I owe this post to another Jesuit (Chuck Frederico), who inspired me with a rather wonderful homily tonight.
Today is the feast of St. Stanislaus Kostka. He had quite a little adventure--Stan ran away from home at 17-years old to join the Jesuits. Stan's brother greatly disliked the piety exuding from young Stanislaus. He tried to prevent it at all costs and severely dealt with his younger brother. Stanislaus, gripped by fervor, fled from school in Vienna to join the Jesuits. He knew, however, he could not join the Novitiate in Vienna because of the political consequences (his father was Polish senator and well-connected). Rather, Stan went all the way to Rome to join the Jesuit (somewhere about 700 miles, not to mention the whole mountain range thing). He felt totally confident of the adventure, though, because of the deep relationship he had with God.
As a Jesuit, this is part of my mission--to have a great sense of where I'm coming from and be willing to go out. I work to develop a deep, beautiful relationship with God so I can go on all sorts of adventures. Rooted in Christ, on mission for the Church. That's my deal.
"That's all good and well, Ken, but what does that practically mean?"
"I'm glad you asked Aristotelian conversation style buddy."
I think practically it means two things--deepening my relationship with God and with those around me. After all, people are where we find Christ in the world. The folks I know are pretty good at helping me experience the love of God. Let's chat the people side first, because I think the concreteness helps.
Whenever I go on an adventure, I know the people that I take with. Not usually in a literal way. But the memory of all of you travels pretty neatly inside me. I carry all the stories we share, the relationships we formed and the love we give. I can truly say I have deep, wonderful relationships with my family and a good few friends. I take you some pretty fun and crazy places, like mountainsides in Peru. I also take you to places that scare the heck of out me, like NYC.
In Ignatian prayer, we ask for graces, certain things/ideas/feelings we need in our lives. I prayed a lot about the ability to feel at home in NYC, because it still scared the heck out of me even two months after moving here. It's starting to get much better. When praying, it's good to store up graces, to reflect back on them and think about what exactly God has offered in our lives. Being home at NYC is a huge one for me. I also look back to the graces of taking vows, of my family and friends surrounding me there; to my month in Peru and getting to participate in the lives of others; to my 8-day retreat and just feeling so good about being a Jesuit. I keep these things always in my heart, especially when I go on adventures. As I set out, I make sure I've packed everything I'll need for the journey, especially memories and thoughts of my family, friends, and God.
I think Frank Turner says it nicely in this song:
Intimacy is extremely important for our sense of home. How can we go on adventure if we don't have some place to return? We need a place to return both in our worldly and spiritual adventures. The more we recollect them, the deeper it is and the more home and wonderful it is.
NEXT TIME: An Urban Adventure. Seriously.
