Praying with Jesuit Saints and Blessed Community Prayer Book for the Jesuits 2020 Golden Jubilee Year of the Kohima Jesuits Praying with Jesuit Saints and Blessed Community Prayer Book for the Jesuits Published by: Kohima Jesuit Region Jesuit House, PB 20 5 Chief Secretary Lane Jahaz Ghat, Uzan Bazar Guwahati – 781 001 Assam, India [email protected] Printed at: Bhabani Offset & Imaging Systems Pvt. Ltd. 7 Lachit Lane, Rajgarh Road, Guwahati-781007 Selections from the Psalms are from New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright © 1989 National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide. (For Private Circulation Only) Contents Foreword v Introduction vii 01. Jan. 3 Solemnity of the Holy Name of Jesus 1 02. Jan. 19 St John Ogilvie and Companions 7 03. Feb.4 St John de Brito & Bl. Rudolph Acquaviva 10 04. Feb. 6 St Paul Miki and Companions 13 05. Feb. 15 St Claude la Colombière 17 06. March 12 Rutilio Grande and Companions 22 07. March 19 St Joseph, Spouse of the Virgin Mary 25 08. April 22 Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of the Society 30 09. April 27 St Peter Canisius 34 10. May 4 St José Maria Rubio 38 11. May 16 St Andrew Bobola 41 12. May 24 Our Lady of the Way 44 13. June 8 St James Berthieu 47 14. June 9 Bl. Joseph de Anchieta 50 15. June 21 St Aloysius Gonzaga 53 16. July 2 Missionaries of Europe 56 17. July 9 Sts Leo Ignatius Mangin & Companions 59 18. July 18 Bl. Tiburcio Arnaiz Muñoz 62 19. July 31 St Ignatius Loyoloa 65 20. Aug. 2 St Peter Faber 70 21. Aug. 18 St Alberto Hurtado 74 - iv - 22. Sept. 2 Bl. James Bonnaud and Companions 78 23. Sept. 9 St Peter Claver 81 24. Sept. 10 Bl. Francis Gárate 86 25. Sept. 17 St Robert Bellarmine 89 26. Sept. 27 Anniversary of the Confirmation of the SJ 93 27. Oct. 3 St Francis Borgia 96 28. Oct. 12 Bl. Jan Beyzym 99 29. Oct. 19 North American Martyrs 102 30. Oct. 21 Bl. Diego San Vitores 106 31. Oct. 30 Bl. Dominic Collins 109 32. Oct. 31 St Alphonsus Rodriguez 112 33. Nov. 3 Bl. Rupert Mayer 115 34. Nov. 5 All Saints and Blesseds of the Society 119 35. Nov.6 The Commemoration of all the Departed 125 36. Nov. 13 St Stanislaus Kostka 129 37. Nov. 14 St Joseph Pignatelli 133 38. Nov. 16 Martyrs of Paraguay 136 39. Nov. 23 Bl. Miguel Pro 139 40. Nov. 26 St John Berchmans 143 41. Nov. 29 Bl. Bernard Francis de Hoyos 147 42. Dec. 1 Martyrs of England and Wales 150 43. Dec. 3 St Francis Xavier 154 - v - Foreword Remembering our elders who have gone before us, admiring their virtues, looking up to them as exemplars of our life-mission and praying through their intercession has been a rich tradition of Catholicism for centuries. Perhaps no other Christian denomination can boast of a long list of saints, the numerous novenas in their honour and the many feasts in their remembrance as in the Catholic Church. Praying with Jesuit Saints and Blessed, a community prayer book for the Jesuits compiled by Fr Michael R. Kolb, has to be situated in the context of this rich tradition of remembering the saints who have left behind models for imitation, inspiration and invigoration. Psychologists tell us that the act of remembering can be powerful. If remembering can negatively influence us by bringing to life unhealed wounds, aching events and painful memories of the past still lurking in the hidden caves of our hearts, thus sapping our energies, it can also positively influence us by enkindling the fire within to ‘go forth and set the world on fire’. The effort made in this prayer book is to remember the events and experiences in the lives of Jesuit saints and martyrs that will inspire enthusiasm, ignite fire, trigger action and deepen our commitment to the Lord and His people. Anamnesis is a wholesome liturgical act to re- enact and re-live what we remember. The prayer sessions proposed in this book include words of the Saints and words about the Saints. Some prayer sessions contain brief bio sketches of the Saints and others call to mind their heroic actions. The excerpts from the homilies of popes during the beatification and canonization provide stimulus for deep thinking and profound reflection. It is hoped that the act of remembering and re-living the memories of our forebears will help us strengthen our Jesuit identity and inviteus to deepen our commitment to the mission of the Society and inspires us to be frontier men. - vi - This book is published during the Golden Jubilee year of the Kohima Jesuit Region. The author, Fr Michael R. Kolb, is a member of the United Midwest Jesuit Province in the United States. He has been a good friend of the