Faith, justice and solidarity with the poor and the excluded are central elements of the Jesuit mission of reconciliation. In Decree 1: Companions in a Mission of Reconciliation and Justice, the Jesuits’ General Congregation 36 said, “Rather than ask what we should do, we seek to understand how God invites us — and so many people of good will — to share in that great work.”
The Jesuits’ work for reconciliation is three-fold: with God, with humanity and with creation. While we speak of three forms of reconciliation, all three are truly one work of God, interconnected and inseparable.
Our ministries extend across a world of human need — from parishes to prisons, from retreat centers to refugee resettlements, from schools to hospitals.
And when we speak of “our” ministries, we speak not only of those with the “S.J.” after their names, the vowed members of the Society of Jesus. Growing numbers of lay people are also taking part in our works, helping to steer our institutions, as partners in mission.
We collaborate because we see Christ in the other. Collaboration is at the heart of contemporary Jesuit mission.
For all those animated by the Jesuit vision, ministry is an adventure. Our founder, Ignatius Loyola, captured this spirit when he sent his good friend, Francis Xavier, on a mission to the Far East. Ignatius told him — “Go, set the world on fire!”
That’s what we say to the young people in our high schools, middle schools, colleges and universities. It’s what we tell business people and others who take part in our many programs linking spirituality to professional vocations. And it’s the spirit behind all of our ministries, which is often expressed in a phrase long associated with our order, Ad Maiorem Dei Gloriam (“For the Greater Glory of God”), often abbreviated as AMDG.