Marco Carvalho
Celebration, but also exaltation and renewal. The Ignatian Jubilee is being celebrated by the Society of Jesus in many different ways, but the Macau Ricci Institute is focusing on contemplation and spiritual transformation to recall the process of renewal that Ignatius of Loyola embarked on, five centuries ago. The Institute will offer a new course on Contemplation and Leadership starting from July 31st.
Starting from the end of the month, the Macau Ricci Institute (MRI) will promote a new course on Contemplation and Leadership in partnership with the Cardinal Newman Center For Culture and Performing Arts. The venue hosted a similar initiative that attracted around fifty people in the first half of the current year.
The course, which claims as its main source of inspiration the experience of conversion that St. Ignatius of Loyola embarked on 500 years ago, aims to encourage the process of spiritual transformation of those who take part in such an experience, Father Stephan Rothlin told O Clarim: “The Contemplation and Leadership course is, indeed, in the line and dynamic of the courses during the whole Ignatian Year, which spans from May 2021 through July 2022 and in which we focus on spiritual transformation. The main event of the Macau Ricci Institute, which will take part in October, will be focused on Spiritual transformation, inspired by the conversion of St. Ignatius, experienced when he was wounded 500 years ago by the explosion of a cannon ball,” the Swiss priest reveals. “We discover the inspiration from the silence which opens our eyes to the richness of the Bible, especially its exemplary leader King David as he is portrayed in the 150 Psalms, and the Gospel of St. John, which conveys deep insights on Jesus as the perfect friend and Master”, the current director of the Ricci Institute of Macau emphasizes.
The new course starts on July 31st and it takes place once a month, always on Saturday. Participants are invited to rediscover silence and the power of contemplation, as a way to solidify, in a more determined way, the need for a daily experience of faith: “There is a slow increase of participants from Macau. However, you may not be surprised to learn that the participants from Hong Kong are more consistent in the regular practise in comparison with their counterparts from the city named after the name of God. My main challenge, anyway, is to motivate and convince people that genuine transformation may only be experienced by a faithful daily practice”, father Stephan Rothlin assumes.
Simultaneously, the Ricci Institute launched this week a similar course, albeit in a virtual environment. The first edition of the Internet course attracted a little over fifty people from all over the world and all walks of life: “Since the opening of this sequence we reached about 50-60 people, who however do not always participate each time”, the Jesuit missionary stresses. “We can just simply say that these people come from all the walks of life. Most come from Hong Kong, Macau, Beijing but we also have attendants from Beirut, New York, Australia, and Switzerland”, father Rothlin explains.
The Swiss priest is fully convinced that, although the Covid-19 pandemic continues to be a source of concern and anguish for many, it can also be an opportunity for spiritual reinvention: “COVID-19 and the healthy disruption of the overkill of too many trips may be a golden opportunity to discover the meaning and profound happiness arising from Contemplative silence, from the wisdom of the Bible and from a most encouraging sharing by participants. I hope and pray that the pandemic can be much more used as a “spiritual kairos”, an opportunity to deepen the communion with the Crucified and Risen Lord,” the director of the Macau Ricci Institute concludes.
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