FINDING GOD IN ALL THINGS
Fr Hung Pham SJ during the workshop at Xavier College on Saturday 12 October. Photo by Ingrid Alferez.
By Frances Tilly
Coordinator, Mission Formation at Jesuit and Ignatian Spirituality Australia
The Bond That Binds Us. Bespoke Province workshops with Fr Hung Pham SJ, in Sydney, Melbourne and online, 28 September and 12 October 2024.
In 1538, the companions of Paris, with Ignatius of Loyola as their leader, realised that their plan to go to the Holy Land was not possible. They chose to go to Rome and to offer their services to the Pope for the missions he would entrust to them. The following year, Ignatius submitted a draft constitution for his group. Pope Paul III welcomed it verbally, but it was not until several months later, on 27 September 1540, that he promulgated the bull ‘Regimini Militantis Ecclesiae’, which recognised the Society of Jesus as a religious order.
– Jesuits Global Curia News 26 September 2024
How apt it was that just a day later this year, on Saturday 28 September 2024, at Peter Canisius House in Sydney, a group of Jesuits and Companions in Mission came together for the first of two days of reflection and companionship titled The Bond that Binds Us, facilitated by Fr Hung Pham SJ, the Director of the Office of Ignatian Spirituality for the Central and Southern Province of the Conference of Canada and the US.
The second offering of The Bond that Binds Us was generously hosted by Xavier College, Kew, on 12 October, including live streaming for participants nationally.
Participants valued the time to come together and connect intentionally, across the various Province ministries. Jesuits and Companions from The Cardoner Project Network, Jesuit Mission, Jesuit Social Services, Hawthorn, Our Lady of the Way, Emerton and Toowong Parishes, Care for our Common Home, Xavier College Kew, Xavier Social Justice Network, Saint Ignatius College Geelong, St Ignatius of Loyola Catholic College, Auckland, JISA, with friends from CLC, Companions, and Jesuit Alumni, were joined by Province Office colleagues and Provincial, Fr Quyen Vu SJ.
Here are some reflections on the experience, the voices of those who attended these days.
Australian Provincial Fr Quyen Vu SJ (sixth from left) and Fr Hung Pham SJ (seventh from left) with those who attended the Sydney workshop at Peter Canisius House.
“I found it to be a beautiful day, not just a workshop, but more of a retreat day, an opportunity to press the pause button and be still and quiet and go deeper into what draws and keeps me in our mission,” commented Sue Martin from the Province’s Care for our Common Home ministry.
“During what was a very prayerful and contemplative day, there was also robust discussion which honoured the experience and the deep commitment of those present. It was clear that the day was thoughtfully prepared, as a retreat-like experience and Hung generously shared many stories with us. I was particularly struck by discussion about the Ignatian understanding of ‘indifference’ and Hung’s description of Ignatius and his companions gathering in Rome in 1539 for group discernment to determine whether or not they should continue to informally collaborate with one another,” observed Pip McIlroy from Jesuit Social Services.
“I loved the three movements of the day,” reflected Robyn Wunder from JISA, “firstly noticing the way this incredible God communicates with us in the colours and sounds of our day, noting that, in order to hear the full symphony of sounds and see the full symphony of colours, silence and stillness are the gateway.
“The second movement unpacked our Ignatian DNA, tracing the chapters of Ignatius’s life in many different dimensions, noting Ignatius’ movement from a lone pilgrim to a member of a company. Hung encouraged us to dream big, as this enterprise is bigger than you and me, and we need to work together, we cannot do this by ourselves.”
This group photo of those who participated in the Melbourne workshop was taken by Fr Hung Pham SJ.
Having mapped Ignatius’ journey for us through Loyola, Alcalá, Monserrat, Manresa, Barcelona/Venice, Jerusalem, Salamanca, Paris, La Storta, Rome, etc., Hung invited us to consider all these significant places for Ignatius and to reflect on the moments in our own experience that we can draw parallels to.?Tracing the footsteps of God in our own lives. Reflecting, how did I end up here? What is my anchor? What is my calling? Noticing the times or places of repetition. Asking, how am I changing each time that I return?
The final movement of the day invited us to consider what brought us to the Ignatian family, and the mission of the Australian Province, reflecting and sharing about what keeps us here, and what have we done well in maintaining the bond that binds us.
Both days concluded with the celebration of the Eucharist.
