Last month we joyfully received the Universal Apostolic Preferences (UAP) for the next ten years in the Society of Jesus. It has been a long process of two years of discernment. From our community of the curia of the Conference of European Provincials, we feel the joy of this launching of the UAP. Here we live with eight Jesuits from six different countries. Each of us followed this discernment from our provinces of origin, through the assembly of Provincials and the meetings in Rome of Father General's Extended Council. From the bases to the final confirmation of Pope Francis we were waiting for the result of this common discernment.

On the day the UAPs were proclaimed we placed a small altar in our chapel. A small candle reminds us that preferences illuminate our apostolate as a gift of the Spirit for the Society. But this moment of initial consolation needs to be brought to our plans and our other decisions. This candle should illuminate from our chapel to our actions and decisions in each of the ministries entrusted to us.

The UAPs are a gift and a task. For this reason in our community of St. Benedict, named after one of the six European patrons, we wanted to dedicate our community retreat to praying with Father General's letter on the UAPs.

For the proposal of times of prayer and community sharing we did not want to separate the preferences and we feel that they are interconnected. We could not separate four fields of apostolate or see if our tasks passed the UAP test. What we did was a threefold approach to Preferences: Personal, Institutional and Community.

The dynamic was very simple: three moments of personal prayer and community sharing over the weekend. Each time of prayer has a sheet that serves as a guide and invitation to read one of the three parts of Father General's letter and to pray from each of the three approaches. (You can download the materials here).

It was a very fruitful retreat in the house of La Pairelle in the south of Belgium. On the personal level, the retreat helped us to stop and take time to make the General's letter our own. As members of multiple institutions it enabled us to include in all our planning and activities the horizon opened by the Universal Apostolic Preferences of the Society of Jesus. And finally, as a community it helped us to feel given and sent. Praised be the Lord.