Why I Like Working.

I sheepishly checked in with my "boss" this morning, a nursing professor, wondering if I had missed anything while I was sick. I had not received any emails nor had there been anything left for me in my box. She says to me, "Oh, no, I just didn't want to give you things to do while you were sick and getting through midterms." WHAT. A. SWEETHEART.

First of all, Linfield professors are the best. Secondly, people like her are why I like working.

I do not know if it is my sparkling personality (wink), but the people I have worked for have not been especially disagreeable. So far. (Knock on wood.) In fact, most of my bosses I have gotten on well with. My grandfather, Guello, used to tell me to make the most of whatever job I get and always strive to do the best job I can. The best-foot-forward attitude was emphasized by my Jesuit-Catholic education in which we were encouraged by the motto ad majoram dei gloriam, meaning, "for the greater glory of God."

As far as making the most of my current job, I am very pleased with how flexible it is with my busy schedule. Knowing that my professor will adjust my workload based on my schedule is a huge relief! Now that I am healthy again and past a couple midterms, I am back to a full workload including researching books and articles on various topics related to nursing.

Researching is fun! I am enjoying the challenge of finding the most relevant and contemporary studies. I actually read through them too - partially to see how best my professor may use them in her course and partially because I become curious about the study.

This job may prove the best yet - I have learned so much already from flipping through packets for class I copied! It may be nerdy, but I really like academic work.

Interview with the Pope: Part One

I finally finished reading the interview with the pope published a few weeks ago! There are many things I want to write about regarding his interview, but I thought I would segment my reflection based on sections of the interview which I thought was very well structured. I appreciated Fr. Spadero's comment about Pope Francis thinking carefully rather than giving quick responses.

One of the first things that struck me was his comment about not being used to talking to masses. He says, "I manage to look at individual persons, one at a time, to enter into personal contact with whomever I have in front of me."It reminded me of a scene in Lord of the Rings where Galadriel, the Queen of the Elves, is talking to the Fellowship and makes eye contact with Frodo and speaks to him while simultaneously continuing her speech to the group. Obviously, Pope Francis is not creepy like Galadriel is and is much more well-intentioned than Galadriel. His statement also reminds me that he wants individual contact with everyone just as God does.

One of the first questions of the interview was about himself. Pope Francis spoke about himself saying, "I am a sinner, but I trust in the infinite mercy and patience of our Lord Jesus Christ, and I accept in a spirit of penance." What a sense of humility! I often feel what is commonly known as "Catholic guilt" and when I do I am suckered into feeling unworthy of God's love and mercy. As a fellow sinner, I appreciate Pope Francis' trust in the Lord knowing what He is doing because it is hard sometimes (understatement of the year).

I learned a lot about the Jesuits during high school and spent quite a bit of time getting to know St. Ignatius, the founder of the Jesuits, so I immediately felt a connection with Pope Francis because of his Jesuit affiliation. When he was speaking about becoming a Jesuit, Pope Francis said he was struck by his constant search for community - something I, too, also look for. Community just so happens to be one of the characteristics I found most attractive about Linfield and am I so grateful for it now that I am here. He also talked about the missionary spirit and discipline characteristic of the Society of Jesus. I wonder now that I am separated from a more direct connection with the Church (being off at an religiously unaffiliated college), how much my education in high school had to do with my positive feelings and responses toward missionary spirit and discipline.

In the interview, Pope Francis says that discernment is something from Ignatian spirituality that helps hi live his ministry. Discernment has something I have always struggled with, so it was interesting to hear what he had to say about and his experience with discernment. Pope Francis spoke so succinctly that I will not summarize what he had to say on the subject:

This discernment takes time. For example, many think that changes and reforms can take place in a short time. I believe that we always need time to lay the foundations for real, effective change. And this is the time of discernment. Sometimes discernment instead urges us to do precisely what you had at first thought you would do later... My choices, including those related to the day-to-day aspects of life, like the use of a modest car, are related to a spiritual discernment that responds to a need that arises from looking at things, at people and from reading the stage of the times... The wisdom of discernment redeems the necessary ambiguity of life and helps us find the most appropriate means, which do not always coincide with what looks great and strong.

As Fr. Spadero cleverly noticed, discernment is an important part of Pope Francis' spirituality and emphasizes his Jesuit identity. Pope Francis commented on the Society of Jesus, saying, "[it] looks to a center outside itself; its center is Christ and his church. So if the Society centers itself in Christ and the church it has two fundamental points of reference for its balance..." I appreciate the fact that Pope Frances recognizes the tension of an institution in its strive to maintain balance. It is not as simple as "focusing enough" on the "right things." Everything in the preceding sentence seems vague, doesn't it? The same goes for a spiritual life. There must be a dynamic tension keeping one's spiritual life in check - for example, making sure one is neither unconsciously nor consciously selfish. If one is consciously selfish, one will forgo opportunities of generosity, but if one is unconsciously selfish, one will take all opportunities to show generosity simply because one wants to be recognized as being generous.

Anyway, I may not be making much sense, but these are some of the things I thought about while reading about Pope Francis' thoughts about the Society of Jesus and being a Jesuit.