The-Spiritual-Journey-of-St.-Ignatius.ppt

This is a presentation of the Spiritual Journey of St. Ignatius of Loyola.

1. The Spiritual Journey of
Ignatius of Loyola: 1491-1556
Source: A Pilgrim’s Testament: The Memoirs
of Ignatius of Loyola, Pamananda R.
Divarkar, translator (Gregorian University
Press, Rome, Italy 1983).

2. Key Moments & Transitions
in the Life of Ignatius
I.Loyola to Monserrat
II.Manresa
III.Jerusalem to Paris
IV.Paris to Rome

3. Key Moments & Transitions in the Life of
Ignatius
Loyola to Monserrat
•Minor nobleman, born in October 23,1491,
in the family of Loyola in Basque, brought
up as a knight in the courts of Spain.
“he was a man given to the follies of the world;
and what he enjoyed most was warlike sport, with
a great and foolish desire to win fame.” (Memoirs)

5. •Battle of Pamplona, May 20, 1521: hit by
a cannon ball that shattered badly one
leg and injured the other
•Had one leg operated twice

6. IÑIGO: Conversion in Loyola

7. •Reading: The Lives of the Saints, The Life
of Christ
•Dreaming: imitating the deeds of St.
Francis, etc, at times of knightly deeds
of valor in the service of “a certain lady”
•Noting the difference “between the
spirits that were stirring”
•Discovering God at work in his life
.

8. •His desire for fame was transformed into a
desire to dedicate himself completely to
God although he was still unsure what this
meant.
“The one thing he wanted to do was to go to Jerusalem as soon
as he recovered…with as much of disciplines and fasts as a
generous spirit, fired with God, would want to perform”
.

9. * Monserrat, March 24, 1522: laid his
sword and dagger “before the altar of Our Lady of
Monserrat, where he had resolved to lay aside his garments
and to don the armor of Christ.”

11. Key Moments & Transitions
in the Life of Ignatius
Manresa: Purification of
desires. Sharpening of
Discernment. The Great
Vision of Cardoner. Helping
Souls. Spiritual Exercises.

12. •FEELINGS OF CONSOLATION and
DESOLATION: the “good and evil spirits”
influenced his freedom to respond to God

“God treated him at this time just as a schoolmaster
treats a child whom he is teaching.”
* He learned to respond in freedom to
God’s love by struggling to remove the
obstacles to freedom
Praying inside a cave in
Manresa for almost a year

13. •“Love is expressed in deeds.”
•The free response of Ignatius to the
love of God took the form of loving
service: a total dedication to the service
of Christ who, for Ignatius the
nobleman, was his “King”.
•Because it was a response in love to
God’s love, it could never be enough;
the logic of love demanded a response
that was ever more (Magis).

14. By the river Cardoner:
•From conversion to confirmation:
“While he was seated there, the eyes of his understanding began to be
opened; not that he saw any vision, but he understood and learned
many things, both spiritual matters and matters of faith and of
scholarship, and this with so great an enlightenment that
everything seemed new to him…He experienced a great clarity in his
understanding. This was such that in the whole course of his life,
afer completing sixty-two years, even if he gathered up all the
various helps he may have had from God and all the various things
he has known, even adding them all together, he does not think he
got as much as that one time.”

15. Ignatius’ experience at Manresa: he
discovered God, and thus
discovered the meaning of life.
•Recording his experiences in a notebook:
“When he noticed some things in his soul and found them useful, he
thought they might also be useful to others, and so he put them in
writing.”
•the notes took on a more structured form and
became the basis for a small book called THE SPIRITUAL
EXERCISES.

16. Key Moments & Transitions in
the Life of Ignatius
Jerusalem to Paris
•Barcelona, Alcala, Paris.
Period of Studies. Learned
Service. Discipleship as “to
Jerusalem.” First companions.
Shared life and mission.

17. •Barcelona: Grammar School (Latin)
•Alcala: university studies, shared the
Spiritual Exercises
•Salamanca, but the inquisition continued
to harass him
•1528: left for UP (University of Paris)

18. • Meets Francis Xavier of Navarre

and Peter Favre of Savoy: First
Companions plus 4 others: FRIENDS
IN THE LORD
“won for God’s service by means of the SPEX


IÑIGO: Paris

19. Key Moments &
Transitions in the Life
of Ignatius
Paris to Rome
•Montmartre, 1534: the 7 companions
consecrated their lives to God
through vows of poverty and chastity
•determined what they would do: to
go to Venice and Jerusalem, and
spend their lives for the good of souls.
•Venice: Ignatius was ordained priest

20. Companions of Jesus

21. •While waiting for the pilgrim journeys to
Jerusalem, the companions spent their
days preaching, giving the Examen,
working in hospitals and among the poor;
•After a year, they decided to “return to Rome
and present themselves to the Vicar of Christ so that he
could make use of them wherever he thought it would be
more for the glory of God and the good of souls.”
•“Friends in the Lord” added the vow of
obedience

23. Vision at La Storta
•Ignatius “was visited very especially by God…He was at
prayer in a church and experienced such a change in his
soul and saw clearly that God the Father placed him with
Christ his Son that he would not dare doubt it--- that God
the Father had placed him with his Son.” (Memoirs)

24. •The companions became Companions of
Jesus
•1539, the companions were received
favourably by Pope Paul III
•1540: the Society of Jesus was formally
approved
•Ignatius was elected the first Superior General

26. •Approved the missions: Xavier to the East
•Also the involvement of the Society of
Jesus in education
•Undertook the writing of the Constitutions
of the new religious order, until his death
on July 31, 1556
As Superior General:

27. Conversation points:
•What event/s in his life has/have touched
you?
•Among the names that have been given to
Ignatius, (soldier, hermit, pilgim, scholar,
saint) what is most appealing to you? Why?
•In his experiences, what do you think would
be relevant to a teacher/or to education in
general?