There’s a clock outside my office that chimes every fifteen minutes.  Each hour, I am reminded of how a particular meeting is progressing, how much longer until my next appointment.  An old family heirloom, this clock serves as one of the threads connecting my formation in the Salesian world with my more recent experiences in the Ignatian cosmos.

I am a member of the Oblates of St. Francis de Sales, an international congregation of priests and brothers whose purpose is to spread the charism of St. Francis de Sales.  So, what’s a Salesian priest doing in a Jesuit university?  Partnering with Jesuits and lay colleagues in building up the kingdom of God. 

In Jesuit institutions we pursue doing “all for the greater glory of God.”  For Salesians, it’s a matter of doing the ordinary extraordinarily well, which involves the practice of the little virtues of charity, gentleness, humility, and meekness. We say we try to “live Jesus.” Like hand in glove, the Ignatian and Salesian approaches complement one another.

Francis de Sales also instructs us to “be who you are and be it well.”   I recall this saying especially when asked if I would ever consider becoming a Jesuit.  I contend that my selection to be president by the Jesuits and trustees was based upon my being who I am and being it well.  I do not need to be a Jesuit to be part of Jesuit ministries.

But I do need God.  Ignatius once conjectured that if the Society of Jesus were to be dissolved, it would take him 15 minutes of prayer to reconcile himself.  Francis de Sales was once asked how long he went without being aware of the presence of God; his response, too was 15 minutes. For both masters, “abandonment” and “holy indifference” captures how they lived their lives and instructed those who follow them.  To put it bluntly, each will “spot” us fifteen minutes to get refocused on letting God lead us and not vice versa.

As a community of students, faculty and staff, we have an opportunity to make God’s good world better, a goal consistent with the Ignatian ideal that we are all called to be co-creators. This doesn’t mean that we act impetuously or without reflection. Ignatius and Francis de Sales both stress the importance of setting aside time daily to reflect on where one has met God and where one has avoided God.  For both saints, this means “living in the present moment.”

Francis de Sales also recommends that each of us undergo a thorough and annual examination, which he likens to the need “to remove the rust and dust” in one’s clock or watch so that it can be wound up for daily devotion to God.  After one year as president of Rockhurst, I understand now more than ever that my office clock and my heart both need to keep well those quarter hours.  After all, I have but fifteen minutes to get focused on letting God lead.

Thomas B. Curran, O.S.F.S.