Thirteen tertians joined the 2023-2024 programme, coming from the Philippines (3), Myanmar, India (2), Poland, Hungary, Germany, France, Canada (2) and the US. Mark from the Philippines has not yet gotten his visa. His arrival is delayed. On Sunday, September 24, the programme was inaugurated by Irmo, Noel, Mar Tay, Vikram, Harry, Krzysztof, Gyuri, Helmut, Pierre, Ted, Michael and George, together with Charlie and I as instructors. Building the community with us is Salah, from Lebanon, who gave a talk on the society and the state of Lebanon. Nader, from Egypt, and currently serving as Socius of the Provincial, is also a member of the team of formators as a spiritual director.

As usual, we started with a common reading of Fr Kolvenbach’s Directives on Tertianship, in order to name the aims and means of our programme. We will start soon the reading of Ignatius’ autobiography while each tertian gives time for writing his own autobiography.

Tertianship is what tertians give to each other, in terms of welcome into a safe space of companionship, that allows one to be touched in the depth of one’s affectivity, and discover anew the relation that binds the Lord to each of his companions.

The context of Lebanon leads us straight into the theme of Reconciliation which is the focus of this programme. What is at stake in every conflict? What role does spiritual discernment hold in the elaboration of conflicts? The figure of Nicholas Kluiters, Dutch Jesuit who was assassinated during the Lebanese civil war, will inspire us to understand how the Society finds her place in the dynamics of every conflict, and how each companion finds his own place in the context of the mission entrusted to him.

In the meantime, building the community of tertianship is the common concern of all of us. Through the shared responsibility of the 200-year-old house that we live in, and the generous desire to make the eight months of community a joyful experience, the community in Bikfaya is taking shape in a very consoling way.