SHOWING THE WAY TO GOD
Fr Quyen Vu SJ, Australian Provincial
As many of us who have been blessed with holiday time now go back to work, as school resumes, and routines return, it is a good time to reflect on the year ahead.
We might recall commitments made at Christmas, resolutions at new year, desires for how we might live this year.
Last year I was part of a meeting of Jesuit major superiors, leaders of Jesuit provinces and regions around the world, convened by our Superior-General, Fr Arturo Sosa SJ.
We were privileged to be addressed by the Holy Father, Pope Leo. As a guide for our mission as the Australian Jesuit Province, it’s helpful to be reminded of his words as this year begins.
Pope Leo’s message to Jesuit leaders was grounded in the immense instability we are experiencing, especially with the rise of AI, environmental degradation and the breakdown of social, cultural and political institutions.
As Pope Leo said to us, and I quote: “Yet into this world, Christ still sends his disciples. The Society of Jesus has long been present where humanity’s needs meet God’s saving love: through spiritual guidance, intellectual formation, service among the poor and Christian witness at cultural frontiers.
Saint Ignatius of Loyola and his companions did not fear uncertainty or difficulty; they went to the margins, where faith and reason intersected with new cultures and great challenges.”
So, my prayer for this year is that our Province will continue to go to the frontiers.
That Jesuits and the ministries we have care of will continue to be in those places where, Pope Leo said, “familiar maps are no longer sufficient.”
We do not go to the geographical, cultural, intellectual or spiritual frontiers just for novelty, but because of the real need for Christ to be proclaimed there.
As Pope Leo said to us, “The urgency to proclaim the Gospel today is as great as in the time of Saint Ignatius.”
So in 2026, we set out again to share the good news.
I wish you every blessing in our shared mission this year.
Banner photo courtesy of Jesuit Mission Australia.
Video by Janark Gray.