Jesuit Vocations Malaysia-Singapore

15/09/2026

It’s been over ten years since the award-winning actor Andrew Garfield trained as a Jesuit priest with Fr. James Martin, S.J. Well, more accurately, since he trained to play a Jesuit priest in Martin Scorsese's film Silence. And the fruits of those Ignatian practices of prayer and contemplation have continued to bear out in his life. Garfield joins his long-time spiritual director, Fr. Martin on this episode of “The Spiritual Life” to reflect on:

-The importance of empathy in Garfield’s own spirituality of acting
-The ways God calls us to defend human dignity and fight for justice as portrayed in Garfield’s new movie, ‘The Uprising’
-What lessons from The Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius have remained close to Garfield’s heart
-God speaking through our dreams

It’s been over ten years since the award-winning actor Andrew Garfi...

15/09/2026

How To Identify some of the Religious Orders of the Catholic Church https://buff.ly/2vfmdTK

13/09/2026

CONFESSIONS OF A JESUIT EDUCATOR

Behind every classroom is a story. Behind every lesson is a relationship. And behind every Jesuit educator is a journey of faith, struggle, discovery and grace. What happens when the educator himself becomes the one who has something to confess? Join Fr Stanley Goh, SJ, as he opens up about his experiences as a Jesuit educator — the joys, challenges, unexpected moments and lessons learned along the way. An evening of honest reflections on education, vocation and the people who have shaped the journey.

Speaker: Fr Stanley Goh, SJ
Saturday, 12 September 2026, 8.00 pm (Kuala Lumpur, UTC+8)

Organised by the Jesuits of the Malaysia-Singapore Region.

09/09/2026

Algorithms Can Process Data. Only Humans Can Discern.

What does it mean to prepare young men for religious life and pastoral ministry when artificial intelligence is reshaping how humanity learns, works, and communicates?

Across Jesuit houses of formation from Rome to Manila, Boston to Nairobi, formators and scholastics are tackling this exact question. The goal isn't to ban AI or blindly embrace it, but to apply the ancient art of Ignatian Discernment to modern technology.

As AI tools become embedded in higher education, Jesuit formation is doubling down on what makes us uniquely human:

1️⃣ Depth over Speed: Prompt engineering can give quick answers, but spiritual maturity requires sitting with hard questions, wrestling with scripture, and engaging in deep, unhurried reflection.
2️⃣ Ethical Leadership: The world needs pastors and educators who can ask: Who does this technology serve? Who does it exclude? Does it preserve human dignity?
3️⃣ Embodied Pastoral Care: Faith is lived out in real relationships, shared silence, and personal encounter—frontiers where no algorithm can ever substitute for human presence.

By learning to navigate AI with wisdom and moral responsibility, tomorrow’s Jesuits are equipping themselves to guide a culture searching for meaning in a digital world.

Read how tomorrow's Jesuits are preparing for a high-tech world: https://www.jesuits.global/2026/09/07/artificial-intelligence-and-jesuit-formation/

09/09/2026

𝟗 𝐒𝐞𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐦𝐛𝐞𝐫 | 𝐒𝐓 𝐏𝐄𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝐂𝐋𝐀𝐕𝐄𝐑, 𝐏𝐑𝐈𝐄𝐒𝐓
𝘗𝘦𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘊𝘭𝘢𝘷𝘦𝘳 (1580-1654) 𝘥𝘦𝘷𝘰𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘨𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘵 𝘤𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘭𝘢𝘷𝘦𝘴 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘢𝘳𝘳𝘪𝘷𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘪𝘯 𝘚𝘰𝘶𝘵𝘩 𝘈𝘮𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘤𝘢 𝘥𝘦𝘴𝘱𝘪𝘵𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘰𝘤𝘪𝘢𝘭 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘷𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘥𝘪𝘥 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘴𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮 𝘩𝘶𝘮𝘢𝘯. 𝘍𝘰𝘳 35 𝘺𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘴, 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘑𝘦𝘴𝘶𝘪𝘵 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘸𝘦𝘥 𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘭𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘱𝘢𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘢𝘣𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘰𝘯𝘦𝘥 𝘱𝘦𝘰𝘱𝘭𝘦, 𝘭𝘪𝘷𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘥𝘪𝘤𝘵𝘶𝘮 𝘰𝘧 𝘚𝘵 𝘈𝘭𝘱𝘩𝘰𝘯𝘴𝘶𝘴 𝘙𝘰𝘥𝘳𝘪𝘨𝘶𝘦𝘻, "𝘓𝘰𝘰𝘬 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘎𝘰𝘥 𝘪𝘯 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘮𝘦𝘯 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘦𝘳𝘷𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮 𝘢𝘴 𝘪𝘮𝘢𝘨𝘦𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘩𝘪𝘮."

