WORDS Pauline Jasudason    

There are many ways to experience World Youth Day.

When we think of the word ‘experiment’, we usually think of people walking around in lab coats, pouring things into test tubes, staring into microscopes and scribbling observations into notepads.

So why would MAGiS08, the Ignatian World Youth Day program, be using the term to describe its activities ahead of next year’s event?

‘It comes from a tradition dating back to St Ignatius of Loyola’, says Jenni Winters, the MAGiS Formation Director. ‘St Ignatius used to encourage his novices to go and take part in an experiment, in a hospital or in a prison, and it was an opportunity to leave their comfort zones.’

Reflecting on their experience at the end of the day, St Ignatius’ novices would ask themselves: Where did I find God? It’s life that goes under the microscope in a MAGiS experiment—its trials and tribulations, its injustices, and its moments of grace.

Just as scientists use the observations from their labs to draw conclusions about the way the universe works, participants in experiments use the observations from their experiences in the world to better understand God’s movements in their heart.

‘Ignatian spirituality is an experiential spirituality, to risk, to try, to test and then to examine … one learns about themselves, and how to respond,’ says Winters.

In the months leading up to World Youth Day, MAGiS has been holding trial experiments in Asia and Australia. Stephanie North, who participated in an experiment in Cambodia, says her interactions with people there helped her better understand the value of love.

‘In some way we are the same humanity, brothers and sisters with God in each of us’, she says.

The experiments will take place the first week of the MAGiS08 program, which runs 5 July to 29 July 2008.

Participants take part in a daily Mass that sets a scripture reading and theme for the day. Activities will be organised to explore the theme of each experiment, ranging from going to the movies to spending time in a homeless shelter. After the activities, participants gather back at the MAGiS circle to talk to each other about their experiences. This will be followed by an ‘Examen’, a chance for them to reflect individually.

‘We thought that it would be a model that really spoke to young adults today, because experiencing things for themselves is a really important way to learn and to understand the world and they way in which God works in it’, says Jenni.

Some 70 experiments will be on offer during MAGiS08, in various locations across Asia and Australia. Each experiment will gather 20‑25 participants from different nationalities. The experiments will be followed by an Ignatian Gathering, World Youth Day and a post-WYD pilgrimage.


Pictured:(from left) Carol Anne Pariataki, Jenni Winters, and Liz Verges.