Saint Ignatius Loyola
Take, Lord, and receive all my liberty,
My memory, my understanding
And my entire will,
All I have and call my own.You have given all to me.
To you, Lord, I return it.Everything is yours; do with it what you will.
‘Suscipe’ – A prayer of St Ignatius
Give me only your love and your grace.
That is enough for me.
In our discussion of Religious Orders[1] we mentioned Saint Ignatius, alongside St Francis and St Dominic, as one of the key reformers of the period from 13th to 16th century who created forms of religious life which continue to this day. Of all the many religious orders, the one he founded has arguably been the most significant both in the life of the church and its relationships with the outside world. This Order is known as the Jesuits, from the name he gave his small group of friends, before he had any idea of founding a religious order – the Society of Jesus. Many Church leaders since that time have been Jesuits, including the current Pope (Francis). The Jesuits from the beginning have been controversial and have included some of the most brilliant minds in the Church. They are somehow renowned for both extraordinary discipline and for an independence of spirit and thought. These characteristics have frequently been a challenge to those who would like a more docile and accommodating church.
While much that has emerged in the life and character of the Jesuits is doubtless the product of happenstance during their long and complex history, the core can clearly be linked back to the personality and insights of Ignatius. He was, like the other saints described in this material, a driven character with an overpowering sense of his mission. Like the others, that mission derived not from some philosophy or external goal but from his own experience of finding and following Jesus. What is perhaps most special about Ignatius is his focus on how we make decisions based on faith. In this regard he was entirely practical and several centuries ahead of his time in his analysis of what we would call our psychological motivations.
His understanding of how to live as a Christian was systematized in a series of what he termed Spiritual Exercises. As the name suggests, these are sort of exercise program designed to help a person focus on the life of Jesus and what he is expecting of the individual at that particular moment in their life. These are the foundation for Jesuit formation to this day, and the basis for Ignatian retreats attended by many thousands of lay people every year and indeed other religious also.
The life of St Ignatius
He was born in the Basque Country in Northern Spain in 1491. He rose in society via military service and was clearly attracted to the mystique of the soldier’s life with fancy clothing, womanizing and dueling. He participated in military expeditions under the Duke of Navarre but in 1521 he suffered the fate of many soldiers in being too close to the action and was nearly killed when a cannonball hit him in the leg.
The excruciating pain of multiple operations to reset broken bones in his leg (without anesthetic of course) and enforced convalescence in a religious institute (those being the only nursing homes available) led to a change of direction in his life. Deprived of his preferred reading of romances, he was left with only the lives of Christ and the saints to reflect on. He also used this time to explore his gift for introspection. The self awareness he gained in noticing the aftereffects of different types of reading and meditation (perhaps more accurately termed day-dreaming at this time of his life) informed his whole approach to the religious life. He realized that some thoughts and patterns of thought left him feeling satisfied and others not. This exercise of what he came to term ‘discernment’ is the basis of the Spiritual Exercises and is intended as a completely practical basis for deciding what is good or right in any particular circumstances.
Without going through the Spiritual Exercises it may be hard to appreciate the power of the technique he discovered but an extraordinary number of people will attest to it from their own experience. It is also very reminiscent of the Buddhist idea and practice of mindfulness, which evolved in a completely different culture but has very similar concerns and consequences. Ignatius also stresses the idea of ‘detachment’ i.e. making decisions without regard to the consequences for oneself or for other motivations than to follow Jesus. This has similarities to the Buddhist concept of indifference[2].
Following his initial convalescence (and conversion) he spent a year at Manresa in Catalonia in Northern Spain. During this time he began to work out the implications of his conversion. He engaged in extended periods of prayer, fasting, and menial service while living by begging[3]. He became obsessed with the idea of traveling to the Holy Land to be as close as possible to the physical presence of Christ on earth, and to engage with converting the people of that area back to Christ. Such a journey was difficult at any time. In this period, when there was a tenuous involvement of Christians in the territory of Palestine (which was under Turkish rule), and much of Europe was at war, it was almost impossible. Ignatius walked to Barcelona and managed to persuade a ship to take him to Rome. From there, with the agreement of the pope, he went to Jerusalem. His zeal was too much for the local Church authorities who quickly arranged for him to be sent back to Europe.
