Our mission
Discernment is about finding the voice of the Spirit of God speaking to us in the ordinary and practical details of our lives. It is a key gift that St. Ignatius brought in the Spiritual Exercises. By trying always to listen to the Spirit, without being attached to our own desires and ideas, Jesuits wish to find where the Spirit of God is leading and respond with humility and joy.
In our apostolic work, the Society engages in Discernment in Common to reach decisions about important apostolic issues. Those involved pray and reflect on the decision to be made and then share together the fruits of prayer. The major superior or Director of the work then makes the final decision. A special office for Discernment in Common and Apostolic Planning at the General Curia promotes this process.
Access DPA.ZONE, a platform for networking, learning, file sharing, developed by Discernment and Apostolic Planning Office.
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How to access DPA.ZONE?
What is DPA.ZONE? DPA stands for Discernimento e la Pianificazione Apostolica, an office in the Jesuit General Curia, established to promote Discernment in Common and Apostolic Planning in the apostolic work of the Society of Jesus around the world. DPA.ZONE is a...
Video guide: Spiritual Conversation by Fr. John Dardis, S.J.
„… we are each a little word of God and together we will spell out something great… (Elizabeth Johnson paraphrasing some of the work of Karl Rahner) Spiritual Conversation is a new approach for deciding and being together as diverse group. A useful method of making...
New videos: Universal Apostolic Preferences explained by Fr. Arturo Sosa, S.J.
The recently announced Universal Apostolic Preferences for 2019-2029 are an extremely important signpost for the activities of the Society of Jesus in the years to come. However, as Jesuits and mission partners get to learn about them, questions and reflections arise...
Discernment and Leadership: A Jesuit contribution to the Church
At the start of his pontificate, Pope Francis emphasized the importance of active listening: letting go of control and leaving room for the movement of the Holy Spirit. Six years later, the Jesuits are using the paradigm of active listening to push an initiative that...
Renewing the Society of Jesus through discernment and leadership
“If we want to lead truly and in an authentic way... it needs to start not only with what we do but only with who we are.” This is the closing phrase of the video that captures the main events and the atmosphere of last week’s workshop on leadership and discernment...
Ready to Serve: A new mission for the SJ
There’s an air of excitement flowing through the halls of the Jesuit Curia in Rome. That’s because Fr. General Arturo Sosa and his team are in the final stages of releasing a letter that will guide the Society of Jesus into the future. For nearly two years, Jesuits...
Events
approach, with an emphasis on character – the character of the leader. How can corporate and church
programmes respond to this call?
Our videos
Universal Apostolic Preferences
A Universal Preference gives a horizon, a point of reference, an orientation to the whole Society of Jesus. It captures our imaginations, awakens our desires, and unites us in our service of mission.