Why Ignatian Spirituality is the Most Relevant
What some disgruntled anti-Catholics have in the past termed a "Jesuitical" conspiracy against Protestant lands sounds paranoid in this day and age. Of course, we cannot but see the truth that the Jesuits were an outgrowth of the Catholic Counter- Reformation, and they have been termed as the foot soldiers of the pope, because their founder, St. Ignatius of Loyola, was a soldier before experiencing conversion. Yet, it is important to see that the Jesuits have always been the fathers of the fields of human excellence, such as education and the advancement of human rights and social justice in the world for the sake of harmony and peace. This became a prime concern after the murder of six Jesuit priests in El Salvador in November 1989 for their work among the suffering poor. They were labeled subversives, but other would call them prophets. It was for this reason that the order itself became noteworthy for its teachings regarding the "preferential option for the poor." Of course, we may take this as all a method of politicking, but the Jesuit understanding of the cosmos seeks to "find God in all things." That is, all things are a reflection of the harmonic nature of the Godhead itself, the ultimate Absolute which gives unity and diversity and diversity in unity the entire framework of the meaning of God and the world.Now, if all traditional Christians hold that the purpose of the redemption of Christ is to reconcile the world with God, may we not see the further meaning of this as a continual process of making the world a more sacred place by treating as sacred the human being? Of course, as the life of St. Ignatius points out, he was cautious of all things in latter life, often with a frail and sensitive demeanor. He was not the stern, iron- willed soldier figure which many think of him as being. The purpose of the Jesuit life is to be on fire, on fire in a sense that the fire of love burns bright within each person. And so why can we not see the immance of the divine Power in even the most miniscule object in existence? That is why the Jesuit way is the relevant way, because the world and the Absolute are integrated, the former revealing God and the latter giving meaning to the world. And this is why I think Ignatian spirituality is one of the most effective ways of cleansing Christianity from the lethargy it suffers in this present day. The perceived narrowness of the religion is coupled with its provincialization as a predominantly white and American religion. Furthermore, what I find most disturbing is the secularization of the religion as being a tool at the disposal of the individual or of the state. But alas, the Ignatian path sets us on the right path by helping us to realize the cosmic dimensions of the meaning of the faith, and that, as the notable theologian Pierre Teilhard de Chardin described, Christ is the Personal and human Power, God reconciling the cosmos to Himself. In this sense in which we see the presence of God in all things, we begin to see that no longer are there distinct dichotomies between sacred and profane, natural and supernatural, because we understand that there is all existence, everywhere we look, and that the whole of existence is that which involves the Creator and creature being swept away in a dance of perfect harmonic magnitude. As St. Ignatius put it, the Christian "loves God in all things and loves all things in God."I would furthermore like to comment upon the teachings or St. Ignatius regarding detachment to the things of the world, or as he called it- "indifference." By this, we mean that there is no longer rich or poor, healthy or unhealthy. Regardless of which state one finds himself in, we can be certain that the ultimate possession of man is God and God's ultimate possession is man and the universe. Thus, we can see the transience of the evils and toils of this world, the senseless death and suffering which pervades our lives. Is there not complete reconciliation in the suffering and death of Christ? Imagine looking at a crucifix and seeing that the Figure on it comes alive, gasping and groaning for release from the turmoil of his pain and impending death. And when we think about His suffering in Real Time, we are given a greater understanding of what it means to see God in the world, because we are no longer worshiping an image or word known as "Jesus." We encounter the meaning of God Himself in the course of linear time, which is the hallmark of human consciousness itself in that the linearity of time for us points to a unique teleological expectation of the final reconciliation of all things to Ultimate Reality, whether we call it God or not. Of course, the Christian believes that God is a Person, but also that He is beyond a Person. God is Ultimate Reality and Being. There is far more than being a Person to His essence. It is mysterious as to how this could be so, but we accept it because we cannot limit the conception of God in our minds to a person Who is only like us. Of course, we must affirm the Incarnation and to realize that God did become "just like us." But the Trinity as a whole is beyond human comprehension in the same manner as a glass cannot contain an ocean.But let us go on to the popular devotion known as the Sacred Heart of Jesus. It was supported by the Jesuits as a means to communicate the love of Christ for all people, in opposition to the strict moral rigorist and denial of divine love to all people, which was taught by the Jansenists. And in some way, I think that the Jesuits promoted a form of Incarnational realism, as opposed to the nominalism of Reformation soteriology, which saw the sole purpose of Christ as that which was to make possible a mere path for depraved sinners to get their tickets to heaven. What was the meaning of the Incarnation, if not to make God known to man, and to teach man the way of obedience to the perfect will of the Creator? And furthermore, by the infatuation of the Reformation thinking on how to get "saved", a fundamental component of reality was missing: the very existence of the day-to-day life of the world, and also of the God of the universe partaking in the lot of humanity as a poor and obscure rabbi, and ultimately as a vagabond Who was executed by the great powers of His time for going against what they thought was the "right way" to understanding the predicament of man and the nature of God. And this all amounts to the Ignatian teaching regarding effective love as the only true love as opposed to affective love as a fanciful sort of sentimentalism, which means that God must not be an obscure Vantage Point which transcends all things in order that the only love we may express towards Him is a nice feeling of awe and reverence, or of a tingling of sorts regarding how much Jesus loved us so that we could merely play a harp on a cloud. Effective love demands the sacrifice of self, indeed the death of self, to the glory of God and to the realization that in heaven, we shall have no possessions, but God alone. Heaven is not a place in the sky, but more than a place, it is the consummation of the redeemed into the very life of God, which is the fountainhead of all existence. As of now, we merely experience the stream of life running down the valley. In eternity, nothing matters but the unity of the eternal song sung by man and God. And this is where I shall pick up tomorrow by discussing the nature of the work of Christ as pointing the way to the Kingdom of God as the harmony of the dance set in perfect order.
