Dushan Croos SJ

Why do I do it?  It is important that Jesuits work with people from all parts of society, and it seems necessary that some of us should also have an understanding of how those who are poor or marginalised - and rarely heard - relate to God, so that among Jesuits and within the Church we can begin a conversation between these points of view, that might ultimately help facilitate this conversation in the wider society, nationally or internationally.

Where, and how, we choose to involve ourselves indicates to others what sort of God we believe in, and what sort of relationship we have to Christ.  The experience of living and of working with refugees, in Saint-Denis or in Brixton, does frame the way I see the world, and the way I relate to the rest of society, and indeed the way I understand and talk about the mission of Christ.

But, ultimately, helping the world become more what Christ desires for humanity is integral to living the Gospel.  While we should be modest about how well we understand this, I think that the Church is well placed to reflect and act on this.  It seems an inescapable conclusion of God becoming human, that the Christian community should be well involved in continuing God's work of creation and redemption and reconciliation, and that poverty, exclusion and war are incompatible with this.