On St Ignatius Day, July 31, 2014, members of the Vancouver Ignatian family –  comprised of the Jesuit Spirituality Apostolate of Vancouver, the Jesuit Alumni Group, the three Christian Life Community groups (Lighthouse, St Augustine, St Mark’s) and the Society of Evangelical Life of the Heart of Jesus –  met for a Mass celebrated by Father Rob Allore, SJ.  Following the Mass,  several members of this group spoke.  Here are the remarks made by Dom Bautista of the Jesuit Alumni Group.

Mother Cabrini tickets

There he was …. in the hot July 31 evening with not a care in the world but just being happy. The image of Guillermo Gregorio (GG) Francisco standing at the entrance to St. Marks will forever be etched indelibly in my mind. Resplendent in his barong tagalog (the Philippine dress worn on special occasions), smiling as he always does, and handing out tickets for all so that we could find a parking spot. It was an act of sublime intercession by Mother Cabrini, the patron saint of parking lots. It turns out Mother Cabrini told him that because I spilled his secret to the JAG, there were far too many requests for parking spots that he should go early. That Fr Rob Allore, SJ would gift GG with a stack of tickets (biglietti) to hand out was the second gift from Mother Cabrini to him! x

Doing the jig

Have you ever seen a priest do a jig? Right before starting mass? Well, that is exactly what Fr Rob did. That it was to be his third mass for the day, did not diminish his exuberance and glow in his face; perhaps it was because of the well over a hundred people that day. That he managed to craft a beautiful homily, using a God-less story from the CBC to illustrate how one can find God in the most unusual places was very touching. So Ignatian!

At the conclusion of the mass, Fr. Rob allowed a few of us to speak on behalf of our groups.

My 20,000 Words

I want to thank Fr Rob for welcoming us for a second year. The preparation of this event was made possible by the help of St Mark’s Parish and the members of the Ignatian family comprised of the Jesuit Spirituality Apostolate of Vancouver, the three Christian Life Community groups (Lighthouse, St Augustine, St Mark’s) and the Society of Evangelical Life of the Heart of Jesus.

Having just listened to Catherine Kelly, it is quite obvious that JSAV have picked the best to represent them. Our Jesuit Alumni Group however, decided to take a different approach, for they saw it fit to ask the least qualified member to speak on their behalf today …. me. Because I made the mistake of not being in the room when they made these assignments.

What began in a year and a half ago as an invitation from Fr Robert Wong, led to a meeting with Provincial Superior of the Jesuits in English Canada Fr Peter Bisson one winter’s night. He suggested that the Jesuit alumni might consider meeting once a year. Under the leadership of Eric Ching, we have been meeting monthly from the start. He has since retired from leading the group and acts as an elder.

As we seek to discern Christ’s voice in our daily lives, our spiritual exercises have been focused and reflective, punctuated by laughter. Our lives have been enriched as we have rediscovered ways to move towards consolation, such that we are able to pay closer attention to His subtle voice, to appreciate grace and to accept faith as a gift and most importantly, as a choice.

Through our fellowship, we share our worries, our doubts, and shortcomings with one another. Our connections extend beyond the Saturday morning meetings, I know many an evening when I have written them to ask for prayers. And they have been generous.

It is also through our fellowship that we have deepened our appreciation of the saints in our daily lives. We know of St Anthony the patron saint of all things lost from keys, to files and for me …. my memory. Last night, Ken had to ask St Anthony to remind me of the small outreach project that we did in St. Teresa’s Parish, in the village of Tang Qui, Hebei China.

We have been blessed with two spiritual directors. Fr Elton Fernandes, SJ who is now in Melbourne, and Fr Richard Soo, SJ. Our journey with Fr Richard has taken us to a new level. You see, aside from being a Jesuit, he is also a Byzantine priest. So our education has been enriched with our introduction to Eastern rites.

This year the alumni have began blogging – a modest project that allows us to share our reflections in English, Chinese, French and Tagalog. It is very fitting that our first entry was about the lighting of the chrism of the Jesuit society and to share our Ignatian values. My friends, as I look at all of you in this room, your presence here today, tells me that our prayers have been answered. Thank you for being here to celebrate with us.

Apart from facilitating today’s feast, the JAG also hosts a retreat for you, the Ignatian community. This years’ retreat takes place on September 6 at the Eastern Catholic Church in Richmond. Fr Richard will be our retreat master. At this time, I would like to ask this year’s three heads: Ignatius Lee, David Tong and Georges Gracieuse to stand. If any of you are interested in our monthly get togethers or about the upcoming retreat, please see them.

At the conclusion of todays’ celebration, there will be some snacks and refreshments. Thank you Janice and Christine for helping us prepare a sumptuous meal. Thank you Kevin for leading us in the music. And for making us sound like angels.

Finally, if any of you would like to join us in a different kind spiritual exercise, please see GG, as we are heading a pub on campus later this evening.

Ad Majorem Dei Gloriam!

Allphotos are courtesy of Dom Bautista.  JAG blogs can be read in English, Chinese, and French at: jagvancouver.wordpress.com