We are happy to present to you this issue of INI, dated April-June ’23 on 1 May, May Day that calls us to remember the workers – those who labour and so are weary and burdened.
Students are not workers yet, but in these months of April and May students and teachers in India brave the heat-wave conditions in many parts of the country to prepare for and then sit for their exams. For most of them these are the most stressful months during the year. They slog, hoping that a college degree will eventually bring them a job.
This is why I was surprised to learn that the present situation in the U.S. is quite different. In an article in TIME (10-17 April 2023) titled, ‘The Point of College’, Jenny Anderson says, “Soon after the 2008-09 financial crash tanked the economy, Americans’ unflagging faith in higher education started to falter… In 2009, 70% of recent high school graduates enrolled in college. In 2021 that figure was 61.8%, about where it was in 1994.”
If 70% students enrolled in colleges about 15 years ago, it was because of a vigorous campaign that proclaimed that a college degree will enable them to work “smart” rather than “hard.” The images of a dirty plumber next to a shiny college graduate showed what the campaign slogan meant.
But now they are asking, ‘Does everyone have to go to college?’ Employers as well state governments are dropping the requirement for a college degree. According to an estimate, over two-thirds of Americans do not have even a bachelor’s degree. Why would they slog for a college degree if 1.4 million jobs would be available to workers without college degrees? In Germany and Switzerland one half to nearly two-thirds of students pursue vocational education. These men would say, ‘What if I don’t have a college degree? I have a job. If I can have a job, why would anyone want to sweat for a college degree? What I studied has earned me a job.’
Here in India the situation still favours higher education. Students are convinced that it is the college degree that would assure them of a decent job and a handsome salary. The problem is that what they are after is just a degree. Do they imbibe values? Is their faith in God strengthened? Does their college education make them immune to viruses like communalism, casteism and chauvinism? This is why the challenge all our educators face is how to make them men and women for others – how to help them see all humans are their brothers and sisters. Read Cedric Prakash’s article titled, ‘Rich in diversity, equal in dignity, united in solidarity’ in this issue. Happy reading!
– M.A. Joe Antony, SJ
Author: Fr M.A. Joe Antony, SJ
Welcome to our new online magazine, INI!
INI, is a new venture of the Madurai Province (MDU), Tamil Nadu, India, born on the feast day of St. Ignatius, 31 July 2021 - the year which Jesuits celebrate as the Ignatian Year – the 500th anniversary of his conversion.
INI, by the way, is not an acronym. INI, as you may guess, are the first two syllables of the original first name of St. Ignatius. He was called 'Inigo.' INI stands also for 'initiative'. There is a Tamil word, which is pronounced exactly like the first two syllables of ‘Inigo’ and ‘initiative’. It means ‘henceforth,’ - ‘from now on.’
INI is, in fact, the brainchild of Fr. Danis Ponniah,SJ, MDU Provincial. It is he who thought of it and invited me to edit it. Trusting in the unfailing grace of God, the maternal love of Our Blessed Mother, and the blessings of our Founder and Father, St. Ignatius, I have accepted to edit this online magazine. I hope my experience of editing the New Leader for 20 years and Jivan, the South Asian Jesuit magazine for 17 years, will help. So will the feedback and help of the eminent members of our Editorial (Advisory) Board.
Anyone who asks ‘What is important to today’s Jesuits?’ has only to look at what Jesuits call their 'Universal Apostolic Preferences (UAPs).' After a long, serious process of discernment and discussion that lasted for nearly two years, Fr. General Arturo Sosa, SJ declared on 19 February 2019 that all through this decade (2020 -2029) Jesuits all over the world will focus on four areas: 1. To show the way to God through the Spiritual Exercises and discernment; 2. To walk with the poor, the outcasts of the world, those whose dignity has been violated, in a mission of reconciliation and justice; 3. To accompany young people in the creation of a hope-filled future; 4. To collaborate in the care of our Common Home.
In the light of these four apostolic preferences, every Jesuit Province has come up with its own apostolic preferences – called Province Apostolic Preferences (PAPs). Provinces seem to have mostly tried to interpret the UAPs in their own local context. The MDU Province came up with five - the first four reflecting the UAPs in the context of the State of Tamil Nadu, India and the fifth one on Jesuit formation – forming our men in Ignatian spirituality to be credible in life and mission.
Apart from focusing on UAPs of Jesuits, if any Province has, among its PAPs, something unique – like MDU’s PAP on Jesuit formation, INI will look at them too, with a view to enlightening others on why they consider it important.
INI is not merely for Jesuits everywhere, but also for all our associates and collaborators - professors, teachers, students, alumni, and priests and religious who belong to IGFA - the Ignatian Family - all those who draw inspiration from St. Ignatius and the Ignatian spirituality, all those who collaborate with Jesuits – priests, Religious and all men and women of good will.
So read INI regularly and send us your feedback. Write. Get your friends and colleagues to read it.
To begin with, INI will be a quarterly, published every three months.
It is free and if you want it to be sent to your inbox regularly, you need to register, giving your name and email address.
Let INI inspire us all, in its own little way, to show the way to God, to walk with the marginalized and the poor, to work for reconciliation, justice and peace, to accompany our youth, and to care for our planet, our home!
View all posts by Fr M.A. Joe Antony, SJ
