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The last of the decrees of the 31st General Congregation of the Society of Jesus to deal with Jesuits’ religious life addressed the topic of “reading at table,” the practice of having texts read aloud as members silently ate meals. Often the reading was from the Jesuits’ Constitutions (or its summary, but it also came […]

This extended decree represents the thoughts on Jesuit community life by the delegates to the 31st General Congregation of the Society of Jesus. The decree declares that “the foundation and aim of community life in the Society of Jesus” is “a community of men who are called by Christ to live with Christ, to be

The 29th and 30th General Congregations established commissions to study the topic of poverty within the Society of Jesus. The delegates at the 31st congregation, in the following document , provide extended thoughts on the purpose of poverty, especially by issuing directive norms in order to “bring about this renewal in our way of poverty.”

Obedience was one of the seven topics in the “religious life” of the Society of Jesus that the delegates of the 31st General Congregation addressed with a decree. In the following document, the delegates note they are “conscious of the social change in our day which gives rise to a new awareness of the brotherhood

For the Jesuit delegates at the 31st General Congregation, consecrated chastity was a “gift” from God, “a sign of charity and likewise a stimulus to it.” Those delegates, nevertheless, also issued the following decree to acknowledge how contemporary attitudes and contexts have caused “new problems” on the topic. The decree urges the new superior general

The Second Vatican Council asked religious institutes to help spread the love of and the devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus. In response on behalf of their Jesuit brethren, the delegates of the 31st General Congregation of the Society of Jesus affirmed the Sacred Heart as “the center of our own spiritual lives.” Yet,

In the following decree, the delegates of the 31st General Congregation assert “the importance of prayer,” while proposing “specific orientations on the manner and conditions of prayer” for members of the Society of Jesus. The decree closes with a reminder for “every Jesuit that personal daily prayer is an absolute necessity.” To that end, it

The last of five decrees concerning Jesuit formation, the twelfth decree from the 31st General Congregation addressed the practicalities of the ceremonies for a Jesuit’s vows. The delegates, in the following document, leave it to the newly elected superior general to draft “an Ordination for the whole Society” that would allow for “experimentation” at different

As part of their review of the formation of Jesuits, the delegates at the 31st General Congregation considered what norms ought to be in place as a member of the Society of Jesus works towards taking his final vows. These norms took shape in the following decree, which revised existing practices. For more from the

The delegates at the 31st General Congregation reflected on tertianship (or the third probation), not with a desire to eliminate the process but rather to renew and adapt it within the context of the Second Vatican Council. Tertianship is essentially a year of probation, when a Jesuit examines his vocation before taking final vows. In