Posted on 10/18/2016 1:00:00 PM PDT by ebb tide
Father Arturo Sosa Abascal, SJ, of Venezuela was elected the 31st Superior General of the Society of Jesus at the Jesuits’ General Congregation 36 (GC 36) today in Rome. Fr. Sosa is the first Latin American Superior General of the Society of Jesus, the largest religious order of priests and brothers in the Catholic Church.
Fr. Sosa, Delegate of the General for the International Houses and Works of the Society of Jesus in Rome, was elected by 212 Jesuit electors at the General Congregation, the supreme governing body of the Society, which is currently being held at the Jesuit Curia, the Society’s headquarters in Rome. He succeeds Father Adolfo Nicolás, SJ, 80, who resigned last week after serving as Superior General since 2008.
Fr. Sosa was born in Caracas, Venezuela, on November 12, 1948. He entered the Society of Jesus in September 1966 and was ordained a priest in 1977. He holds a bachelor's degree in philosophy from the Catholic University Andrés Bello in Caracas, a bachelor’s degree in theology from the Gregorian University in Rome and a doctorate in political science from the Universidad Central de Venezuela. He was provincial superior of the Society of Jesus in Venezuela from 1996 to 2004. Fr. Sosa speaks Spanish, Italian and English and understands French.
Prior to his appointment as provincial, he was in charge of the social apostolate of the Jesuits in Venezuela, which includes the Jesuit network of schools for the poor, Fe y Alegría. He was also head of the Centro Gumilla, the Jesuit-run social and action research center.
Among his distinguished academic posts, he has served as a member of the founding board of the Andrés Bello Catholic University in Caracas and rector of the Catholic University of Táchira. He has taught and researched political science in many different institutes and colleges, and in 2004 was a visiting professor at the Latin-American Studies Center of Georgetown University.
Fr. Sosa, only the 31st Superior General in the Society’s 476-year history, now leads the 16,740 Jesuits worldwide. This includes about 12,000 priests; 1,300 brothers; 2,700 scholastics; and 753 novices, according to Father Federico Lombardi, SJ, General Counsellor and Assistant ad Providentiam.
Fr. Sosa on unity and diversity at GC 36.
In an interview at GC 36 before the election, Fr. Sosa said delegates gathered come from different countries, but they share a common culture linked to their experience of the Ignatian spiritual exercises and practices of discernment. "We have a long tradition and a strong desire to listen to the same voice, that is the voice of the Holy Spirit."
The election was held after four days of murmuratio, a centuries-old practice of one-on-one conversation and information gathering, designed to prepare the delegation for the selection of a new Superior General.
The day of the election began with a Votive Mass of the Holy Spirit at Santo Spirito Church, the 12th-century church across the street from the Curia. Father James Grummer, SJ, Vicar General of the Congregation, delivered the homily.
Fr. Grummer reflected on their task to choose a new leader: “Our mission this morning is to elect a General. We will be locked into an upper room, not for fear but for concentrated listening to the Spirit’s whisper. We are not afraid because we believe so strongly that the Spirit guides the balloting that according to Formula 84 ‘The man elected cannot refuse the election.’ ”
The Jesuit electors’ mission was not just to listen carefully, said Fr. Grummer, “but also to trust that even if I need batteries in my spiritual hearing aid, I can trust that through this band of brothers the Spirit will identify the man he has chosen. We can trust that Jesus will give us his Spirit, no matter how locked we may feel.”
Fr. Grummer noted that St. Ignatius Loyola, founder of the Society of Jesus, did not talk about the Holy Spirit often in his writings. “I believe Ignatius said so little about the Holy Spirit because he did not want words to distract doubters and Inquisitors from the deeds of the Spirit, from experiencing joy, gifts and mission of the Holy Spirit.
“Ignatius’ silence about the Spirit leaves more room to contemplate the deeds of that Spirit. As we celebrate the Eucharist at this altar this morning, may the Spirit fill our silence with the joy and all the gifts we need to embrace the special mission this day of choosing the one the Lord has chosen.”
After Mass, the Jesuits assembled in silence in the Aula (Latin for hall) back at the Jesuit Curia. The delegates then prayed silently for one hour, before voting began. In order to be named as the Jesuits’ new superior general, Fr. Sosa would have had to have received 107 votes (50 percent plus one of the 212 electors). All aspects of the election are strictly confidential, although the congregation confirmed that the first person to be notified of Fr. Sosa's election was Pope Francis.
While Fr. Sosa’s election as Superior General completes one of the main tasks of GC 36, the group’s work is not over. Now the delegates will tackle matters of mission, governance and the state of the Society. Topics may range from the Society’s changing demographics to challenges in worldwide ministries, to the Jesuit response to a rapidly changing world, environmental concerns, poverty and violence. [Sources: GC36.org, Crux]
Ignatius’ silence about the Spirit leaves more room to contemplate the deeds of that Spirit. As we celebrate the Eucharist at this altar this morning, may the Spirit fill our silence with the joy and all the gifts we need to embrace the special mission this day of choosing the one the Lord has chosen.”
