent. to a. gigantic enterprise of turning ecclesiastical foundations to the profit. of the. rich.. colleges. Those endowments were now transferred. and. colleges, thus. were applied. their revenues. making possible both. the support of the Jesuits. to the expenses of the. their gratuity of instruction. who were. In this mediating position. to the Jesuit. and. part of the colleges.. between the high and the low, the. college wished to be the place of formation of Jesuits and of the. whole of. society.. servants of a. It. aimed. at educating. common good. men. dedicated to justice,. willing to take the poor,. who were. threatened by wretched destitution, as the normative figure for the sharing to be effected for the Further,. it is. common. necessary that the. gy be the poor person,. who can. first. good.. schoolmaster. in this. pedago-. teach the true starting point for an.

(30) DEMOUSTIER. 20. approach to the exalted, namely, on the side of the. do not protect one from the humiliation. position riches. in his true place,. even. where, like a court. jester,. In all this,. was a society. lowly. In this. that place. if. that puts. him. at the side of the prince,. is. he alone can speak the truth with impunity.. was there a preferential option. totally different. for the. from our own. But. poor? Theirs. for the companions,. the choice to be near the poor was the only possible starting point for a mission of evangelization addressed to after. all,. had. the college of. his secretary,. Padua. man. is,. them. Juan Polanco, write to the. that Jesus Christ. in the sight of. was sent. to preach the gospel to the. recalls. when He. tells. them. poor" (Lk. to give. preferred the poor to the rich, that. from among the poor,. make them. princes of His. twelve tribes of Israel, that their assistant judges.. poor.. Letters of. St.. Ignatius, 147-48.. to. 4:18),. .. He. all. was. it. .. "He. .. especially for. has anointed. words which Our Lord St.. them" (Mt. John the. 11:5).. Baptist,. Our Lord. so. chose the entire college of His. to live. of. To such a. 25. that. an answer to. Church and is,. God. into the world.. "The poor have the gospel preached apostles. Jesuits of. in 1547:. So great are the poor. 25. rich. the person in the greatest need of conversion.. Ignatius. me. The. all.. and associate with them, set. them up. to. as judges of the. the faithful, and the poor will be. height has. He. exalted the state of the.

(31) THE PREFERENTIAL OPTION FOR THE POOR Where Does. It. Come From. Jean- Yves Calvez,. Us?. for. S.J.. A variety of questions can be posed with regard to To what. ential option for the poor.". extent. is. it. intended in the phrase?. Why. precisely this option. Church and of the Society? The present paper. new? What. Who. relation to the mission of the Society of Jesus?. the "preferis. its. are the poor. on the part of the. will try to reply to. these questions and so to situate the preferential option for the poor in. both the Church and the Society.. Its. source in the Society of Jesus. A first question:. whence the. preferential. comes from the. Thirty-third. In the Society of Jesus,. option for the poor? Strictly speaking,. it. General Congregation, which elected Father Peter-Hans Kolvenbach superior general in 1983.. The Thirty-second General Congregation (GC 32, and so with others), which met from 1974 to 1975, had recommended "solidarity" with the poor, with "families who are of modest means, who make up the majority of every country and who are often poor and oppressed" (Decree. and. 4, no. 49). It insisted. women who. live. a. life. strongly that "solidarity with the. of hardship and. who. are victims of op-. pression cannot be the choice of a few Jesuits only. characteristic of the life of all of us as individuals. of our communities and institutions as well". "The personal backgrounds of most of. us,. It. should be a. and a characteristic. (ibid., no. 48).. the congregation recognized that such solidarity. men. is. not at. the studies. Further, all easy:. we make, and.

