Welcoming our new Holy Father
Wednesday, March 13th, 2013
With great joy and gratitude to God, the New England Province of the Society of Jesus welcomes our new Holy Father, Francis. It is an extraordinary moment in the life of the Church. Although we are, of course, excited about the Holy Father’s Jesuit roots, we are more excited about his ministry to the Universal Church and pray for courage and wisdom for him as he begins this journey of faith.
In a special way, the Holy Father, who has as Jesuit prayed the prayer known as the Suscipe, has now entered in a even more radical way into the meaning of this prayer of St. Ignatius, the founder of the Jesuits:
Take Lord, receive all my liberty. Take my memory, my understanding, and my entire will. Whatsoever I have or hold, You have given me; I give it all back to You and surrender it wholly to be governed by your will. Give me only your love and your grace, and I am rich enough and ask for nothing more.
Very Rev. Myles Sheehan, SJ
Provincial of New England