About a week ago, a colleague of mine in the chaplaincy staff of our College, in Malta, sent me a link to a global virtual retreat experience, organized by Educate Magis. I must admit I had never heard of this online community before, but the idea interested me, as I have been involved in Jesuit education for many years. So I decided to register for the retreat, and I thank God I did, as it was a very rich experience.

I particularly enjoyed the interaction between Fr. Casey and Fr. Pat. It was so beautiful to see how their interventions blended with each other, and completed each other. The joy they radiated in their collaboration and the testimony of being true companions in the Lord was for me an inspiration.

All the topics were interesting and beautifully presented, but I loved that of the fourth day the most. The quotation from St. John Bosco translated simple and touching way the idea of the Ascension: “Walk with your feet on earth, but in your heart be in heaven.” I was also deeply touched by “the art of the exit,” which I find very actual and very important. As a Jesuit, in the last eight years, I have changed six communities and five countries, which means I have gone through many exits, some of which were rather painful. So the reflection on Fr. Casey’s words about this subject were very important for me.

Also very important, for me, and very enriching, was the sharing in the break-rooms. Meeting people who share the same mission from all parts of the world, and sharing experiences with them is great. Especially during difficult times, times of insecurity and uncertainty such as the present ones, it is good to share experiences and discover we are not alone in having certain feelings and reactions, such as fear and discouragement, but also hope and a sense of new life and creativity.

While sharing, in the break-room, about what “the art of the exit” had brought to mind, I remember a very vividly a moment when I was leaving a group of lay colleagues with whom I had worked for over 16 years. As soon as they heard that I was leaving, they came to me and said, “Father, you can’t possibly leave us. How will we manage without you? We have gotten used to you being with us. We will be lost.” My first reaction was to be very please and gratified, as I have a great need to be needed. But, listening more deeply to what those words really meant, I told my friends, “If what you say is true, it is even more important that I leave, since I have made you dependent on me, rather than empower you to be able to continue on your own.”  Yes, exits are painful sometimes, and difficult, but I think there is great wisdom and profit, for us and for others, in life’s circumstances, and superiors, inviting us to move on.

I think this “art of the exit” and the importance of the break-room are the two main elements that I shall carry with me in my work in the coming weeks.