O Saint Peter Claver,
You saw Christ in those whom the world had forgotten,
and you gave your life to them with a love that did not turn away.

Teach us to see with your eyes,
to listen with open hearts,
and to stand beside those who are suffering.

May we never grow comfortable with another’s pain.
Give us the courage to defend human dignity,
the humility to serve,
and the grace to make God’s love felt in the lives we touch.
Amen.

St Peter Claver, defender of the slaves in South America, pray for us. 🙏🏽

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Artwork by Raúl Berzosa

03/09/2026

From games designer to Jesuit priest

Before becoming a Catholic priest, Fr. Shane Liesegang, SJ, spent more than a decade working in the video-game industry. 🎮✝️

At Bethesda Game Studios, Liesegang worked as a Quest Designer, contributing most heavily to The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim and the early development of Fallout 4. His work included dialogue, characters, world-building, programming and quest design.

But in late 2013, he left Bethesda.

As his Catholic faith deepened and he became increasingly involved in parish life, Liesegang began discerning a completely different vocation. In August 2015, he entered the Society of Jesus, the Jesuits. Years of formation followed, including philosophy and theology studies and ministry with prisoners, refugees, hospital patients and marginalized communities around the world.

When asked to summarize his vocation story in ten words or fewer, his answer was:

“God refused to leave me alone.”

And remarkably, his old career eventually crossed paths with his new vocation.

During the development of Starfield, Bethesda contacted Liesegang again, this time because they wanted the fictional religions of their science-fiction universe to feel genuinely believable.

Liesegang advised the developers and personally wrote foundational spiritual texts for the Sanctum Universum, Starfield’s theistic religion. He later explained that the writings were intentionally philosophical rather than explicitly Christian, exploring God, creation and humanity’s search for the divine.

Then, on June 13, 2026, Shane Liesegang was ordained to the Catholic priesthood as a Jesuit.

20/08/2026

LISTEN TO THIS: An interesting summary of the life of Ignatius of Loyola, Discernment of Spirits, and the Jesuits. With typed lyrics thanks to Bien Cruz, SJ.

“I used to be an adventurer like you.
Then I took a cannonball to the knee.”

He wanted banners.
He wanted fame.

Wanted men to tremble when heard his name.
A polished little soldier with a noble little plan.
Till a cannonball reroute the ambitions of the man.

Pamplona cracked and the room went still.
No trumpet, no heroic thrill.
Just pain, bad medicine, bones reset twice,
And the mercy God came wrapped in that price.

Laid up with nowhere left to ride.
No sword in his hand
No war outside.
He reached for romance, for knights, for flame,
But the saints walked in and change the game.

Cannonball to the knee and the old dream failed
He was chasing the world, but the Lord aimed well
“Take and receive, Lord, all I call mine
Memory and will, every wound, every line."
The sword hit the floor, but the war did not cease
He lost his old glory and enlisted in peace.
Cannonball to the knee, now the mission began.
God broke the soldier, then rebuilt the man.

He learned there are voices that glitter like gold
But leave you hollow when the fire gets cold.
And there is a thought that burns clean through
cost you everything, then makes you new.

