Candidates and benefactors.

A couple big events this weekend at Loyola House, both involving hospitality. From Friday until this morning the novitiate community provided a warm and hospitable welcome to several men who are considering entering the Society of Jesus. This was the first of several candidate weekends we have over the course of the year; the weekends are meant to help men in discernment by giving them a chance to experience novitiate life for a few days. At the same time, candidate weekends also give us novices a chance to get to know our potential future housemates a bit better. For my part, I was very impressed by the guys who came for the weekend and I wish them well as they continue their discernment. If you think one of these weekends might be for you, click here for more info.

This afternoon the Loyola House community will partake in hospitality of a different kind as we attend the annual Detroit Province benefactors' event, formerly known as "Jesuit Tea." Every fall the novices and other area Jesuits attend a Sunday afternoon reception (usually at a benefactor's home in Grosse Pointe) to thank the people whose financial generosity makes our formation possible. I had a great time at last year's reception, and I'm looking forward to attending this one. One of the neat things about the event is learning how the different attendees got to know the Society - many are products of Jesuit schools, some are relatives or friends of Jesuits, and some simply found out about us by word of mouth and decided our works were worth supporting. I'm grateful to all of them, and I'm looking forward to hearing some of their stories this afternoon. AMDG.