The subtle art of listening
Vocations
There’s a sense of calm at the Sevenhill Centre of Jesuit and Ignatian Spirituality. Cows graze the nearby farmland as winter mist drifts through the ground’s historic vineyard and Sevenhill Cellars, the oldest winery in South Australia’s Clare Valley, and the birthplace of the Jesuits in Australia.
When The Southern Cross turns up for a chat with the centre’s director Fr Rob Morris SJ, all is quiet, other than a flock of galahs trilling in the gum trees surrounding St Aloysius’ Church. The towering stone building has served the parish of Sevenhill since its completion in 1875. Down below, a crypt is the final resting place for 41 Jesuits who have died since 1901.
As we walk towards Fr Rob’s office, people can be seen walking through the gardens.
“They are here for a silent retreat,” Fr Rob says.
Participants in this month-long retreat pray for three to five hours a day, including an hour’s adoration in the evening. There is also a daily Mass and a meeting with their spiritual director.
“It’s actually quite a busy day of prayer but hopefully they find time to go walking around the grounds for a bit of exercise or take time to have a sleep.”
The ministry is focused on Ignatian retreats in the tradition of St Ignatius of Loyola, the author of the Spiritual Exercises. It is open to all denominations and offers hospitality to individuals and groups seeking a space for quiet and reflection. The retreats include The Spiritual Exercises in Daily Life, the Ignatian Silent Directed Retreat, the Australian Ignatian Trail (six nights and four walking days) and the Full Spiritual Exercises – in Silence at Sevenhill. They range from four to 30 days.
“Spiritual Exercises are more prescribed; you have set hours of prayer and topics to look at for the day,” Fr Rob says.
“Whereas, in other retreats, we tend to take the person more as they come, what they’re looking for, and what they’re able to do.”
People come from all over the world to participate.
“We get a lot of people who are just searching the internet, and this comes up as a retreat centre. It’s a place where we meet those who aren’t necessarily connected to either the Catholic church, or any Christian institutional sort of religion but they believe in Christ,” Fr Rob says.
“They’re Christian, but they’re searching. There’s a lot of baggage, wounded relationships with the Church, or an experience of Church and God from when they were younger. This is a place where that’s healed in some ways”
It’s a perfect setting for Fr Rob to reflect on his vocation.
As a youngster growing up in Christchurch, New Zealand, he thought about being a priest and contemplated medicine or nursing.
“I was always drawn to caring for people,” he says.
“The thought of being a priest was quite strong as a young boy and it never left. I think I tried to bury it, but it came back. You can’t find peace unless you answer it.”
Fr Rob was 34 when he joined the Jesuits in 2008. He trained and worked across Australia and overseas, completing his theology studies at Boston College in the United States, and taking part in an immersion at St Beuno’s Jesuit Spirituality Centre in Wales.
“I was always touched by my own experience of doing the spiritual exercises as a novice,” he says.
“And the experiences I had accompanying people. I felt a real experience of God’s presence when listening to people.”
The biggest challenge Fr Rob faced in his new role as director was management duties.
“I didn’t imagine myself in a sort of managerial role, and I didn’t feel I had the gifts,” he admits.
“I still don’t really. I’m very conflict avoidant by nature but I guess that’s growth. In a strange way, when people come on retreat, you are sometimes presented with aspects of yourself that challenge you and your relationship with God.” He pauses. “Just doing your job presents those challenges and you grow as part of that. You don’t notice it at the time, but it fills you out as a person and I think it completes you.
“I was out of my depth with the practical day-to-day issues of running a place, so that was a big challenge. It’s one of those experiences where you sink or swim. If you can’t swim, you learn to swim. I’m also very blessed with very good staff.”
Fortunately, he had plenty of great role models along the way, including the late William (Bill) Barry SJ, a spiritual director in the US.
A memoriam card for Fr Patrick O’Sullivan SJ is pinned to the entrance of Fr Rob’s office.
“He was probably one of the most well-known spiritual directors in the province for a long time,” Fr Rob says.
“He’s written a lot of books and was a very free, wise sort of person. He inspired me as someone I’d look up to. Looking back, a lot of Jesuits stand out as great listeners and have depth about them. They’re free and able to live with the tensions of being very human, yet people of deep faith.”
The local Clare Valley community has been welcoming but the rural setting comes with an element of isolation.
“Here, it’s more of a monastic life to what a lot of Jesuits are used to,” Fr Rob says.
“Most of our ministries are often in the cities with busy parishes so this is a different pace of life.”
Time spent with the property’s small herd of cows and their calves is a “lovely outlet”.
“They’re great. I love animals so they just add another dimension and they often help people on retreats. There’s something about animals that helps people connect.”
At 51, Fr Rob wishes he’d followed the Jesuit path earlier.
“It’s interesting,” he says.
“As a little boy I wouldn’t have known Sevenhill existed. I didn’t even know Jesuits existed at that time. I’ve recently been reflecting on how I got here. When I first came to Sevenhill I never thought I’d end up being the director of the place or the head of the ministry. It’s how God works; your vocation takes you on pathways you can’t really plan. It just unfolds.”
For more information email sevenhill@jisa.org.au or visit jisa.org.au
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