Discern the spirits.
Watch the trail.
Not every bright sail catches holier wind.
Some thoughts strut and wear and angel’s skin
But the enemy grins while he walks you to sin.

So, test desire, test the fruit.
Does it bend your knees or polish your boot.
Does it drag you inward, proud, and alone?
Or send you marching to the foot of the throne.

Cannonball to the knee and the old dream failed
He was chasing the world, but the Lord aimed well
“Take and receive, Lord, all I call mine
Memory and will, every wound, every line."
The sword hit the floor, but the war did not cease
He lost his old glory and enlisted in peace.
Cannonball to the knee, now the mission began.
God broke the soldier, then rebuilt the man.

(This is not soft.
This is not vague.
This is not “follow your feeling” in a spiritual cape.
This war in the heart.
This is choosing your king.
This is freedom that kneels before it sings.

Not my plans.
Not my fame.
Not my polished little name.
Not my comfort
Not my throne
Not my will dressed up as your own.)

Then came schools in the long black robes.
Maps spread wide to the end of the globe.
A little company, marching light, to preach, to teach, to enter the fight.
They learned five languages, argued with kings, taught the pagans, debated everything.
Built a thousand schools where the dangers recedes.
Then occasionally made Rome say “Gentlemen, please!”

Look, we love the Jesuits.
Some of them are saints,
Some of them are footnotes with tenure
But Ignatius was not playing.
Not for ego, not applause,
But Ad Majorem Dei Gloriam.
Greater glory, greater flame,
all things offered in the holy Name.
No vague discernment, fog machine
No baptized shrug. No gray routine.
Find the banner, pick the side.
March with the crucified.

Cannonball to the knee and the old dream failed
He was chasing the world, but the Lord aimed well
“Take and receive, Lord, all I call mine
Memory and will, every wound, every line."
The sword hit the floor, but the war did not cease
He lost his old glory and enlisted in peace.
Cannonball to the knee, now the mission began.
God broke the soldier, then rebuilt the man.

St. Ignatius of Loyola, July 31st, Patron Saint of Finding Out.
God can aim better than you can.
Also, apparently, of giving Catholic schools intense mission statements.

18/08/2026

Today is the feast day of St. Alberto Hurtado, a Chilean Jesuit priest known for his work with young adults and the poor. He founded Hogar de Cristo, houses for the poor.

In 1944, a homeless man approached Fr. Hurtado on the street on a cold night. “A poor man, in shirtsleeves, suffering from tonsillitis, and shivering with cold, approached me saying he had nowhere to find shelter,” Fr. Hurtado wrote of the life-changing experience. A few days later, while directing a women’s retreat, he recounted this experience to his audience and asked them to turn their thoughts to the poor. “Christ is without a home!” he said. He continued:

"Christ roams through our streets in the person of so many of the suffering poor, sick and dispossessed, and people thrown out of their miserable slums; Christ huddled under bridges, in the person of so many children who lack someone to call father, who have been deprived for many years without a mother’s kiss on their foreheads … Christ is without a home! Shouldn’t we want to give him one, those of us who have the joy of a comfortable home, plenty of good food, the means to educate and assure the future of our children? 'What you do to the least of me, you do to me,' Jesus said."

This inspired the women to pool their resources, which allowed Fr. Hurtado to open his Hogar de Cristo, or “Home of Christ,” houses for the poor. The first Hogar house opened in 1945 and quickly attracted volunteers; within a few years, similar houses spread across Chile. The houses offered shelter and taught technical skills and Christian values. Between 1945 and 1951, some 850,000 children were helped by Hogar de Cristo. In addition to his work with Hogar, his retreats and outreach to youth, he wrote several books and founded the journal Mensaje, a Catholic magazine highlighting the social teachings of the church, which is still published by the Chilean Jesuits.

17/08/2026

Pope Leo XIV encourages young people to slow down, embrace silence, and discern what truly leads them toward God. In a noisy and distracted world, moments of prayer and reflection can help them recognize their calling and become witnesses of Christ and signs of hope to others.