(32) CALVEZ. 22. we move. the circles in which. from the simple. For. life. all that,. and. its. often insulate us from poverty, and even. day-to-day concerns''. (ibid., no. 49).. the characteristic option of the Thirty-second Con-. gregation was rather for the promotion of justice and the pursuit of the integration of the service of faith with that promotion.. It is. from. that choice that the obligation of solidarity with the poor derives. It. GC. was. for the poor.. It. 33 which spoke explicitly of the preferential option. had no. intention, however, to. make. that the totality. of the actual apostolic mission of the Society. That mission was. determined by the decisions of. GC. 31 and. GC. 32 and by the. re-. quests of the sovereign pontiffs regarding unbelief and the implemen-. Second Vatican Council. The Thirty-third Congregation,. tation of the. however, wished to indicate a characteristic of the. The. validity of. makes us. gations,. our mission. the poor. Its. (d. 1,. to. will also. depend. to a large extent. For though obedience sends. believable.. we wish. which from now on must be. whole mission of the Society.. solidarity with the poor.. that. trait. So together with many other. make our own. us,. it. is. on our poverty. religious congre-. the Church's preferential option for. no. 48).. source in the Church. For the entire Church, the preferential option originating. more remotely. prominence through the. in the. Second Vatican Council, came into. activity. of the Latin American Church.. Medellin (1968) and Puebla (1979) 1 are sketches of. For some of. us, that is. for the poor,. an origin which evokes. its. affirmation.. distrust rather than. a sense of the breakthrough of grace. There was a good deal of politics in all that,. Paul. II. had. to. some. observe; and they recall that. warn against. just such political action. Pope John. and any "exclu-. sive" or excluding or Marxist connotation of such an option.. To whatever. is. not entirely false in this observation, one should. 1 The second (Medellin, Colombia, 1968) and third (Puebla, Mexico, 1979) conferences of the Latin American episcopate..

(33) PREFERENTIAL OPTION FOR THE POOR add something. less. known, not. sufficiently. 23. known, namely, that the. pope, in a whole series of addresses in 1984-85, was rather chagrined. he could have given the impression of not believing. that. preferential option for the poor, or of not believing in ly.. To. Rome, Dec.. a group of cardinals in. This option which. 21, 1984,. it. in. the. very strong-. he protested:. emphasized today with particular force by the. is. episcopacy of Latin America,. I. have confirmed repeatedly. .... seize this occasion to repeat that. I. gladly. engagement with the poor constitutes. my pastoral activity, a concern which is daily and my service of the people of God. I have made and. a dominant motif of ceaselessly part of I. do make. otherwise, since. is. it. Church throughout. it.. I. feel. it. could not be. the eternal message of the Gospel. That. option Christ made, the option. On. myself with. this option. I identify. made by. the. the apostles, the option of the. two thousand years of. its. is. history.. October 4 of the same year, he had said. 2. to the Peruvian. bishops:. Without doubt, you and your. know,. priests. at first hand, the tragedy. of the citizen of the countryside and of the towns of Peru: his very. crushed by wretchedness,. threatened every day,. unemployment; that unhappy rather than. lives, in. who work. for the. Church intends. sickness,. who, so often, merely survives. citizen. conditions which are subhuman. Certainly such. situations respect neither justice nor the. ing to the rights of. hunger,. life. man. Reassure. poor. in. an. to maintain. fully. ecclesial. its. minimum dignity correspondthe members of your dioceses. and evangelical. spirit, that. preferential option for the poor. encourages the engagement of those who,. the. and. faithful to the directives of. the hierarchy, devote themselves selflessly to those most in need. That is. an. integral part of their mission.. A few weeks. earlier. still. 3. the Holy Father had affirmed a similar. position to the bishops of Paraguay: "It. love. all. men and women. To. a group of cardinals in. 3. To. Peruvian bishops on their ad limina. Romano. (Oct.. 5,. true that the precept to. admits no exclusion, but. 2. Osservatore. is. Rome, reported. 1984).. it. does admit a. in Origins, 14 (1985): 501, nos. 9-11.. visit. to. Rome,. Oct.. 4,. 1984, reported in.

(34) CALVEZ. 24 privileged. engagement. over, that. John Paul. committed. — —. in favor of the poorest.". II. 4. It is. evident, more-. became personally more and more. strongly. poor of Latin America. in his progressive contact with the. the poor of the urban slums and the poor of the native regions. Mexico. in. (1985),. (1979), Brazil (1980), Haiti (1983),. and Colombia. The. Ecuador and Peru. (1986).. preferential option for the poor or love of preference for. the poor has a prominent place in the description of the mission, the "liberating mission," of the Church in the fourth chapter of the. Freedom and. instruction Christian tions,. adopted repeatedly by the highest. the poor has. Who. Liberation.. become. 5. In view of these posi-. authorities, the option for. the option of the universal Church.. are the poor in the option?. Who. are these "poor"?. is. it. sometimes asked. What are the. "areas of poverty" covered by the preferential option?. community remarked: "Our ministry makes us not so obvious, but crossing the borders of tions,. phenomena. like. Jesuit. familiar with a poverty. all. milieus and genera-. where lack of a supporting community makes. with regard to. One. itself cruelly felt. drug addiction, prostitution, divorce,. and unemployment." Another community, however, noted: "When the Society as a whole to. be question,. them. first. is. invited to opt for the poor, there. of. all,. that our individual. Clearly this. strong resistance poor.. Is it. is. of the economic poor.. and. We. attention. a feeling that there. is. is. do. 4. To. who speak. in their. the bishops of Paraguay,. on. in fact often experience. drawn. to the economically. something of a claim here, some-. thing of the worst class-struggle attitude of. or of those. with regard to. collective resistances are strongest.". a sensitive area.. when our. It is. seems to us. some economically poor. name? Or maybe, and perhaps. their. ad limina. visit. to. Rome, reported. at the. in. Docu-. mentation Cathollque 81 (1984): 1159. 5. Christian. Freedom and. Liberation, Instruction of the Sacred Congregation for the. Doctrine of the Faith, April 1986,. in Origins, 15 (1986): 713..

