Hello! We continue this morning with our novena sharing, reflecting this time on Ignatius’ experience in Paris. As many of us may already know, Ignatius went to Paris to study at the not-so-young-age of 37. For the students, if you think studying and learning is hard now, imagine when you are 37 years old memorizing facts, names and dates, staying up late to learn new concepts, taking quizzes and long tests, struggling while all your other classmates are in the prime of their lives with clear minds, good memories and youthful energy. Some of your teachers can probably attest to the fact that studying is much harder when one is much older. It is a humbling experience to say the least.
Now, despite this “disadvantage,” Ignatius saw the importance of a good education to be able to serve God well. How could he teach or preach if he did not know the material in the first place? So he went for studies even at his advanced age. Of course, he had to go to the #1 university in Europe at that time, the University of Paris. At 37, attending the best university – he definitely had a hard time. But to be fair, his roommates, Peter Faber and Francis Xavier, probably studied hard as well – the whole class did. Though, perhaps some, like Ignatius, studied more than the others. But all of them went through the same Parisian educational system where the students would be given a subject to master; there would be a lot of exercises and exams, over and over again until they mastered it; only then would they move to the next topic, and to the next, and so on and so forth. For seven years they toiled together. And as you can probably guess, Ignatius, Faber and Xavier and all their other classmates emerged from such a demanding and challenging experience with more than just a doctorate degree – they emerged as close friends, companions.
I think many of you can relate to this. May it be a difficult subject, a demanding teacher or one of the many class projects – it’s hard, it pushes every one of you, but in the end, when all has been said and done, you’ve not only learned a new skill or concept, you’ve also learned more about those who struggled with you: you classmates. After three or four years in the same class, you cannot but know each other well.
If I may be bluntly honest this morning, I must say that I am going through such an experience right now. As some of you might know, I’m a Jesuit candidate living in Arvisu House. I and my fellow candidates are being given a taste of what it means, what it entails to be a Jesuit. It’s not easy. It’s not easy for me to be poor when I’ve had a car, got a well-paying job, a very comfortable life and sizable inheritance. It’s not easy to be chaste when I’ve had a girlfriend, when I’ve known how it is to love someone deeply and be loved as deeply in return; not to mention the raging hormones (well okay, libido, mostly). It’s hard to be obedient when I’m educated, skilled and confident, used to being independent and proactive. It’s hard. But it becomes a little easier when I know I’m not journeying alone. I know my Arvisu brothers are going through the same thing in their own way. And these past two months, I’ve gained some really good friends who give more than just advice, but who provide the strength to carry on. Through our shared struggle, friendships are born.
In today’s Gospel, the same can be said of Jesus’ disciples. We have Jesus speaking in parables that no one at that time could understand. Even his disciples couldn’t understand. So, in the Gospel, we find them going to Jesus asking for an explanation. It must have been hard to be Jesus’ disciple then. Imagine leaving your family, your possessions to go from town to town listening to a teacher you cannot understand and constantly being threatened by the authorities and elders. It must have been a real struggle. But it is a struggle that forged deep friendships among disciples that later helped lay the foundation for the early Church.
And so, in any hardship or tragedy we are currently going through, perhaps is good to ask who else is struggling beside us and perhaps we can lend a helping hand or give kind word or even just an affirming smile because for all we know: that person may need a friend.
