0
0
0
s2smodern

This year was no different from the previous ones, as Jesuits from France, Belgium and Luxembourg engaged in the youth apostolate,  met for a weekend of exchange, sharing and reflection. In all, some 60 companions gathered in La Pareille between the 17th and the 19th March.

Before moving on to serious things, we took the time to savour the joy of finding each other again. Saturday, kicked off with three presentations that were a good opportunity to get to know better and share the joys and difficulties of our various missions. The first was a presentation of the work of the JECSE (Jesuit European Committee Primary for & Secondary Education) by Olivier Barreau and Bernard Peeters, followed by a presentation by Sylvain Carriou-Charto of the targets to be reached in view of the ten-point roadmap for youth apostolate. Finally, it was Christophe Renders’ turn to give us  a presentation on the Belgian Ignatian Youth Network. We wrapped up the session with a time of prayer and personal evaluation, followed by a sharing in small groups about the consolations and desolations experienced by participants in their work with young people.

The afternoon saw the group split into two reflection teams: one on work in schools and the other on work with university students. The first group considered the place of Jesuits in educational institutions; the challenges of collaboration; as well as the four Cs which characterize human excellence today : Conscience, Competence, Compassion and Commitment. The second group, assessed our participation at last year’s JMJ in Krakow, both as part of the Magis project and in that of the dioceses. The day continued with the presentation of two projects in the Ile-de-France region: the MAGIS House in rue d'Assas and the Teilhard de Chardin Center in Saclay.

After a very intellectually stimulating day,  the group headed to downtown Namur to celebrate the Eucharist at the university chapel and share the evening meal with the local Jesuit community. We then had to pleasure to meet Mrs Annick Sartenaer, the president of the university’s General Assembly, who gave us an overview of the challenges facing the university, as well as its links to the Society of Jesus. The group then gathered at the CRU (University Religious Center) for a short presentation of the university chaplaincy and the religious sciences courses on offer at UNamur. We ended this long day in high spirits thanks  to some local beer tasting and a time of prayer in the CRU chapel.

On Sunday morning, the discussion centered around the October 2018 Synod  - “Young People, the Faith and Vocational Discernment”. Guiding us in our exchange were the preparatory document (the lineamenta) and the attached questionnaire. We ended off the session with the  Eucharist. As the weekend draw to an end, we had  the usual sharing of news and the presentation of various projects. Here, let me take the opportunity to promote the ‘Clamours’ webseries (www.clameurs-lawebserie.fr), an original and youth-inspired way to discover the Laudato Si Encyclical’s themes.

Next year’s meeting will be held at the beginning of March in Lyon. A la prochaine!

0
0
0
s2smodern