(35) PREFERENTIAL OPTION FOR THE POOR same. time, a certain unconscious class attitude in ourselves? Others,. however, become irritated when people. which our human family. eries of. not. by. 25. all. on the same plane. man. to. as. is. on the. insist. victim.. They. variety of mis-. protest that these are. economic poverty: there are. evils. caused. which man can bring a remedy, and then there are others.. The Church,. in recent declarations of universal scope, adopts a. rather wide interpretation of poverty. Poverty. with deprivation, and that has unjust oppression, physical. many. is. almost synonymous. varieties: "material deprivation,. and psychic. even death," to. sickness,. quote the instruction, Christian Freedom and Liberation, which treats of humankind in. The ty,. weakness, and of. all its. even extreme poverty, as the pope often his fellow. men,. 6. also pover-. is. insists. "Isn't. he poor, the. in his interior relation to the truth,. conscience, his deepest personal convictions, his. his. faith?". weaknesses.. lack of liberty, particularly of religious liberty,. man wounded by in. its. 7. In his Christmas. solidarity with all the. message of 1984 he. said:. "We. poor of the world," and followed. religious. affirm our. this. statement. with an enumeration of varied forms of distress, of the victims of drought, of refugees, of those suffering discrimination or loss of liberty,. of the victims of psychological violence. In. seemed concerned almost. man. is. it. Church extends only. he. exclusively with wretchedness caused by. or at least aggravated by. Obviously. this instance. human. indifference.. 8. not that the preference recommended by the to victims of such misfortunes.. to the victims of earthquake, of cancer, of. It. reaches out. AIDS. The Church holds. to the position, however, that in this global preference a. prominent. place should be reserved for the poor, especially the economically poor, and for the victims of injustice, for I. would conclude. that. Origins 15 (1986): 723, no. 68.. 7. John Paul. to a. redress. group of cardinals. in. Rome, Dec.. possible.. Christmas message, 1984, reported. its. 21, 1984, reported in Origins. 14 (1985): 501, no. 10.. 8. is. one cannot empty the word "poor" of. 6. II,. whom. in Origins 14 (1985): 498..

(36) ". CALVEZ. 26. primary meaning, even though there are many other meanings.. What. is. expected of us?. From. this set. attitude? Clearly. of remarks, what behavior. an attitude of. is. expected of us?. What. love, in accord with the expression "a. love of preference for the poor," one of the variations in expression. current today. in. mind. To be more. accurate, love. the deprivations which people can suffer. Poverty,. all. misery, says the instruction Christian. Freedom and Liberation,. who. the compassion of Christ our Savior,. and to. 9. It is. precisely this that. is. it. and. human. "elicited. on himself sisters. (Mt. expected of the Church and of. members.. In every case. where. effective one: "to relieve,. it is. possible, this. 10. And. clearly. it. must be an active. love,. an. defend, free" are the three verbs by which. the instruction indicates what poor.. willed to take. identify with the very least of his brothers. 25: 40-45). all its. and "compassion," bearing. is. expected of us with regard to the. would require nothing. different with regard to. the victims of injustice than to "defend" and "free" them.. The passage from which we tries" free.. just. quoted alludes to the "minis-. by which the Church has always endeavored to. The. to apply". text its. relieve, defend,. adds that the Church has done so as well by "striving. social teaching, "seeking thereby to. changes in society, so as to secure conditions of. promote life. structural. worthy of the. 11. human person." The question has been To relieve and fight against. asked: "Is this a call to share poverty? it?. Or. is it. only a matter of developing. an awareness of the situation of the poor? But then, how can we avoid deviating into too facile?". 9. At. some. sort of 'good conscience/. least part of. Origins 15 (1986): 723, no. 68.. 10. Ibid.. 11. Ibid.. an. initial. response. something a. is. bit. in the phrase.

