For eight days in early August, UWE Jesuits gathered—in person and online—for the annual province retreat. Held at the Jesuit Retreat Center in Los Altos, the retreat was led by Victor Cancino, SJ, who serves as the pastor of St. Ignatius Mission on the Flathead Reservation in Montana. Victor also represented the province last spring as the delegate for the 71st Congregation of Procurators in Loyola, Spain.
In planning the retreat, “Leadership in Difficult Times,” Victor said he hoped to bring back the spirit of the Congregation by prayerfully examining how the Society navigates this time of rapid change and moves forward with a clear articulation of its mission.
Mayra Martinez, who is the pastoral assistant for St. Ignatius Mission, which includes Sacred Heart Mission in Arlee and St. John Berchmans in Jocko, Montana, joined Victor to present for two days. The two had previously given a Novena of Grace, and Victor wanted the province retreat to reflect the collaboration necessary for Jesuits West to become “a community of Jesuits and apostolic partners that fully embraces discernment in common,” as articulated by the apostolic planning vision statement. “The fact that we collaborate with our lay partners is different than just talking about collaboration,” he said. “You don’t have to explain discernment in common when you can see it in action.”
Each day of the retreat included a reading from the autobiography of St. Ignatius, coupled with a theme from the 71st Congregation and a passage from Scripture. Victor said there were many graces of the retreat. “The greatest grace is probably also the most simple because it’s quality time with your brothers where everyone is taking their prayer seriously and everyone goes into a bit more depth. From day one to the 8th day, there was a movement of depth and that is a meaningful bonding experience, which creates a union of hearts and minds. And you can’t ask for more than that.”
Victor said he left the retreat with one important takeaway. “My big insight was to try to move toward greater depth in love, whatever that might mean. We talk about intellectual depth and spiritual depth, but it’s about love and healing.”
