“What impresses me is the quality of the people who have entered in the last few years,” he said. “By quality, I mean not only a very rich spiritual discernment before they entered, but also an intellectual and social preparation that is again impressive. A number of them have doctorates. A number of them have experience working in community services.”

Both the Jesuit traditions of intellectual rigour and commitment to social justice seem to be key factors for the men who choose to become Jesuits these days, said Monet.

“They seem to have been attracted as a result of a very solid experience of the church,” he said.

A Jesuit vocation is all about being sent and being generous, said Fr. Roger Yaworski, one of five jubilarians honoured at the Provincial’s Dinner for 50 years of life as Jesuits.

“Jesuits are always being sent,” Yaworski said in his homily at Mass before the dinner. “Then it’s up to the Jesuit to give himself to the world.”

Both the sending and the giving are part of following Christ, who was sent into the world by God and gave Himself as God on the cross, he said.

“We all work in this mission because of the incarnation of God,” Yaworski said. “You either accept that gift or you reject that gift.”

Of the five Jesuit jubilarians  this year, only Yaworski and Fr. Winston Rye could make it to the annual dinner. Fr. Joseph Schuck remained in Newfoundland so he would be available to his students who are preparing for exams. Fr. G. William Robbins stayed in Nepal. He has spent most of his life in India and Nepal as a missionary. Missionary Fr. Michael Parent also chose to stay in India.

The 2010 Provincial’s Dinner honoured John Gennaro, a faithful benefactor of the Jesuits and past president of the Serra Club of Canada, with the Magis award. Magis is a central word in the spirituality of Jesuit founder St. Ignatius of Loyola. The word means more, and Ignatius urged people to always ask themselves what more they can do for Christ.

Rather than an acceptance speech, Gennaro offered a prayer of thanksgiving for all the people who attended the dinner and the people who have allowed him to be generous in his life.