(37) PREFERENTIAL OPTION FOR THE POOR quoted. earlier:. one must. act to "relieve, defend, free.". from which we are quoting bases Jesus:. its. position. 27. The document. on the example of. "To the poor, he brought not only the grace and peace of. God; he. also healed. .. .. had compassion on the crowd who had. .. nothing to eat and fed them; with the disciples practiced almsgiving.". The same. text adds:. who. followed him he. "Therefore the beatitude. of poverty which Jesus proclaimed means that Christians. who. ignore the poor. world.". 12. Then. poverty .... is. lack what. is. necessary for a. there follows a phrase which. an. evil. pletely as possible.". is. human. may never life in this. quite crucial. "This. from which mankind must be freed as com-. 13. This insistence poses a question about the preference some say they feel for the expression "love of predilection (preference) for the. poor," used in the instruction Christian Freedom and Liberation™ rather than the term "preferential option." This latter phrase. without a certain ideological flavor from which the former. is. is. not. free.. Those who may prefer the former phrase, however, may not have paid. attention to. full. the. all. demands. for effective remedial action,. even to structural changes, which are to be seen should be added that the document does not. in that. insist. document.. It. on the expression. "love of preference" in any exclusive manner. In the same paragraph, in fact,. and not. at all in. any different sense,. [privileged] option for the poor,". Paul. it. is. called "special. an expression used also by John. 15. II.. This does not prevent "love of preference" and "predilection". from also being very important phrases here.. on. gratuity,. it is. Father Kolvenbach. who. has. First of. made. all,. just to insist. allusion to certain. forms of the preferential option for the poor, such as "an egoistic. 12. Ibid.,. 13. Ibid.. 14. Ibid.,. 15. See Christian Freedom, section. no. 67.. no. 68. 2,. second-last paragraph..

(38) CALVEZ. 28. own profit or glory." Basically, the poor for our satisfaction! "The new commandment means the gift of one's being, of one's person. As long as we give only of our possessions, we have given nothing. It is enterprise, the manipulation of the misery of others to one's. necessary to give one's. As. to the attitude. life in. the model of Christ.". 16. which we need, Christian Freedom and Libera-. tion also has this to say:. In loving the poor, the Church also witnesses to humankind's dignity.. The Church or she. is. clearly affirms that a. person. is. of worth. cannot be destroyed, whatever the situation of. poverty, scorn, rejection or powerlessness to which a. been reduced. The Church shows. its. solidarity with. count in a society by which they are rejected physically.. Such are some to. human being those who do. spiritually. has. not. and sometimes. 17. clarifications. be adopted with regard. The option. what he. for. than for what he or she has. The Church bears witness to the. fact that this dignity. even. more. which the Church gives on the attitude. to the poor.. for the poor: the service of faith. and the promotion of. justice. To come. to a question of particular pertinence to the Society. of Jesus: Does the preferential option for the poor or profession of a love of preference for the poor modify the basic orientation given. by. GC 32,. a service of the faith which includes as an integrating part. or as an absolute requirement the promotion of justice. 28-. (d. 4, nos.. 31)?. Again Father General Kolvenbach responds. In the. Worker Mission. in his. view there. is. at Turin. (August 1985), he. "something suspect". in a. his address to. said, first. person. who. of. all,. says that. can accept "with ease" a preferential love for the poor, but. "To. 16. P.-H. Kolvenbach,. 17. Origins 15 (1986): 723, no. 68.. S.J.,. the. Worker Mission,". that. Turin, August 1985.. who. he is.

