By Jenny Cafiso

I have visited Jesu Ashram a few times over the course of my time with CJI. It is a health care centre of the Jesuit Province of Darjeeling, based in Matigara, West Bengal.  Jesu Ashram provides free medical treatment and care to the poorest, especially those living with leprosy and tuberculosis. It also runs an outpatient clinic and offers a three-year nursing course for women from poor families who have completed high school. It is here that you will find some of the most destitute people in the region, who have been marginalized not only because of their poverty and illness, but also by stigma. Were it not for Jesu Ashram, many of them would die alone in the streets.

One of the things that strikes me every time I visit is the atmosphere of peace. The place is remarkable for its cleanliness and simple facilities, but also for its silence and the gentle movement of people. Everyone seems to know what to do — the cooks work quietly in the kitchen preparing meals, the nurses walk about dispensing medicine, the patients line up to receive their TB medication, and the leprosy patients, with their disfigured bodies, soak their affected limbs in the disinfecting solution. Everyone seems to speak in hushed voices. A quiet reverence permeates the air.

Fr. Julius Kujur, SJ, and Jenny Cafiso, during the latter's visit in 2023. Photo: Juan Emilio Hernandez/CJI

Over the years, I have been welcomed by *Fr. Julius Kujur, SJ,  and by a number of staff — nurses, cooks, sisters — many of whom have worked there for decades, providing a steady service with dedication, commitment and love for their neighbours. I have even met some of the same patients over many years, people who have nowhere to go, but continue to live at the Ashram helping their fellow patients.

There are no plaques, no titles over the doors, no pictures, no statues of anyone, except for saints whose lives inspire the people at Jesu Ashram. The only recognition given is to Brother Bob Mittleholtz, the Canadian Jesuit who founded Jesu Ashram when he brought home people who were dying in the streets. His simple tomb is in the courtyard of Jesu Ashram. The staff start their day by praying at his tomb before going about their tasks.

They live out daily the Gospel teaching of this Ash Wednesday which reminds us not to practice our faith for recognition, but rather for God’s glory: "Do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your alms may be done in secret."

Matthew 61: 3 is part of the Sermon on the Mount where Jesus contrasts true piety with outward show, especially in praying, fasting, and giving. The point of this passage is not that good deeds must always be hidden, but that the intention must be not to be seen and lauded.

There is also a promise, “Your Father who sees in secret will reward you.” But what is the reward that these quiet heroes at Jesu Ashram receive?  I like to believe that the reward is in being co-creators of God’s kingdom of justice and peace, and in knowing that they are living out the Gospel with their radical choices.

Brother Bob’s simple act of bringing dying, destitute patients home to die with dignity was a radical act, which was questioned by many, including some of his Jesuit brothers. The service to people affected by leprosy continues to be radical, especially in a country that denies the existence of leprosy. Treating people who are shunned, as the most precious children of God, is a radical act. Touching them, holding their hands, in a context where stigma relegates them into leprosy colonies, is a radical act that turns our assumptions and the world order upside down.

As I begin this Lenten journey, I want to take inspiration from the many acts of unrecognized courage by the thousands of silent witnesses of God’s love, who work in the many communities where Jesuits and lay people are present and which Canadian Jesuits International supports. In these times when conflict, exclusion and injustice dominate, their acts will be rewarded with greater justice and peace.

*Fr. Julius Kujur, SJ, has just completed his term as director of Jesu Ashram, after over two decades of service. Fr. Shiju Matthew, SJ succeeded him as Director of Jesu Ashram on February 1, 2026.

Jenny Cafiso is the Executive Director at Canadian Jesuits International.