Ignatian repetition is a good thing. After the eight-day Province retreat on a similar theme, the workshop on The Bond that Binds Us has allowed me to further realise how Ignatius’ vision of God far transcended his own time. Evidenced in the writings of the Jesuit Constitutions, Ignatius was able to see (read: “discern”) how God was calling not only a group of men as Jesuits, but also from among a much wider group of people to serve under the banner of Christ’s Standards. Reflecting this in today’s context, we are called to discern together – Jesuits and our friends in the Lord – the difficult questions that the early Jesuits asked themselves. What makes us want to go to “Jerusalem”? What does “helping souls” look like? What is our “La Storta”? What does the “diversity” of the 1539 Deliberations mean today? Ultimately, we are invited to find again and perhaps re-learn a common language. It is the language that can bind us together, through the conversion of our hearts, moving us from self-focused (or group-focused) perspective to that of God’s. It is an incarnational language which would help make more tangible God’s redemptive action in the world.
With thanks to Robyn Wunder at JISA, Philippa McIlroy at Jesuit Social Services, and Fr Eka Tanaya SJ from St Ignatius of Loyola Catholic College, Auckland, for their written reflections, and to all who attended The Bond that Binds Us.
Banner image of Fr Hung Pham SJ at Xavier College’s Kostka Building by Janark Gray.
By Janark Gray, Communications Officer, Jesuits Australia
The workshops The Bond That Binds Us by US-based Fr Hung Pham SJ in Sydney and Melbourne bookended an eight-day retreat for Jesuits at Catholic Leadership Centre in Melbourne, which was praised by many of the Australian Jesuits who attended.
In his own words, the underlying theme of Fr Hung’s time in Australia was to “rekindle the deeper bond with Christ. It also aimed to recognise the bond we have with each other and to celebrate, share and learn from one another and grow spiritually.”
Fr Chris Gleeson SJ said: “For those of us Jesuits who attended Fr Hung’s retreat in Melbourne, the seminar at Xavier College on 12 October provided an opportunity to revisit some of his retreat material and deepen it for ourselves. It was what St Ignatius called ‘repetition’ for some of us. I did enjoy the first session at Xavier College, which invited us to engage creatively with ‘the rhythm of the ordinary’ through colours and sounds – a new lens on Finding God in all Things!”
“Fr Hung opened up for me new insights into our Ignatian DNA,” said Fr Michael Ryan SJ, pictured with Fr Hung at Xavier College. “My life as a Jesuit was much enriched.” Photo by Janark Gray
Fr Des Dwyer SJ also found the Melbourne workshop beneficial in exploring Ignatian concepts. “It certainly helped the lay partners who attended to understand our DNA and it was good (for them) to explore these things with their Jesuit partners. It complemented the formation work of our ministries.”
“Fr Hung opened up for me new insights into our Ignatian DNA.” said Fr Michael Ryan SJ. “My life as a Jesuit was much enriched. His creative presentation sparked off how life changing this divinely inspired text can be. For us all, a great experience of our Jesuit identity.”
It was Fr Hung’s first trip to Australia and he was very impressed with what he saw of the country after being invited to come here by the Australian Provincial, Fr Quyen Vu SJ. He was particularly struck by Sydney Harbour and remarked: “The hospitality has been incredible.” Fr Quyen was able to take Fr Hung around Sydney and visit Peter Canisius House in Pymble, St Aloysius’ College in Milsons Point, as well as Saint Ignatius’ College Riverview to give him a sense of the Australian Jesuit presence.
Before this first trip to Australia, Fr Hung already had ties to Australian Jesuits in his early formation years. Fr Brian McCoy SJ directed him on his Long Retreat during tertianship and Fr Steve Curtin SJ was his Director at Jesuit Refugee Service in Mae Hong Son, Thailand. Fr Hung had also met Fr Quyen many times in the US and Asia before the latter became the Australian Provincial in 2020.
He was also delighted to be able to catch up with his second cousin, Fr Cao Nguyen SJ, in Sydney and to meet in Melbourne other Jesuits of Vietnamese heritage, including Fr Ai Pham, Fr Minh Uoc Pham, Fr Huy Nguyen and Fr Trung Nguyen. The relationships Fr Hung has maintained over the years highlight the importance of the Ignatian family and the themes explored in his seminars – being joined in the love of God and the love of others.
To enquire about becoming a Jesuit in Australia, contact vocations@sjasl.org.au and for more info, visit our Vocations page.