On February 5th, 2025, the Jesuit Forum for Social Faith and Justice hosted an in-person event on 'Political Discernment', in partnership with Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of Toronto, Catholic Conscience, Centre Oblat, Mary Ward Centre, Office of Religious Congregations for Integral Ecology, Regis College, Sisters of St Joseph Toronto.
1) Peter Bisson's Introduction
To begin the conversation, Peter Bisson, SJ gave some background on the document ‘Contemplation and Political Action: An Ignatian Guide to Civic Engagement’ (download it here).
Election guides often take a moral approach, by comparing party platforms with Catholic Social Teachings principles. This guide emphasizes more of a spiritual approach. It is not to say one is better than the other. The two are complementary approaches, we need both.
This guide is a form of engaged spirituality, as it tries to link spirituality and the desire for social transformation: not charity, which would be helping individuals with their needs, but social transformation, changing the structures that make people disempowered, marginalized, etc. That is fundamentally political.
Most religions in the world now have engaged forms of spirituality. For the Jesuits, a turning point was the General Congregation of 1975, when a more systematic commitment to social transformation and social justice was taken. Progressively, the mysticism behind the faith and justice commitment was highlighted. Jesuits found that in order to go forward, they had to go deeper. That meant developing, articulating, getting more in touch with the mystical aspect.
Concretely, the techniques for personal transformation from Ignatian spirituality can be transposed to social transformation. The key to this is the communal experience of Christ present and active in the world.
The text talks about what spiritual dispositions for the fundamental discernment exercise. These dispositions are an attitude of listening, not judging the other, not defending oneself, being detached ;Â An attitude of kinship with people who are marginalized or victimized, but in such a way that they're at the center (We don't speak for them or act for them, but we help in their contribute to their empowerment) ; and an attitude of of prayerfulness in all things.
We could say that the signs of the times are large scale, spiritual movements of communal consolation and desolation in society, in politics, in economics, in culture, in religion.
Consolation is when there is an increase in positive energy, in hope, in trust, an expansion of community with an increase of love and collaboration : it leads to fuller human life.
Desolation is the opposite, negative energy leads to a decrease in hope, trust, love, to an increase of suspicion, less generosity, a tendency to isolation : it diminishes human thriving.
At the level of society, communal consolation is experienced when people cooperate with what the Spirit of Christ is trying to do in the world. On the other side, we get communal desolation when people resist what the Spirit of Christ is trying to do in the world.
In the same way that personal consolation and desolation are psychic manifestations of our cooperation with the spirit of Christ or of our resistance to the spirit of Christ, Peter Bisson suggests that the signs of the times are social manifestations of communal cooperation or communal resistance with the Spirit.
2) Sharing Circle Questions & Reflections
Participants then entered into small listening circles for a facilitated conversation, based on the reading of the document and on their reflection on the following questions:
* What struck me most from the document?
* What election issues will likely determine my vote? What do I find influences my vote       (ie. social media, podcasts, television, newspapers/magazines, friends, faith community, etc)? What do I feel should NOT influence my vote?
* How can I be more prayerfully discerning during election times? What prayers or faith-rooted practices could help me to see God at work in the political process?
At the end participants were invited to share their state of mind in one word, here are some contributions:
'positively challenged', 'refreshed', 'community', 'consolation', 'reengagement', 'gratefully content', 'praying together', 'imagery', 'What would Jesus do?', 'Hopeful', 'Thankful'.