Obedience For Mission, Mission In Obedience

A Jesuit Contemplative-Active Way Of Proceeding

Abstract

Obedience and mission are two essential elements which determine the particular Jesuit way of proceeding. The first characterizes Jesuits’ identity; the latter is the goal of their existence. For Jesuits, obedience is more of an interior disposition corresponding to the original meaning of obedience - “listen to”: vertically, Jesuits listen to God, that is, to discern and to do His will; horizontally, they listen to or try to understand the people they serve. This interior disposition or capability of listening implies a process of discernment which can only be acquired by contemplation. As the will of God is nothing other than His love for the world, the Jesuits’ mission consists in showing this love of God to the world. That is why Jesuits are “contemplatives in action”. Based on analysis of the foundational documents of the Society of Jesus, the Spiritual Exercises and the Constitutions of the Society of Jesus, this paper will show how Jesuits obey and carry out their mission in a contemplative-active way, and how their obedience correlates with their mission.