The International Association of Jesuit Universities (IAJU) Global Citizenship Fellows Program’s journey to the city of Rome opened a new horizon in the way we understand our connections with others and the profound impact that these relationships can have on who we become and how we interact with the world. Meeting such inspiring and brilliant people from different places, each carrying such unique experiences, made me more appreciative of the magic of coming together with one shared purpose: to understand ourselves, to understand our place, and to act in consequence.
The cura personalis value in activities like the "Speaking Across Conflict Workshop" developed by Resetting the Table leads us to question ourselves: Who are we? What moves us? Who are we in the face of the divine, and therefore, who are we to others? This, for me, was the main message of the IAJU Global Citizenship Fellows Program.
Understanding where we’re standing can lead us a long way toward understanding the context and people we face daily. To walk in the streets of such an important and historical city can make you realize how far we have come and evolved as humans, and how quickly we have forgotten the beauty and purpose of our nature.
Sightseeing the art of the Vatican reminded me of the power that humans hold when it’s put into something good with purpose, and how this form of humanitarian art today is reflected in those who put their service in the service of those in need, such as the work of the members of the Jesuit Refugee Service we visited.
In our attendance at the papal audience, Pope Leo XIV invited us to reflect on our most simple symbols, what they represented, and how they can foster genuine ecclesiastic relations, pretty similar to what we experienced in our conversations with the spiritual lessons, where we discovered the value of the simplicity of silence and pauses in bringing us closer to one another.
“Silence” is not usually the first word that comes to mind when we think of dialogue, but ironically, the most important one. We need silence to listen, to reflect, to appreciate what is being presented to us, and it is only after all that work is done that we need silence to speak.
This group of people, who I now dare to call my friends, each arrived with minds and hearts full of noise and questions, with a hunger and enthusiasm to do something for our world but confused about where to start and wondering if what we were doing was enough.
By the end of the week, we all realized something: the simple action of hearing each other’s stories and ideas with the love and respect everyone gave was already meaningful enough to transform each of our lives.
This is what I take with me from this program, and what I hope to continue questioning throughout my life: How do we listen to each other? How do we relate to others? And how do I listen to myself?