As was typical of Ignatius he learned from this experience and redirected his attention to a goal he could accomplish. He set about getting himself properly educated so that he could “help souls”. As a soldier he had no need of an academic education and didn’t even have the basic understanding of Latin which was essential to engage in any study whatsoever. He was prepared to put himself back into the equivalent of High School (at age 33) in order to remedy this deficiency. He then started his university education in Spain and engaged in extensive religious conversations with other lay people, based on his spiritual experiences to date. This drew the attention of the Inquisition which was very suspicious of anyone leading discussion of religious topics without any of the authority of ordination or a theology degree. He moved to Paris to finish his studies, where his limited Latin and non-existent French made learning extremely difficult. However he persevered, obtaining his Masters Degree in 1535, but then was unable to proceed to doctoral studies because he was too old.
His time in Paris marked the transition from his early life to his maturity, not so much because of the education, but because of the social life he developed. This was the time when he met the key companions who were to remain central to his activities and the eventual foundation of the Society of Jesus. He took each of these six through his Spiritual Exercises. This created a shared experience and bond which led to them declaring themselves ‘Companions of Jesus’ and agreeing to continue in their life together. They were ordained as priests but didn’t form a religious order at this point.
Ignatius was still driven by his dream of evangelization in the Holy Land, but was at least prepared to consider a Plan B. He and the companions went to Venice hoping to get a ship to Palestine. However, since Venice was at war with the Turks at that point, there were none. Plan B involved traveling to Rome and offering their services to the Pope, which they did in 1538.
Ignatius founded the Society of Jesus with Peter Faber and Francis Xavier in 1539. The original motivation was missionary. Within two years Francis Xavier was sent to the Portuguese colony of Goa in India at the request of the Pope and the King of Portugal. While traveling in South East Asia he met a Japanese man who became the first Japanese covert to Christianity. With him Francis traveled to Japan where he had limited success in introducing Christianity, both because of language difficulties and the complete variance of Japanese from European culture and expectations. Francis died in China, eleven years later, on an attempt to introduce Christianity there. He and Ignatius never saw each other again after his departure from Rome. Jesuit missions rapidly became important worldwide, particularly in the American territories newly conquered by Spain and Portugal.
Back in Rome, Ignatius continued to lead the evolution of the Jesuits. The move into education was initially accidental, driven by the request to provide for the children of prominent supporters. The value of education for children was becoming recognized by the emerging middle class, but no structures to provide it existed at the time. Jesuits had provided basic catechism training as part of their social outreach, but initially had no intention of becoming involved in education as such. Ignatius quickly realized that educating children was a great way into the company and good graces of powerful people in many places and therefore served as a powerful and non-threatening basis for evangelization.[4] However education was never seen as simply a way to introduce children, and their parents, to religious practices. It also fitted the Jesuit desire to improve people’s practical living conditions. This combination of religious (or ethical) and practical remains at the center of Jesuit education today.
The focus of Ignatius’ attention for the last 15 years of his life was on providing individual guidance to the hundreds of men he sent all around the world. Despite the extreme focus on hierarchy and discipline within the order (a Jesuit was to have no more opinion on what he should do than a corpse!) Ignatius also provided a level of support and encouragement which is extraordinary by the standard of any leader, and reflected in the thousands of letters he wrote. This coexistence of complete control and loving support was another part of Ignatius’ contradictory personality which endeared him to most, although it led some to violent loathing. Since for him everything was done ‘for the greater glory of God’ his own feelings, comfort, and those of everyone else were secondary.
He also wanted his Jesuits to be able to learn from each others experiences. He was always demanding that they provide information about everything they experienced, certainly in regard of their religious activities but everything else as well, including native customs, plants, and animals. This zeal to get into the details of every place they worked also marked out the Jesuit approach and has led to the current involvement of Jesuits in many aspects of social justice, often to the discomfort of more conventional church authorities.
Ignatian Spirituality
Ignatius’ spiritual life was based on a complete identification with the life, suffering, and resurrection of Jesus. He concentrated particularly on techniques to increase that identification by the exercise of the imagination, to make possible participation in the life of Jesus by imagining himself being present in the situations described in the Gospels.
