Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
There are many interesting tidbits to be found in the naming of Religious Orders. If you’re unfamiliar, every Religious Order and Congregation have an official name, the initials of which go after the names of its members. For example, Bishop O’Connell is a Vincentian and has the initials C.M. after his name. And while many orders are commonly named for their founder, like the Dominicans and Franciscans and Benedictines, oftentimes their official name and initials speak more to the actual charism of the group. And a rather unique instance of this occurs with the Jesuits.
The Jesuits are oddly named from the jump, borrowing more from the name of Christ than their founder, St. Ignatius of Loyola. But officially, the name for them is the Society of Jesus, with the initials SJ appearing after members’ names. But even that is a bit of misnomer, particularly when we consider how St. Ignatius himself referred to the group. It’s important to note two things about St. Ignatius; he was a military officer before his conversion and he was Spanish. With that in mind, St. Ignatius often called it La Compañía. In military terms, a company is a unit of measure or grouping of soldiers. And whether we look at it in Spanish or in modern English or in the original Latin, the term has definite significance. It’s a putting together of the words ‘com’ which means ‘with’ and ‘pane’ which means ‘bread’. It is literally the group of men that you would share your meals with. That is what St. Ignatius envisioned for his religious community, that their ministry, even if it took them to the ends of the world, that they would continue to be able share their meals together.
Eating is a basic activity of life. But sharing a meal with others is a critical experience psychologically. Think about it: if you shared a meal with another person, day after day after day, even if you started out as complete strangers, over time you would build a connection with them. We’re built for that kind of human interaction. And as we look forward to the week ahead, Thanksgiving offers a whole holiday that is largely centered around coming together and spending time with others in a shared meal. Yes, we might also watch some football and engage in other family and community events, but the Thanksgiving meal is truly at the heart of the celebration. Hopefully, we all have a chance to spend some time in the company of loved ones in the week ahead and are able to share a meal together, whether its this Thursday or not. But I hope that we might also realize that all get to share in the greatest of meals and the Bread of Life when we gather for the celebration of the Mass. And in doing so, we are offered the chance to come together; as a compañía, as a society, as a family in faith.
Peace and Goodness,
Fr. Dan
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