Kohima Jesuits for almost two decades. He has visited Northeast India at least half a dozen times and, more importantly, lived in the Northeast for almost four years while pursuing his doctoral studies in Don Bosco University, Guwahati, Assam. This book is his gift to the Kohima Jesuits in appreciation of their missionary life and works in Northeast India. On behalf of the Kohima Jesuits, I place on record our gratitude to Fr Kolb. May this prayer book help us feel the pull of the Divine. May our praying together awaken the divine spark within us and connect us to Him and His people. May the examples of our elder brothers help us remain alert to the challenges of our mission and respond to them courageously and generously, with the audacity of the improbable. Fr Melvil Pereira SJ Regional Superior Kohima Region of the Jesuits - vii - Introduction This book is a collection of prayers for Jesuit feasts and memorials. Too often in our houses, amidst the pressing demands of our work, celebrating our heritage by marking the heroes of the Society is reduced to a mention at morning mass, if they are remembered at all. By assembling this community prayer book we hope to provide another possibility. Most communities spend fifteen minutes or so before supper in community prayers. This book provides a resource to use at times like those. This is a very bare bones approach. It is patterned on the community prayer resources of the Taizé communities, specifically their inspiring Prayer for Each Day. The form for the prayer on each feast parallels their formula. The printed material serves as a skeleton, eager to be enfleshed with songs, periods of silence, and additional readings as each community or community prayer leader thinks helpful. Each day has six parts. A brief word on each. Opening Prayer: This is a short prayer to give people gathered for the service a moment to recollect and draw their focus to the celebration. Psalm: Usually following an opening song and an opening prayer, the psalm is intended to enter into the mood of the memorial, and serves as the theme of the prayer. How communities engage in the psalm might differ from place to place. Some houses will begin with the ‘Oh Lord, come to our assistance...’ from the Office and end with the traditional ‘Glory be...’ Some might use the offered response in reply to an individual reading the psalm; others can ignore the response and simply read together the verses together or alternately. Reading: The readings remind us of at least one aspect of the saint’s or blessed’s holiness and service. They are deliberately short. They are also taken from works whose copyrights have expired or are - viii - from the Holy See. Alternately a passage from scripture could be employed, and one is suggested for each day. A reading from the day’s Proper is possible as well. Variety is good, lest the community trudge through the same thing year after year. Two other resources that can be used here: excerpts from Tylenda’s Jesuit Saints and Martyrs (Loyola University Press) which also includes Venerables and Servants of God of the Society; Lewis’s Profiles in Holiness (Gujarat Sahitya Prakash) that includes brief accounts for each saint. A brief period of silence for reflection is possible after. Petitions: There are four or five petitions to start this part of the service. They come from two sources. First, some come from things related to the saint of the day: what people he served, what his main work was, or what he might be patron of. The second comes from the 2001 edition of Sacramentary for Jesuit Feasts that, in addition to texts for masses, includes a list of topics ‘Suitable for Prayers of the Faithful’ in liturgies. These are helpful in remembering things we should pray for, but often forget. The list is offered here as an appendix as well. ‘Individual petitions’ are not an afterthought. It offers one way for community members to share their lives, work, and concerns with their brothers, and so should absolutely be included. The Lord’s Prayer. Concluding Prayer. This is usually taken from the Mass of the day. It can be said by the prayer leader or together. Following this prayer, musically inclined communities might enjoy another song to finish. If the prayer precedes the community meal, grace can be added as well. After the six-part community prayers provided here, we have included, where possible, supplemental material: novena prayers, appropriate litanies, even a prayer of the saint or to the saint that is part of the Church’s treasury, or related matter that might inspire some reflections.