(39) PREFERENTIAL OPTION FOR THE POOR not at ease with the idea of the promotion of justice. further:. "The Gospel does not. who. effective love!. —. that. is. and. first. beneficiaries.'". to love the. 18. poor "with realism." Again,. says:. where someone. Justice challenges us in that down-to-earth area. something owed precisely to him as to a human person. By. word. without. to take serious thought for the. As Father Kolvenbach. the use of the. notes. struggle for justice, a struggle. of which the poor are, and must be, the. promotion of justice. He. say, 'Blessed are the poor'. saying as well, 'Blessed are they. Besides, to love the poor. 29. "justice" forbids any escape. its. lacks. realism,. from concrete and. real. problems. ... [In consequence], the preferential love for the poor as. an expression of the "new commandment" does not weaken the fourth decree of. GC 32, which. in the least. includes the promotion of justice in. some of us think, very erroneously, 32 our mission becomes less demanding,. the mission of the Society, although that in the wording of. more. "religious,". contrary!. and. GC. less. threatening as well.. The. truth. is. quite the. 19. To come back to the preferential option itself, some ask: Is this a new mission for the Society, taking account of a renewed understanding of our charism and of the new challenges of our world? Or is it. rather a simple reminder of. and of a fundamental option every such vocation. is. St.. Ignatius 's experience of poverty. in every religious vocation? After. ordered to the imitation and following of. Christ, in ever-greater conformity to him, a living experience is. to. all,. which. be understood as a movement of personal conversion, not. necessarily calling. one. to. work with or. in the milieu of the poor,. socially speaking. It. is. quite likely impossible to gather. all. imaginable positions. under the branches of these two alternatives. At the same time, however, the question does have meaning. of. all, this is. not exactly a. 18. Kolvenbach, op.. 19. Ibid.. cit.. "new mission". What. is. to. be said?. First. for the Society, in the sense.

(40) CALVEZ. 30. GC 33. that, as. noted, the preferential option for the poor. is. a matter. of making explicit a condition of the credibility of our mission. (GC. 33, d.. 1,. no. 48). This condition of credibility, however, involves. certain concrete in. itself. Decree 4 of. demands on. GC. 32 when. that mission. This it. implied indirectly. is. speaks of solidarity with the poor as. indispensable for the Society. This solidarity, the congregation explains,. be a. "cannot be the choice of a few Jesuits only. characteristic of all of us ... ". coming precisely the poor,. it. more. .. .. should. [but]. 32, d. 4, no. 48).. to the matter of sharing the life. says, "It will therefore. of us to share. (GC. .. be necessary. closely the lot of families. Then,. and condition of. for a larger. who. number. are of modest. we do this, the congregation goes on, our unity in the Society, whereby we share our experiences with one another, should enable all of us to have a greater awareness of the human condition as it truly is, and to make the concerns and worries, the hopes and. means.". If. dreams of the poor our own. 20. The nuanced recommendations of. GC. 32, recognizing that all. cannot share directly the condition of the poor, remain is. necessary, however, that. mands of the. we be. careful to. legislation "that a larger. closely the lot of families. who. fulfil. fully valid. It. the positive de-. number of. us share. more. are of modest means." Note, too, the. increased sensitization to the lot of the poor to be acquired by. all. through exchange with those Jesuits more engaged in sharing the condition of the poor.. Regarding the formation of young directed:. "An. Jesuits, the. experience of living with the poor for at least a certain. period of time will be necessary for. all. ...". (GC. "For a certain period of time" indicates that constant. same congregation. life-style;. it. 32, d. 6, no. 10).. need not be the. on the other hand, an "experience" can hardly be. a passing contact.. As in this. 20. GC. for the Society in the past, the essay. by Adrien Demoustier. issue of Studies specifically addresses that question.. 32, d. 4, no. 49.. Very.

(41) PREFERENTIAL OPTION FOR THE POOR briefly, it. however, recall. that, for St. Ignatius. was not only that they wished. and the. they wished especially to serve the poor, the. mon" people reminded from. its. us,. little. and particularly poor. (rudes),. companions,. first. to live poorly but. it. 31. was. also that. people, the "com-. GC. As. children.. 32. the founding Formula of the Institute of the Society has. beginning obliged Jesuits not only to undertake the ministry. of the word and of the sacraments, but also to "show [themselves] no less useful [nihilominus] in reconciling. ing and serving those. who. the estranged, in holily assist-. are found in prisons or hospitals, and. indeed in performing any other works of charity, according to what. seem expedient. will. (Formula of Julius. The. III,. [3], [1];. God and. see also. GC. the. We. we have. have to give new. life to. common good". 32, d. 4, no. 17).. preferential option for the poor, therefore,. well as new.. which. for the glory of. is. traditional as. a foundational charism to. not always been fully faithful.. Other questions concern the very why of the preferential option for the poor.. Without pretending to give a complete answer, we can. some elements of a. offer. response. First of. all,. it. necessary to. is. repeat an argument which does not particularly require recourse to the Gospel for ical.. How. its. enunciation but which. can one have a. human. is,. nonetheless, also evangel-. society in which there. concern for those in greatest need, for those. lar. who. is. are most vulner-. able? Wretchedness, poverty in the sense of deprivation, one, as the instruction Christian. no particu-. Freedom and Liberation. is. for every-. says,. "an. evil. from which human beings must be freed as completely as possible." 21. But beyond Christians.. and. tor. It is. To. poor,. of. in. 21. that Christ, to. savior, "for. 2:7; 9:58).. the. that, there is. first. human. whom we. relate as our essential libera-. our sakes became poor" (2 Cor. cite the all,. something here altogether special for. same. in that,. instruction, Christ. 8:9; see also. became poor,. Lk. radically. being God, he became man. Moreover, "in. condition Christ chose a state of poverty and deprivation,. order to show in what consists the true wealth which ought to be. Origins 15 (1986): 723, no. 68..

