~ by Fr. Jack Bentz, SJ

Yes, the world is a mess, with poverty, need, ignorance, darkness of spirit and all manner of suffering crying out for attention.  And yes, the Jesuits are called to be on mission with Christ in this world.  And yes, Jesuits take a vacation from all of the above.  During these first two weeks of August most of the Oregon Province Jesuits are not only on vacation but are at villa, which is a very Jesuit sort of concept.

Every year Jesuits in the Northwest are expected, sometimes required by their superiors, to take a couple of weeks of villa, a word which means more than just vacation.  From our inception as houses of religious, St. Ignatius saw the need for the men to get away from the daily grind and go to the country with each other to recreate.   These two elements of being away from work and being with each other continue to characterize our kind of vacations.

Almost all Jesuits live either at their place of work or very near.  Most of our high schools and all of our university communities are on the campus of the institution.  This arrangement is often great for the work but hard on the men doing the work.  To help balance this, we often use other properties that serve as a way to preserve the sanity of men who spend the rest of the year on call. These houses are often very simple and in no way merit the name of villa, but given the Italian heritage of the Jesuits in the Northwest, villa is the word we use for this place away from our works.

For Oregon Jesuits in late July and August we are either at Nestucca Sanctuary on the Oregon coast or at Hayden Lake in northern Idaho.  Both places are refuges next to water encouraging us to rest and relax.

Villa time is key for Jesuits to reconnect with old friends and to spend time with new brothers in formation.  It is at villa that you learn who is a good cook, who drives a boat well and who not to play poker with, that is if you want to keep any of your stipend.  Many Jesuits arrive at villa exhausted from a year that used up everything they had.  They come to villa just to be with brothers who are, sometimes literally, in the same boat.

In addition to the boating, napping, eating, cigar smoking and hanging out, we, of course, share in daily celebration of the Eucharist.  Villa masses are their own special brand of consolation, being surrounded by sun burnt brothers, listening to the words of Christ who calls us into the vineyard and also calls us away to be with Him in the company of our brothers.