That the subject line of this first post is a question seems about right. I’m not so sure, about anything. After more than a decade in campus ministry, after nearly 20 years of quite effectively dodging the Society of Jesus, it was time to shake things up.

So, two months ago to the day, I started a job with the Jesuit Volunteer Corps. It’s been familiar, in the sense that I’m still working in ministry with young adults. It’s been wildly unfamiliar, in every other sense. I’m trying to walk with this Ignatius fellow, but–I wonder if you’ve noticed this, too–he seems eminently capable of sprinting ahead every time I get close.

And that sprinting ahead is kind of scary, because if I lose sight of him, I’m not sure I’ll be able to track him down again. After all, there are these other, well-traveled roads that are familiar to me. The Holy Cross Fathers showed me a few, then the Paulists, then the Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur, then most recently the Lasallian Christian Brothers. I could comfortably head back down any of those spiritual paths, walking with confidence among friends and colleagues who have witnessed for me what it is to be a person of faith. Certainly, each of these paths has contributed mightily to my life and ministry, and for that I am grateful.

But I’m not sure that heading down any of these familiar roads would soothe my continued restlessness. Nor would they move me closer to answering the imprecise but persistent questions that lie beyond, or ahead, or somewhere out there.

In truth, I’m not so sure that the Jesuit path is going to soothe or answer, either. But there’s a reason I responded to the call to serve these amazing young adults with JVC. And there’s a reason I have found myself immersed in the Ignatian life. I’m not sure what those reasons are yet, really. But perhaps as I continue to mark the path here in this blog, it will become clearer.

For now, though, it is good enough to be here. I’m glad you’re here, too.

No related posts.