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Ignatius of Loyola
Inigo Lopez de Loyola, who later took the name Ignatius, was the
youngest son of a nobleman of the mountainous Basque region of northern
Spain. Trained in the courtly manner of the time of King Ferdinand,
he dreamed of the glories of knighthood and wore his sword and breastplate
with a proud arrogance.
When Ignatius was born in 1491, the Middle Ages were just ending
and Europe was entering into the Renaissance. So Ignatius was a
man on the edge of two worlds. Europe of the late 15th Century was
a world of discovery and invention. European explorers sailed west
to the Americas and south to Africa, and scholars uncovered the
buried civilizations of Greece and Rome. The printing press fed
a new hunger for knowledge among a growing middle class. It was
the end of chivalry and the rise of a new humanism. It was a time
of radical change, social upheaval, and war.
In an attempt in 1521 to defend the Spanish border fortress of
Pamplona against the French artillery, Inigo's right leg was shattered
by a cannon ball. His French captors, impressed by the Inigo's courage,
carried him on a litter across Spain to his family home at Loyola
where he began a long period of convalescence.
During that time, he read several religious books, the only reading
material readily available. These books and the isolation of the
recovery period brought about a conversion which led to the founding
of the Jesuits. Ignatius began to pray. He fasted, did penance and
works of charity, dedicated himself to God and, after some troubles
with the Spanish Inquisition, decided to study for the priesthood.
As a student in Paris he drew a small band of friends to himself
and directed them in extended prayer and meditation according to
his Spiritual Exercises. After further studies, the first Jesuits
were ordained to the Catholic priesthood in Venice and offered themselves
in service to Pope Paul III. In 1540, Paul III approved the Institute
of the Society of Jesus. Ignatius was elected General Superior and
served in that post until his death in 1556 at the age of 65.
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Our Way of Proceeding
Certain attitudes, values, and patterns of behavior join together
to become what has been called the Jesuit way of proceeding. The
characteristics of our way of proceeding were born in the life of
St. Ignatius and shared by his first companions. Jerome Nadal writes
that the form of the Society is in the life of Ignatius. God set
him up as a living example of our way of proceeding.
General
Congregation 34 considered which of these characteristics we
need especially to draw upon today and the form they must take in
the new situations and changing ministries in which we labor:
Deep Personal Love for Jesus Christ
Contemplative in Action
An Apostolic Body in the Church
In Solidarity with Those Most in Need
Partnership with Others
Called to Learned Ministry
Men Sent, Always Available for New Missions
Ever Searching for the Magis
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Ignatian Spirituality
Ignatian Spirituality is a way of encountering ourselves and the
world that encourages us to find God in all people and things. Ignatius
Loyola developed this spirituality based on various prayer experiences
he had throughout his life. A key element of Ignatian Spirituality
is examining
one's day and seeing how God was present and how one chose to
respond to God's presence. Another important element is the Spiritual
Exercises, a retreat (really a method - a way of praying and
thinking) that helps people to discern how to respond to God's ever
present activity in their lives. A phrase that sums up this type
of spirituality is: All for God's Greater Glory and Honor.
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Maryland and New York Jesuits
The Maryland and New York Provinces are two of ten
Jesuit provinces in the United States. The Jesuits
of the Maryland and New York provinces serve in Maryland, North
Carolina, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Virginia, West Virginia,
and the District of Columbia. They also serve in Chile, Ghana, India,
Nigeria, Puerto Rico, the Philippines, and throughout the world.
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A Vowed Life in Common
St. Ignatius of Loyola imagined religious life in non-conventional
terms. His monastery was the world; his prayer, to find God in all
things; his work, whatever helped people. In this setting, the vows
of poverty, chastity and obedience become instruments to enable
Jesuits to do the work of God's realm.
The vow of poverty is focused on using one's energies, talents,
time and resources for the good of others. In an age when possessing
means power over others, Jesuits take a serious promise to live
in a public way as Christ did, believing that people are more important
than things.
Chastity centers on one's affective, sexual life. It is a vow which
orients one's energies to a love people can trust. Jesuits should
be men of openness and availability. Their chastity is the willingness
to be available to all, not exclusively to one person or to one
family. The Society of Jesus looks for men who are capable of directing
their affective life towards all people, caring for them with the
integrity of Christ himself.
Obedience, the touchstone of Jesuit life, is the call to find and
follow the will of God, through prayer, discernment and dialogue
with one's superior. The Jesuit places his entire being at the disposal
of God for the service of God's people, to do the work of God's
realm as presented to him by the Society through the superior.
These traits of trust, openness, vision and communication are practices
in daily community life. While Jesuits live together for the sake
of their apostolic work, we also live together for mutual support,
challenge and inspiration. These two sets of values have been kept
in balance: community for service and community for mutual growth
and development.
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Mission and Ministry
Jesuits serve as teachers, campus ministers, archivists, scholars,
and administrators at our eight middle schools, twelve secondary
schools, four colleges and five universities. Jesuits
of the Maryland and New York Provinces are involved in communications
and publishing, using the resources of the mass media to promote
the spread of the Gospel. We serve immigrant Latino populations
through leadership training programs. Through our retreat ministries,
we provide the opportunity for people to spend time away "with
the Lord" or to receive spiritual direction. Other apostolic
works include ministry to the sick, the aged, the outcasts of society,
a center for social analysis and parish ministry. In this broad
spectrum of apostolic outreach, we seek to be of service to our
brothers and sisters and to do all things for the greater glory
of God.
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Jesuit Documents
General
Congregation 34
The
Spiritual Exercises of Saint Ignatius Loyola
Standing
for the Unborn
What
Makes a Jesuit High School Jesuit?
The
Struggle Against AIDS Must Be Based on Human Rights
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This page offers general information about the foundations
of the Society and contemporary Jesuit life, prayer and mission.
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Ignatius
of Loyola, founder of the Society of Jesus |
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