By Jennifer Maney and Michael Dante
Best laid plans…those were the words of Robert Burns when he penned “To a Mouse” in 1785. He was talking about the reality that no matter how carefully we might plan something, many things may go wrong. This reflects how many of us might feel right now with a global pandemic, an economic meltdown, and the pains of racism bubbling to the surface. What we thought might be true is more likely now to be an uncertainty. It would be easy to fall into the desolation at such a realization.
Or, we could take this profound moment to dream of new possibilities. We could ground ourselves in the February 2019 letter of Fr. Arturo Sosa, S.J., Superior General of the Jesuits, who outlined four universal apostolic preferences. Two of those preferences stated:
Walking with the Excluded - to walk with the poor, the outcasts of the world, those whose dignity has been violated in a mission of reconciliation and justice;
Journey with Youth – to accompany young people in the creation of a hope-filled future.
Fr. Arturo Sosa, S.J. (above), 31st Superior General of the Society of Jesus, reflects on how Ignatian discernment can aid in the identification of innovative opportunities via the Universal Apostolic Preferences (UAPs) of the Society of Jesus. The fruit of a two-year discernment process, the UAPs offer a guiding horizon to orient the apostolic work of Ignatian-inspired institutions, including Jesuit colleges and universities. Photo courtesy of the Jesuits.
It would be difficult to find two more clear directives of where we need to be right now as Catholics but perhaps more directly as Jesuit institutions. Some questions we might ask as we reimagine:
How are we, in the words of Dean Brackley, S.J., and at this moment in time, “mugged by this gritty reality?”
What does it mean to be in solidarity with our suffering world?
What does authentic, practical, and actionable support of these two preferences look like today?
If we took this time very intentionally to participate in some Ignatian Contemplation, what might our universities look like in order to support these preferences? Here are a few ideas that are worth dreaming about:
Every first class from accounting to chemistry would spend the session indicating how it fit into a Jesuit approach to education.
The Ignatian Pedagogical Paradigm (IPP) would be integrated across all classes.
Service learning and Community Based teaching would be the norm.
Faculty would be prepared and trained in raising the critical issues and engaging students in constructive dialogues including those specific to racism and growing inequities.
Students would graduate having a greater sense of how their life supports the common good and a deep sense of belonging to the global human family.
Faculty and their students would be actively engaged in community-based research and participant designed research, and this work would be held in high regard and count toward tenure.
As Adolfo Nicolas, S.J., among others urged, interdisciplinary teams across Jesuit institutions would have focused research addressing the compelling issues of the day (economic inequities, environmental degradation, and the globalization of poverty, etc.)
Led by Fr. Michael Garanzini, S.J. (above), Secretary for Higher Education of the Society of Jesus, Chair of the Board of Directors for the International Association of Jesuit Universities, and President of the Association of Jesuit Colleges and Universities, a team of faculty and administrators from across the global network of Jesuit educational institutions discuss the compelling issues confronting higher education. Photo courtesy of the Jesuits.
Universities would serve as the place where trusted public intellectuals would advise government entities and communities on well-researched options to address these concerns.
Dare we dream solidarity and put our reflection into action? Would not that be something?
Jennifer Maney is director of Marquette University’s Center for Teaching and Learning and a member of the National Seminar on Jesuit Higher Education.
Michael Dante is director of Marquette University’s Faber Center for Ignatian Spirituality.
The featured cover photo (above) is courtesy of the Jesuits.