Jesuits launch a new online space of sharing and dialog

By James Hanvey, SJ, Secretary for the Service of Faith of the Society of Jesus

The Service of Faith of the Society of Jesus launches a new website called ‘Faith Dimensions’ (www.dimensions.faith), designed to bring together a community of faith in conversation. It aims to present a range of reflections, views, insights, thoughts, questions on any area of culture secular and religious from the perspective of faith.

Faith in Jesus Christ is central to the life of every Jesuit.

All the apostolates of the Society have this faith and service at their centre, and it continues to inspire and shape all that the Society does. For the Society of Jesus, the service of faith cannot be separated from the work of justice and the rights of the poor and marginalised in all societies. If the Kingdom of God is founded on faith in Jesus Christ, Lord and saviour, it grows in the work of justice. Recently, the Society of Jesus has identified four apostolic preferences which express this apostolic service for our times. The Secretary for the Service of Faith is one of four secretaries who advise Fr. General on central aspects of the Society’s apostolic mission. The others are Higher Education, Secondary and Pre-Secondary Education, Social Justice and Ecology.

Why the website?

Although the secretary for the Service of Faith has some specific areas to coordinate such as the Society’s apostolate of the Spiritual Exercises, Ecumenism and Interreligious dialogue, he has the responsibility of helping the Society grow in its mission of bringing the gospel to contemporary cultures and working within these cultures for human flourishing. The Secretary facilitates the theological reflection on the proclamation of the Gospel so that the mission of the service of faith is more clearly manifested in all the Society’s apostolic commitments. Integral to this will be facilitating reflection on the processes and dimensions of reconciliation.

Faith Dimensions

The website ‘Faith Dimensions’ is designed to bring together a community of faith in conversation. It aims to present a range of reflections, views, insights, thoughts, questions on any area of culture secular and religious from the perspective of faith. Faith itself is not only a gift, but also a search. Ultimately for a deeper love and service of God, ‘our creator and Lord’ but also of the lasting human good. Faith is, therefore, a dynamic reality lived out in relation to God, the world and others. The site in its contents and in its aesthetics and design is intended to reflect this. The hope is that it will be an engaged, attentive and attuned faith community of reflection, it will also be a resource for the Society and its apostolates, indeed, for anyone who is also searching.