pat loughery

I grew up in the Catholic church and went to Gonzaga University, a Jesuit college (not because it was a Catholic school, but because it was a good school a few hours away from home).

[Note: At this point, if you are hoping that I’ll begin to trash the Catholic church, you’d be better off stopping your reading here :-)]

There I began to be impacted by Ignatian spirituality. I suspect that if I ever had an alternate life in which I was called to be a celibate priest, I’d be a Jesuit.

After reading one of Rachelle’s blog entries which mentioned the Ignatian examen, I was reflecting on what’s unique and identifiable about the spirituality focus of the Ignatians, and found a good link to share here.

A few quotes:

Following the example of St. Ignatius, Ignatian spirituality centers on the imitation of Jesus—focusing on those priorities which constitute Christ’s mind, heart, values, priorities and loves. To learn what those values, priorities and loves are, Ignatius would encourage us to consider what Jesus said and did. At the foundation of Jesus’s life was prayer, a continuous search for how best to live as an authentic human being before a loving God. Jesus preached forgiveness of sins, healed the sick and possessed, and gave hope to the poor, to those socially and economically outcast. Jesus spoke of joy, peace, justice and love; he summoned men and women from all classes of society to continue to follow his way to God and his commitment to helping people become whole and holy.

Ignatian spirituality attempts to incorporate these same gospel values into all its works. It stresses the need to take time to reflect and to pray, in order to find out how God wants us to serve in all our ministries. This active commitment to seeking God’s leadership is called discernment.

Ignatian spirituality is incarnational; it views the world as a place where Christ walked, talked and embraced people. It views the world, therefore, as a place of grace, a place of being able to give life to others. We are called to find and to pursue how God wants other men and women to be forgiven, to be free, to utilize all their talents and opportunities in ways which build up this world as a place where faith, justice, peace, and love can flourish.

At the same time, Ignatian spirituality is realistic. The world Christ faced was also a world of cruelty, injustice and the abuse of power and authority. Consequently, Ignatian spirituality affirms our human potential but also is dedicated to the ongoing, day-in-day-out struggle between good and evil. The Jesuit norm is: to find where God will best be served and where people will best be helped.

Early in the life of Ignatius of Loyola (founder of Jesuits), the man and his followers were used by the church as something of a special forces evangelist. The goals for their order at its founding were:

a) renewal of the Roman Catholic Church through extensive education and the encouragement of frequent use of the sacraments,
b) extensive missionary work in non-Christian countries, and
c) a suitable response to the growing challenge of Protestantism. [Pat: many of the first Jesuits served as the Pope’s theologians at the Council of Trent, an event which played an important role in the Catholic Counter Reformation.]

One prayer from his writings:

Teach us, good Lord, to serve thee as thou deservest;
to give, and not to count the cost,
to fight, and not to heed the wounds,
to toil, and not to seek for rest,
to labor, and not to ask for any reward,
save that of knowing that we do thy will.

(source link)

All of this is wrapped, also, in a strong focus on education – holistic education, not just bent on teaching knowledge. I’m thankful for the way that this focus has influenced me, and continues to draw me into a depth of spirituality that I wouldn’t otherwise have.