Research Article
in the beginning…
Knox, Michael L., S.J. “in the beginning … .” Studies in the Spirituality of Jesuits 57, no. 2 (2025): iii–viii. https://doi.org/10.6017/ssj.v57i2.20603.
Open Access 
To “commemorate,” by definition, is to “celebrate in speech or writing” and “preserve in memory by some celebration” a person, place, or event.[1] In this commemorative issue of Studies in the Spirituality of Jesuits, inspired and organized by one of our editorial board members, Fr. William A. McCormick (ucs), we strive, in some measure, both to “celebrate” and to “preserve,” in our hearts, the events and decrees of the 32nd General Congregation of the Society of Jesus—experiences and documents that unquestionably have formed our landscape as Jesuits for now fifty years.
To this end, Fr. McCormick invited five authors to reflect on how this congregation has shaped their lives and the order since its completion on March 7, 1975. Specifically, Fr. Peter Bisson (can) shares how the congregation influenced his journey among the Indigenous Peoples of Canada. Next, Fr. David Hollenbach (uea) defines key aspects of decree 4 from that congregation and provides examples of its lasting impact. Following that, Fr. Fred Kammer (ucs) reflects on the spirit and meaning of the 32nd General Congregation in the context of further expressions of Jesuit identity and mission that developed in subsequent congregations. Then, Fr. Brian Strassburger (ucs) describes how he has taken his appropriation of the congregation to “the ground,” at the service of migrants. Finally, Fr. Martin Tripole (uea), invites us to reflect on what justice means in the thought of the congregation. And so, we have five men, currently serving in five different fields, reflecting on a shared legacy.
As we commemorate the GC 32, we also inaugurate here the digital format of Studies under the direction of the Institute for Advanced Jesuit Studies at Boston College. Of course, as stated earlier, the three editions—Autumn, Winter, and Spring—published online each year also will appear in print form and one copy of the printed edition will go to each Jesuit community of the Jesuit Conference of Canada and the United States. Should readers have any comment on the this new format or its delivery, please do not hesitate to contact our editorial board, as the journal remains at your service.
Notes:
[1] Oxford Illustrated Dictionary, ed. J. Coulson, C. T. Carr, Lucy Hutchinson, and Dorothy Eagle, illustrated edition (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1962), s.v., “commemorate.”
CONTENTS
Decree 2, Truth, Reconciliation, and Indigenous Relations
Peter Bisson, SJ
Faith and Justice in 2025: The 50th Anniversary of the 32nd General Congregation’s Decree on “The Service of Faith and the Promotion of Justice”
David Hollenbach, SJ
1. Social Analysis in Decree 4 and Today
2. Theology and Ethics at the Link between Faith and Justice
3. Response to Some Urgent Issues Today
4. Conclusion
Fifty Years of the Faith-Justice Mission
Fred Kammer, SJ
Insights on GC 32 Decree 4 from Migrant Accompaniment on the US-Mexico Border
Brian A. Strassburger, SJ
What Is the Jesuit Mission?: Faith/Justice and Later Reformulations of the Mission of the Society of Jesus
Martin R. Tripole, SJ.
1. GC 32’s Understanding of the Jesuit Mission
2. Two Reformulations of the Nature of the Jesuit Mission
Most loving Father,
who made us each in your image,
Most giving Son, who showed us the meaning of love,
Most gentle Spirit, who guides our path to fullness of life,
Guide our hearts and minds and souls and bodies to a true place of freedom.
Help us to journey through life in humility,
And to share all that we have been given.
Help us to see you in each and every person,
And to be servants to all.
Help us to labor for true justice,
And to be lovers of peace.
O God, help us all to be free in You,
Thy kingdom come…
1.When was I first introduced to the decrees of the 32nd General Congregation?
2. In what way do the decrees of this congregation shape my life as a Jesuit? Has this changed over the years? How and why?
3. In what ways have the decrees of this congregation remained, either implicitly or explicitly, at the heart of my apostolic life?
APA
Knox, M. L., S.J. (2025). in the beginning …. Studies in the Spirituality of Jesuits, 57(2), iii–viii. https://doi.org/10.6017/ssj.v57i2.20603
CMOS
Knox, Michael L., S.J. “in the beginning … .” Studies in the Spirituality of Jesuits 57, no. 2 (2025): iii–viii. https://doi.org/10.6017/ssj.v57i2.20603.
MLA
Knox, Michael L., S.J. “in the beginning … .” Studies in the Spirituality of Jesuits, vol. 57, no. 2, 2025, pp. iii–viii. https://doi.org/10.6017/ssj.v57i2.20603.
Turabian
Knox, Michael L., S.J. “in the beginning … .” Studies in the Spirituality of Jesuits 57, no. 2 (2025): iii–viii. https://doi.org/10.6017/ssj.v57i2.20603.