To a young man who wishes to be a Jesuit, I would say:
"Stay at home if this idea makes you unsettled or nervous.
Do not come to us if you love the church like a stepmother, rather than a mother;
Do not come if you think that in so doing you will be doing the Society of Jesus a favor.
Come if serving Christ is at the very center of your life.
Come if you have broad and sufficiently strong shoulders.
Come if you have an open spirit, a reasonably open mind, and a heart larger than the world.
Come if you know how to tell a joke and can laugh with others and.... on occasion you can laugh at yourself.
John Predmore, S.J., is a USA East Province Jesuit and was the pastor of Jordan's English language parish. He teaches art and directs BC High's adult spiritual formation programs. Formerly a retreat director in Gloucester, Massachusetts. Ignatian Spirituality is given through guided meditations, weekend-, 8-day, and 30-day Retreats based on The Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius of Loyola. Ignatian Spirituality serves the contemporary world as people strive to develop a friendship with God.
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