Working with Others. By David L. Fleming, SJ From What Is Ignatian Spirituality? Ignatius understood early on that God was calling him to a life of service, but it took him many years to figure out how he was supposed to do this. His first notion was to set off by himself. Solitary individual accomplishment was the knightly ideal of the time, and Ignatius applied this to his new life as a Christian.
The real change in Ignatius’s style of ministry came when he went to the University of Paris to get the education he needed to teach about the faith. Collaboration is built into the very structure of the Spiritual Exercises. Much of the spiritual director’s work involves careful listening to the retreatant’s account of what happens in prayer and during the retreat. It is a relationship in which the parties collaborate on a mission of service to others.
God placed the parts, each one of them, in the body as he intended. Christian ministry and mission can never be seen as an individualistic enterprise. Kevin O’Brien, SJ, on the Call of Christ the King. One of the central meditations of the Spiritual Exercises is the Call of Christ the King. Imagine a call from an earthly leader who has inspired us, and then imagine Christ calling us to join him in helping him to realize God’s kingdom on earth. Does that excite us or scare us? Does it make us hopeful? What does God’s dream for the world mean for us? The contemplation on the Call of Christ the King will begin next week’s Ignatian Prayer Adventure exercises. If you’re receiving this via e-mail, click through to watch the video Kevin O’Brien, SJ, on the Call of Christ the King. Tagged as: An Ignatian Prayer Adventure, Call of the King, Kevin O'Brien SJ, Second Week. God Calls, We Respond. By David L. Fleming, SJ From What Is Ignatian Spirituality?
Ignatian spirituality asks the question: What more does God want of me? Ignatius had a profound insight into God and his creation, and he developed many prayer methods, rules for discernment, spiritual disciplines, and approaches to apostolic service. But all these elements of Ignatian spirituality are ways to help us answer a single burning question, “What more does God want now?” God calls. We respond. It is the fundamental dynamic of the spiritual life. God is an active God. Our response to God occurs now. This is certainly Jesus’ attitude when he called the first disciples. Jesus surrounded himself with sinners. The Gospels show us Jesus entering into people’s lives and inviting them to follow him—right from where they are, from boats and fishnets and from tax booths.
Our response to God grows and matures and deepens over time. Our response to God has a particular quality to it. Excerpt from What Is Ignatian Spirituality? The Classroom as Holy Ground. Every semester begins the same way. I walk to the door of the classroom and catch my breath. Like an actor walking on stage, the nervousness of a teacher on the first day—or any day—is natural. It is the same now that I am teaching college as it was when I taught high school before joining the Jesuits. The more I teach, however, the more I realize that it is not just nervousness I feel on the first day. St. That love reveals itself primarily in the relationship between teacher and student. Ignatius was convinced that God speaks with each of us in a unique and personal way.
Any relationship takes time and work to develop, and begins by first knowing the other. Central to building any relationship is conversation. Ignatius looked for any opportunity to come to know people and to speak with them about God. Essential to the art of conversation is the ability to listen attentively. Conversation also requires openness to and charity towards the other. Www.lanpdc.scot.nhs.uk/Resources/Lists/Publications/Attachments/85/Relective Practice Handout.pdf. Www.icjse.org/assets/Keynote-Mesa-SJ.pdf. Www.icjse.org/assets/Keynote-Connell-SJ.pdf.