Pedro Arrupe, head of the Jesuits from 1965 to 1983, wrote one of the most moving reflections on suffering that I’ve ever heard. He suffered a massive stroke in 1981. He couldn’t speak and he could barely move. He wrote:
More than ever I find myself in the hands of God. This is what I have wanted all my life from my youth. But now there is a difference; the initiative is entirely with God. It is indeed a profound spiritual experience to know and feel myself so totally in God’s hands.
Arrupe is one of the most important figures in the history of the order. Like his fellow Basque, Ignatius Loyola, he seems to have been an exceptionally charismatic leader with a special gift for friendship. That’s the impression you get from viewing several reminiscenses of him byVincent O’Keefe, SJ, Arrupe’s long-time assistant and friend, posted on the America magazine website.
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