International Women’s Day Reflection
Sue Martin SJES Advisory Council member
International Women’s day each year is an opportunity to reflect on my place in the world. Respecting that I live on Darug land where ancestors cared for our common home for thousands of years, what is my place. Well, I am a daughter, wife, mother, sister, aunt, niece, cousin, friend, colleague, peer, chair, mentor, educator, landcarer, netballer, pilgrim, Catholic, Jesuit woman.
My life journey has had a river running through forming a passion to better care for country. I have an agricultural science degree majoring as an agronomist. But my place was soon grounded within the environmental education profession, helping others to better care for country. I believe our post Covid, post Anthropocene world needs leadership to build the deep connections across and within all our places.
I see this reflected so beautifully in Laudato Si’ and Fratelli Tutti, finding our voice to build integral ecology with our common home. David Sobel is an American educator and academic, responsible for developing the philosophy of place-based education, ‘you need to love your place before you can go out and care for it’. The Aunties from our Australian First Nations community talk about ‘if you don’t care for country, country will not care for you’, finding God in all things becomes my way of proceeding.
But what is my place in the Society?I introduce myself as Sue Martin Jesuit at Inter- Congregational and Inter – Faith gatherings. This is an informal title I have given myself, but one I truly love. For me it says the Society has included me, but do I want the informal to become formal maybe, maybe not.
Connecting
with Fr Pedro Walpole SJ and the work being done by the Society through
Ecojesuit, the 2011 document Healing a Broken World, transformed my
professional life, I had a place to assist with the Society’s work to “green”
the heart of our world. My life motto is “strong woman” and my inspiration is
Ruth from the Old Testament, she is my strong woman who cares very deeply
‘across and within her place’ and is a farmer! From the New Testament, I draw
inspiration from Martha and Mary, servant leadership in both women but so complex.
The strength of our Mother Mary and her ability to ponder at the foot of the
cross. If I am to fulfil my mission to ‘green the heart of our world’, I need
to be all these strong women.
My life has been filled with strong women, Sr Anna Conway RSM an Irish Mercy nun who has blessed my parish journey. My parents formed my core and it is my mother, a deeply religious woman with theology qualifications an inspiration. I always thought she would become the first female Pope. I was educated by the Good Samaritan nuns who instilled deeply a sense of caring for the other. The Good Samaritan parable asks us who is my neighbour?
The Society was initially formed with strong women who walked with Ignatius, in patronage, advocacy, and active collaborative work, as described by James Reites SJ in 2013 article for The Way ‘Ignatius and Ministry with Women’. Fr GabbyLamug-Nañawa SJJCAP-RWC Coordinator reflects that the word with may be the most important of all, our Reconciliation WITH Creation ministry. Do we call on the Society to grow our Jesuit ministry WITH women? Focusing on the ‘with’ is the emerging theme of integral ecology, and for our Universal Apostolic Preferences (UAPs) -Promoting Discernment And The Spiritual Exercises, Walking With The Excluded, Journeying With Youth and Caring For Our Common Home. Faith doing Justice means having on-goingdialogue on the role of women across our Society.Fr General speaking at the Voices of Faith gathering in 2017 shared Pope Francis desire “we have to workharder to develop a profound theology of women … the fullness of women's inclusion in the Church has not yet arrived”.
The theme this year is ‘Women in Leadership: Achieving an equal future in a Covid-19 world’. The Society is showing leadership to the wider Church on women’s inclusion. However, is there need for on-going discernment? Yes! My sons were the fifth generation in my family to be educated by the Jesuits, a deep connection of faith doing justice in my family. I have deep respect for the traditions of the Society, but have hope in our future when you see our Jesuit ministries – schools, universities, Institutes are full of women leaders, but how can we better celebrate their work? Black Lives Matter has made us question all institutional foundations. Many voices One heart, integral ecology in action.
I take heart from the French diocese of Lyon where Anne Soupa has discerned that she would like to be considered as Archbishop, to be part of the inner sanctum of the Church. In our Society the call to consider women as consultors is the Voices of Faith call to the Society for women to be part of the inner sanctum. But it is also ensuring there is an inclusive formation process to develop women leaders for the Society of the future. Could a formation process be considered not only for women but lay members to become a Jesuit Oblate, or a Jesuit Deacon/ess?
I take heart from our Australian Jesuit community, the UAP’s are alive. Our Reconciliation with Creation mission to develop environmental justice hubs in various places is growing, first Melbourne, now Western Sydney. Our Being with God in Nature ministry to connect with the creator spirit in nature is growing, a chance for givers and receivers of the spiritual exercises to breathe new life into our place, all helping to build a post Covid post Anthopocene world.
Ignatius is walking with me, my place is good, I am Sue Martin – Jesuit.
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