Stephen Surovick, SJ (MAR) is in his second year of Regency, teaching European and American History at Gonzaga College High School in Washington, D.C.
Through six years of formation, I have understood life as a Jesuit to be one of personal and public spirituality, availability, and an opportunity to serve people both in their lives and where their lives meet the Church. For the past six years, life in the Society of Jesus has meant developing a personal spirituality, building a relationship with God as informed by Jesus Christ, that both influences and is influenced by a public spirituality as a Jesuit.
One of the graces of my eight-day retreat this past summer was that Jesus knows exactly what it is like to be a Regent. Reading through the Gospel of Mark, I realized that Jesus was both attempting to teach the crowds that constantly sought Him out, and find time to pray. It was during this time that I realized that Jesus knows exactly what I was going through in regency, in my attempt to be with my students as well as find the time to reflect and pray. Reflecting on this grace, I realize how emblematic this personal-public tension is of Jesuit spirituality.
There are times when I have struggled with this tension, trying to find the time to pray in the face of varying demands on my time. But through both success and challenge in finding a balance, I have come to a better understanding of how the personal prayer and relationship with God inspires and informs the public reality of life in a Jesuit apostolate. Personally, I have received the necessary graces to realize how important a strong bond with God is, especially when asked to serve full time in an apostolate. Those graces have come in the form of movements of the Holy Spirit, both in grace-filled and desolate times. Through it all, I have learned that to be in relationship necessitates taking the time to check in with the other, even if it is for only ten to fifteen minutes in a day. This personal reality of religious life in the Society serves to inform the public side of life as a Jesuit. It is because of the relationship with God that I as a Jesuit can then pray and work with those of the apostolate. Whether it is participating in daily mass with colleagues, or navigating the hallowed ground of the classroom, my personal relationship with God very much informs and inspires the public reality, enabling me to pray with both colleagues and students, as fellow participant and teacher.
My understanding of the Society’s mission is one of availability, to serve where needed. “Are you coming to the game, Mr. Surovick?” The first time I was asked this question, I was struck by the sincere desire of students to see teachers involved in their lives, even beyond the classroom. I was quite humbled by the joy that seemed to follow my response in the affirmative. To be available is the mission, as I understand it. Teaching European and American History, coaching the Freshman soccer and baseball teams, helping with the Freshman retreat program, and participating in service trips, I have made myself available, even taking on tasks for which I had no experience. As challenging as some of that has been, I have made myself available beyond the classroom only to discover how much of an entrée both the classroom and extracurricular activities provide into the lives of students and colleagues. That availability has provided opportunities for conversations on theology while riding home from a game, the morality of smoking, and why Jesuits do not marry. Availability through teaching, coaching, attending games, attending mass, and helping to lead retreats has opened lines of communication that would not otherwise exist. And so the question as to whether I will be there – be it a game, a dance, a play, etc. – is the call of Christ, calling me to be available to Him as He appears in the apostolate.
Finally, my understanding of the priesthood is one that provides an opportunity for service that comes full circle. Recently, while serving at a school-wide mass, I could not help but notice the desire to be at the altar so that my ability to serve may be complete. As Jesuits, we work daily with people as they are in their lives. As priests, there is an opportunity to continue to be involved when the people to whom we are missioned seek out and desire to participate in the sacramental life of the Church. There is no great epiphany of which to speak, or bolt of lightning of which to report, but merely a myriad of small confirmations, since entering the Society, that draw me ever closer, ever more desirous of the priesthood. As a Jesuit priest, there exists a wonderful opportunity to connect the secular to the sacred, to help connect people to God, and to serve as a representative of an institution that helps connect God to His people. That personal relationship previously mentioned is drawing me into a deeper relationship with God and therefore a deeper desire to serve God’s people in the sacramental life of the Church.
Through these six years of formation, I have learned that religious life in the Society of Jesus consists of a personal relationship with God, which in turn supports the public reality of a Jesuit’s mission. The Society’s mission, as it is lived by each individual Jesuit, regardless of the mission, is one of availability. Finally, the opportunity to be ordained a Jesuit priest means having the opportunity to connect people’s daily lives with the Catholic Church. And while I have much more to learn, I have humbly requested to continue theological studies in the coming academic year in preparation for eventual ordination to the priesthood, as my relationship with God continues to draw me into greater service of His people.