I think there are quite a few Jesuits, from the white pope, the black pope and on down, who imagine they are listening to some "spirit". Surely, that entity is not holy.
Everyone, Let not your heart be troubled! Everything is happening as Jesus said it would! Remember, Jesus told Peter not to worry about what was going to happen to John. Just listen to what the Holy Spirit tells you to do, and do it!
ebb tide, this is obviously what the Holy Spirit wants you to be doing, so occupy until He comes for us.
So are you another nutball who thinks the Holy Ghost is speaking to him?
Do me a favor. Ask the Holy Ghost when Pope Francis will die and if the next pope will be a Catholic.
Anxiously awaiting His response to you.
Pope Francis will be cast alive into the Eternal Lake of Fire. There will be no more Popes. Any more questions?
Yes, I have a couple of them.
Are you a practicing Catholic?
How do you know you will not be cast into Hell?
It is clear from your postings that there can be no practicing Catholics because Pope Francis has so confused the doctrine that no one can know what it is to be a Catholic.
The Bible clearly states that one is saved by faith in the fact that Jesus Christ is the son of the One and True God, that He became incarnate through the Virgin Mary, was crucified, dead, and buried, and on the third day he was raised from the dead, and now sits at the right hand of the Father.
If you believe this with your heart and confess it with you mouth, then you will be saved. So that is how I know I am saved. You keep asking and the answer is always the same.
Tell me what part of the Gospel you are having trouble believing and I will try to help explain it.
If you have confessed this with your mouth, then you will be saved. The Father will send the Holy Spirit to dwell in you and you will walk with God.
This is a step that can’t be skipped. If you try to do all kinds of works or rituals without believing and confessing, then you aren’t saved.
Tell me what part of the Gospel that you are having trouble with:
And I say to thee: That thou art Peter; and upon this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. Matthew 16:18
Joseph Stalin also thought that he knew was saved. Good luck.
So you think that just because you are a bad person you can’t be saved? How do you know that Joseph Stalin was not saved? How do you know if God used him to encourage the Russian Jews to want to go to Israel?
The answer is you don’t know, but apparently it matters a great deal to you that you do. Does this bring you the joy that passes understanding?
Yet you "know" that you are saved and advertise it. Hypocrite.
You asked me how I knew I was saved. If you hadn’t asked, l would not need to say. You do not seem to be a very happy person. Saint Paul talks about being happy in all situations. Compared to Christians in Iran, Iraq, Egypt, etc. we have it very easy here in the USA. You should be happy that the Great Falling Away is happening now, and that we will soon be forever with Jesus.
Nobody knows that he is saved until Jesus Christ judges him upon his death.
You are guilty of the sin of presumption.
Oh! You poor man! Is that what you believe? Is that what you think the Catholic Church teaches? If anything they have told you conflicts with the Bible, the it is a false teaching!
All you have to do to be saved is believe and confess. That is it. If you believe the Nicene or Apostles Creed and have said it out loud, you are good to go. You will want to be Baptized and receive the Eucharist, but that is only helpful to Christian living, it is not required for salvation.
There is so much joy in walking ever day with Jesus, and it pains me that you aren’t enjoying what is available to you.
I have already done so, within the Catholic Church, but what if I murder the neighborhood grocer for twenty-three dollars and get away with it? Am I still saved?
If so, what's stopping me from doing it again?
Yes, you are still saved. In fact you could get the grocer’s wife pregnant, and murder him and still be saved. There would be consequences in this life, and probably your station in the life to come will be modified, but you are still saved. Re-read 2 Samuel to see how this goes. There were severe consequences in his life, but we will get to met King David in the next.
To answer what appears to be your actual fear: What keeps you from doing that is not wanting to disappoint your Father in Heaven who loved you so much that, while you were still a sinner, He sent his Son to die for you and fully atone for your sins. Jesus loves you, and you respond to that love.
You have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ that you can draw on. That is the important thing to remember. If there is a ritual in the Catholic Church that helps you with that personal relationship, then rest assured Jesus provided that for your comfort.
If there is something going on in the Catholic Church that disturbs you, then search the Scriptures to find out why that might be, but trust Jesus that it is as it is supposed to be.
We really are at the end of the age. Two thirds of humanity is not going to make it into Heaven. It is sad, but you can rest assured that everyone of them made a conscious decision not to believe the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
The important thing to realize is that you are not one of them. You are a victor! Hold fast until He comes.
And I say to thee: That thou art Peter; and upon this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. Matthew 16:18
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I think Jesus allowed the ambiguity in the antecedent of “this rock” for a reason, he knew that the Catholic Church would claim this to justify the Apostolic Succession, and He knew that the Catholic Church would have to last for 1600 years or so.
If you look for other references to “the rock not made with hands”, you will get the idea of His true meaning here. The rock He is talking about is “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.”
Although Jesus Christ sometimes spoke in parables, He was never ambivalent.
The word I used was “ambiguity”. It means uncertainty or inexactness of meaning in language. You read it as “ambivalent” which means the state of having mixed feelings or contradictory ideas about something or someone. So we are both correct on this one.
However, you might take your misreading of what I said to be a sign that you need to deal with your ambiguity about the Catholic Church.
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