(42) CALVEZ. 32 sought, that of. communion of. with God." 22 Christ revealed. life. God. by a paradox: by stripping himself of being he revealed super-being.. So poverty. itself says. something about God.. Consequently, Christ came close not only to those. detachment of heart to await poor of. to the. who had. the. coming, the poor of Yahweh, but. his. world as well, to the poor in the commonest sense. this. of the term, as well as to those in other states of deprivation, people. "excluded from the community" even. if. whom. such as the "publicans" and "sinners" conversion. also. had. words. is. The. instruction adds,. to leave all things. something which. he came to. "The Apostles whom. and share. calls. people. rich in worldly goods,. call to. Christ chose. his deprivation.". 23. In these. the Christian to special fraternity with. the poor, something deriving from the special relationship of Christ to the poor, a relationship related to his choice of poverty, poverty to reveal ristic. God. Father General Arrupe, speaking. at the. Congress in Philadelphia in 1976, expressed If. there. is. rist is, in. hunger anywhere. some. sort,. it. World Eucha-. this. way:. our celebration of the Eucha-. in the world,. incomplete everywhere. For in the Eucharist. who is hungry in come to us alone,. He. we. receive the Christ. the world of the famished.. not particularly. but with the poor, the oppressed,. who are [people] come. those. in action.. To. dying of hunger here on earth. Through him,. all. does. these. to us, begging for relief, for justice, for love expressed. 24 .. .. .. God. return to the idea that. doubtless could not reveal. himself to us other than in poverty, that. be with us except. in poverty,. we. "who though he was. Ibid, 722, no. 66.. 23. Ibid.. 24. Catholic. Mind 74 (November. 1976): 8.. is. it is. on. this. same. based, poverty chosen. rich, yet for. poor, so that by his poverty you might. 22. with us" could not. should note that. paradoxical concept that religious poverty to imitate Christ,. "God. become. your sake became rich" (2. Cor. 8:9)..

(43) PREFERENTIAL OPTION FOR THE POOR These two. one. realities are linked. Christ poor: love of the poor,. making them. first. to the other. of. and choosing. his friends. all,. of. and. whom. 33. in function of. he was the. first,. their condition, and, secondly,. poverty chosen in imitation of him.. On. Father General Kolvenbach has written, like. this subject. Father Arrupe, having in mind the Eucharist. In the Eucharist. we. profess that only the poverty which Christ lived. women. and the Gospel demands can lead men and happiness, to be rich in God. first. rist. by. Christian communities,. it. the other hand, from the time of the. was not possible. to celebrate the. Eucha-. without combatting poverty and without paying the price personally,. goods and even by begging. selling one's. of wretchedness.. He. On. to their unique. in solidarity with the victims. 25. continues that paradoxically. it is. a matter. of being poor with the poverty of God, as an essential value of the. Kingdom,. combat. a non-value and. Only a poor person can destroy poverty or struggle. for justice in the. service of the poor, seeking constantly that poverty. which the Lord. which the struggle for. And. which. is. in order to. justice. that poverty. must eliminate.. again,. canonizes and consecrates in the Eucharist.. 26. This look at a collection of basic reflections. provide instant peace of mind. Inevitably, rather,. make. us feel. ill. at ease. In fact, reports of. is. not calculated to. its first. community. effect. is. to. reflections. often manifest this unease and betray the resistances which are in us. whenever there. is. question of poverty or of our relation to the poor.. Unease, as one Jesuit remarked talking about something. Without doubt, he. 25. P.-H. Kolvenbach,. of Latin America, Oct.. 26. Ibid.. S.J., 4,. in a report,. which "we are not. is. right.. But. Eucharist, Poverty. because here. are,. living.". for that very reason,. and. we. it. is. neces-. Liberation, message to the Jesuits. 1984, reported in Documentation Catholique (1985),. p.. 76..

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