Dear Friends,

Greetings from the team at the Jesuit Institute South Africa!  As we come towards the end of another year, we wish you all a prayerful Advent season and a very blessed Christmas.  

For those of you who have not yet met me, my name is Grant Tungay SJ. I am a Jesuit Priest from South Africa and the new director of the Jesuit Institute South Africa.  I took over from Russell Pollitt SJ in August this year.  Before that, I worked for the Jesuit Centre for Theological Reflection in Lusaka, Zambia. Over these months, we have had the opportunity to express our sincere gratitude to Russell for the good work that he has done for the Institute over the past decade.  He has now been appointed Parish Priest at Holy Trinity Catholic Church, Braamfontein, so he has not gone far.  I am indebted to him and the  Institute team for showing me the ropes and making this transition smooth.

In this spirit of gratitude, let us look back at 2024 and the many events involving the Institute.    

• Preparing for the South African elections in May, we ran an awareness campaign, providing information to assist people in making informed choices when heading to the polls. 
• In June, our Winter Living Theology programme visited Cape Town, Durban, East London, Eswatini, Pretoria, and Johannesburg. Dr. Jamie Waters from Boston College shared her passion for the Bible in a series entitled “The Bible Revisited: Exploring People, Places, and Prayers to Inspire the World Today.” 
• We ran a series with Fr David Neuhaus SJ on Nostra Aetate,  a key document of the Second Vatican Council on interfaith relations. We saw its ongoing significance for us sixty years later. 
• Once again, we introduced new groups to Ignatian Spirituality through our Hearts on Fire, Tsoseletsa and Ngihamba neNkosi programmes. Others were trained in spiritual accompaniment (SAT) and how to guide retreatants through the Spiritual Exercises of St Ignatius (ISET).
• We also presented workshops and days of reflection on numerous engaging topics such as mindfulness, silent meditation, and the Enneagram.

The Institute has recently published A Child Born for Us, written by David Neuhaus SJ with Debbie French and Terence Creamer. One of the beautiful images in this book is that of Miryam, the sister of Moses, dancing and singing after the Exodus in celebration of Israel’s liberation.  More than 1000 years later, Mary of Nazareth rejoices in God, who delivered his people from slavery.  She is filled with joy at the gift of Jesus to her and the world.  As we celebrate the coming of Christ this Christmas, let us join Mary in her jubilation, for God has, indeed, done great things for us. 

May God bless you abundantly during this festive season and bring you safely into the New Year.  Let us continue to pray that God’s grace will open our eyes so we may see how we can better praise, reverence and serve him with the gifts we have been given.