Christ Has No Voice But Yours - Being a Voice of Encouragement

Being a Voice of Encouragement

Care of souls. Through my years working for the Society of Jesus (the Jesuits) I came to appreciate the precious and complex nature of caring for the men and ministries of the Midwest Province. In attempting to explain my role, I recall a Jesuit pastor who told staff and parishioners that in the church there were two kinds of visitations: those of angels and those of a provincial’s assistant!

Diverse ministries are led by teams of Jesuits and colleagues, women and men, who collaborate to offer loving service to the world for the greater glory of God. That is certainly the aspiration. And like all human efforts fraught with mortal frailty, institutions continue to exist only with the help of divine grace. To be a Provincial’s Assistant meant discovering how to be an instrument of God’s grace, a voice of encouragement caring for souls entrusted to me.

Annual visitations focused on each ministry’s mission. I helped leaders listen for movements of the Holy Spirit, to notice the good God was already up to, name growing edges that would benefit from tending, and begin to imagine possible ways forward. I’d summarize themes in a formal letter to the ministry, sharing additional context and areas of grace and growth with the Provincial.

Over the years God helped me develop my voice of encouragement through writing these visitation letters. Old fashioned letter writing takes time. Time to review notes, look for patterns, both lights and shadows. Time to pray about what stood out from the distance of a week or month. I leaned on wisdom for offering feedback that you might also have come across:

• Is this true?
• Is it necessary at this time?
• Is it helpful?
• Can I share it kindly?

Letters were easy to write when things were going well. However, they were very difficult when ministries were struggling or in the midst of crises when things seemed to be falling apart. Thankfully these situations were few and far between.

When his world was falling apart, the prophet Amos exclaimed, “The Lord God speaks— / who will not prophesy!” (Amos 3:8). Through my experience as a Provincial’s Assistant, I know that courage is required to speak a prophetic truth. There were times when I had to speak out for the sake of an individual or the wellbeing of a community. In doing so, I had to be willing to receive the hurt, anger, and disbelief that came with this, knowing that it had to be done. This was a learning experience that both tested and strengthened me.

On July 22nd we celebrate the Feast of St. Mary Magdalene, Apostle to the Apostles. I’ve long felt a sense of sisterhood with her. Weeping as her world was falling apart, Mary Magdalene lifted up her head as she heard Jesus speak her name. After their encounter she rushed from the empty tomb taking with her Christ’s light and hope of his peace. Sharing good news of his resurrection was intended to encourage her grieving community, but her prophetic voice joined a long line of prophets.

The disciples didn’t immediately believe Mary Magdalene, but she and Jesus persisted. Jesus spoke Peter’s name on the shore, restoring his sorrowful soul as he entrusted the care of other souls, lambs and sheep, to Peter. Jesus spoke Thomas’ name in the upper room, addressing his doubts by offering to join his crucifixion wounds to Thomas’ wounded heart. Jesus speaks our name when circumstances seem bleak. We speak our dear ones’ names tenderly to comfort them, or to share a difficult truth in hopes that it will bring new life.

How might you, too, perhaps facing resistance, be encouraged to continue this holy prophetic tradition of encouragement? Whose souls has Christ entrusted to your hands? Who has he placed before your eyes to see through a hardened surface to a wounded child of God within? Whose cries reach your ears so that you hear a deeper truth beneath hurt or heartbreak? Whose feet do you step forward with into a faith filled future?

Going Deeper:

As we read about Paul’s visit to Antioch with Barnabas, Judas, and Silas during his first journey (Acts 15:31-32), Judas and Silas were “themselves prophets” who helped people develop joy and strength. Perhaps with his companions in mind, Paul wrote to the community at Corinth during his last journey before he was arrested. He instructed Corinthians to pray for the spiritual gift of prophecy for the encouragement of others (1 Cor 14:3). How might you, too, pray for this gift so that you might offer a prophetic word of encouragement to others?

Many of Paul’s letters and those attributed to him are filled with the importance of encouragement, teaching and preaching what he also needed to learn and live as a follower of Christ. How might you be a voice of encouragement, to

• Build each other up, ‘as indeed you are doing’(1 Thessalonians 5:11)
• Help ourselves and others develop patience and kindness (1 Corinthians 13:4-7)
• Console as we ourselves have been consoled when suffering (2 Corinthians 1:3-4)
• Offer hope and develop unity (Romans 15:4-5)
• Lift someone’s heart towards God (Colossians 4:8)
• Accompany people through times of testing and discipline (Hebrews 12:5)
• Provoke one another to love and good deeds (Hebrews 10:24-25)

Reflect with Dr. Marina Berzins McCoy’s encouragement to Love in Deed, for as St. Ignatius reminds us in his Spiritual Exercises [#230-231]:

First, “love ought to manifest itself more in deeds than in words.” Second, “love consists in a mutual sharing of gifts, (where), the lover gives and shares with the beloved what she/he possess … and vice versa. Hence, if one has knowledge, she/he shares it with one who does not possess it; and so also if one has honors, or riches…. always (giving) to the other.”

Thank you!

We hope you enjoy our Into The Deep Blog! This blog is a free offering to live our mission of accompaniment. If someone forwarded this to you, please be sure to sign up at the bottom of this website page so that you receive an email each week with the new blog.If you appreciate us walking with you in this way, please consider a donation here. $10 a month goes a long way! Learn more and donate here.

Photo by Alex Shute on Unsplash

Jenéne Francis

Jenéne Francis is an aspiring contemplative in action who finds writing creative non-fiction and short fiction a fruitful spiritual practice. She also enjoys adapting and offering the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius for days of reflection and retreats. Jenéne recently retired from the Midwest Province of the Society of Jesus after many years supporting Jesuits and colleagues who serve retreat houses, spirituality programs, parishes, and as hospital chaplains and other pastoral ministers. Having spent her first career at the Procter and Gamble Company in product development and manufacturing, followed by more than 20 years in Jesuit ministry, Jenéne gets great satisfaction offering her engineer’s head and poet’s heart for “the greater glory of God.”