This type of imaginative association was not new. Ignatius drew on examples from earlier medieval mysticism, particularly that of Thomas a Kempis[5] in the ‘Imitation of Christ’ which he encountered when at Manresa. The difference with Ignatius was that unlike the earlier mystics who guided his formation, he was concerned to engage with the world, not withdraw to a contemplative life in a monastery. It is this combination of the profoundly personal engagement with Christ and action in the world that sets Ignatius apart. His ability to turn these ideas into an intensely programmatic form is what has made them stick despite the framework of medieval thinking which is superficially unattractive from a modern perspective. His focus on sin and repentance can seem overwhelming, but if viewed through the lens of modern romantic love as an obsession with the loved one, it is little different from the sentiments of many a more recent novelist or movie. The significant point is the power of the outcome.
Ignatius’s early obsession with literal connection to Jesus (by traveling to the Holy Land amongst other things) gradually gave way to an understanding that service was the key result of an attachment to Christ. That service could and should be undertaken in whatever circumstances one finds oneself.[6] There is nothing to prevent one seeking out opportunities for service, as Ignatius did throughout his life (for himself and for others). However the service is the way to identify with the life of Christ, not just a derivative activity that somehow is necessary as part of the package.[7]
The second aspect of Ignatius’ approach that is distinctive, and perhaps unique up to that time, is a clear focus on both the emotional and the rational aspects of one’s thought processes. Jesuits, and Ignatius himself, are often considered as supreme examples of rationality[8], but this is half of the story. Ignatius was also a deeply emotional person, noted on occasion as crying profusely during Mass. He totally accepted the emotional element in human psychology, and was keen to support it – but in order to build on it. The result was to be Christ’s action in the world, not simply ‘fine feelings’. His motto ‘To the greater glory of God’ couldn’t stop at an internal transformation.
The specifics of Ignatius decision-making method involve taking time (not rushing into a decision); being sensitive to what your feelings (intuition / gut) are telling you, but not being driven by that since they can be misleading; seeking sound advice; reviewing a decision before proceeding; sticking to a decision once made. None of this is in any way unfamiliar to any management consultant today, although most would agree it’s easier to say than do. For the 1500s it’s pretty amazing.
One particular element of the Ignatian program is called the Examen. In outline this is no different from the idea of “examination of conscience” which is a common feature of Catholic practice. It involves looking at ourselves and assessing what we think is good and not good in our current life and activity. Ignatius however provides very specific instructions on how to conduct such an examination, and there is a range of spiritual literature which still draws directly on his instructions as a basis for spiritual development in modern life.
It’s a matter of taste (and maybe practice) whether one finds Ignatius’ detailed advice for decision-making helpful, but it’s worth noting that a current 12,000 or so Jesuits would attest to its relevance (many in leadership positions in academia and other institutions, including the papacy!).[9] What is striking for us is the link between common-sense decision-making processes and our spiritual life. All these things are built upon the desire to know God better and feed back into achieving that. Our spiritual life does not exist in some bubble independent of the rest of our experience and activity.
Questions for Consideration
Footnotes (Click footnote number to return to text.)
[1] Church Life and Traditions: Monasticism and Religious Orders
[2] Indifference is the English word normally used, but it might be better translated as ‘equanimity’. Both the Ignatian and the Buddhist ideas are about freeing a person from being trapped by worry over the consequences of a decision, not implying that the decision doesn’t matter. It might be summarized as ‘pray hard; decide; act; move on’ – the exact opposite of ‘analysis paralysis’…
[3] The extremes of this period are also reminiscent of the early life of the Buddha, but can also be found in many other Christian saints.
[4] The educational mission of the Jesuits was not well developed under Ignatius and he left a system that was under-financed and short of teachers. It was his successor Diego Laínez (1512-1565) who instituted the truly radical approach of making teaching the primary mission of the Jesuits. Since that time almost every Jesuit has spent time as a teacher, and often a complete career. Jesuit schools and universities remain very significant in many countries, notably the United States.
[5] 1380-1471
[6] ‘To find God in all things’ as Ignatius instructed the first Jesuits
[7] The parallel here with the Buddhist association between mindfulness and compassion is also striking. While at first sight there is no reason why the two are necessarily linked, for the Buddhist they are.
[8] And in some cases twisted rationality – hence the term Jesuitical, taken to mean ‘Dissembling or equivocating, in the manner once associated with Jesuits’ (Oxford English Dictionary)
[9] See here for Pope Francis’ own description of the relevance of Ignatian Spirituality