What some disgruntled anti-Catholics have in the past termed a "Jesuitical" conspiracy against Protestant lands sounds paranoid in this day and age. Of course, we cannot but see the truth that the Jesuits were an outgrowth of the Catholic Counter- Reformation, and they have been termed as the foot soldiers of the pope, because their founder, St. Ignatius of Loyola, was a soldier before experiencing conversion. Yet, it is important to see that the Jesuits have always been the fathers of the fields of human excellence, such as education and the advancement of human rights and social justice in the world for the sake of harmony and peace. This became a prime concern after the murder of six Jesuit priests in El Salvador in November 1989 for their work among the suffering poor. They were labeled subversives, but other would call them prophets. It was for this reason that the order itself became noteworthy for its teachings regarding the "preferential option for the poor." Of course, we may take this as all a method of politicking, but the Jesuit understanding of the cosmos seeks to "find God in all things." That is, all things are a reflection of the harmonic nature of the Godhead itself, the ultimate Absolute which gives unity and diversity and diversity in unity the entire framework of the meaning of God and the world.Now, if all traditional Christians hold that the purpose of the redemption of Christ is to reconcile the world with God, may we not see the further meaning of this as a continual process of making the world a more sacred place by treating as sacred the human being? Of course, as the life of St. Ignatius points out, he was cautious of all things in latter life, often with a frail and sensitive demeanor. He was not the stern, iron- willed soldier figure which many think of him as being. The purpose of the Jesuit life is to be on fire, on fire in a sense that the fire of love burns bright within each person. And so why can we not see the immance of the divine Power in even the most miniscule object in existence? That is why the Jesuit way is the relevant way, because the world and the Absolute are integrated, the former revealing God and the latter giving meaning to the world. And this is why I think Ignatian spirituality is one of the most effective ways of cleansing Christianity from the lethargy it suffers in this present day. The perceived narrowness of the religion is coupled with its provincialization as a predominantly white and American religion. Furthermore, what I find most disturbing is the secularization of the religion as being a tool at the disposal of the individual or of the state. But alas, the Ignatian path sets us on the right path by helping us to realize the cosmic dimensions of the meaning of the faith, and that, as the notable theologian Pierre Teilhard de Chardin described, Christ is the Personal and human Power, God reconciling the cosmos to Himself. In this sense in which we see the presence of God in all things, we begin to see that no longer are there distinct dichotomies between sacred and profane, natural and supernatural, because we understand that there is all existence, everywhere we look, and that the whole of existence is that which involves the Creator and creature being swept away in a dance of perfect harmonic magnitude. As St. Ignatius put it, the Christian "loves God in all things and loves all things in God."I would furthermore like to comment upon the teachings or St. Ignatius regarding detachment to the things of the world, or as he called it- "indifference." By this, we mean that there is no longer rich or poor, healthy or unhealthy. Regardless of which state one finds himself in, we can be certain that the ultimate possession of man is God and God's ultimate possession is man and the universe. Thus, we can see the transience of the evils and toils of this world, the senseless death and suffering which pervades our lives. Is there not complete reconciliation in the suffering and death of Christ? Imagine looking at a crucifix and seeing that the Figure on it comes alive, gasping and groaning for release from the turmoil of his pain and impending death. And when we think about His suffering in Real Time, we are given a greater understanding of what it means to see God in the world, because we are no longer worshiping an image or word known as "Jesus." We encounter the meaning of God Himself in the course of linear time, which is the hallmark of human consciousness itself in that the linearity of time for us points to a unique teleological expectation of the final reconciliation of all things to Ultimate Reality, whether we call it God or not. Of course, the Christian believes that God is a Person, but also that He is beyond a Person. God is Ultimate Reality and Being. There is far more than being a Person to His essence. It is mysterious as to how this could be so, but we accept it because we cannot limit the conception of God in our minds to a person Who is only like us. Of course, we must affirm the Incarnation and to realize that God did become "just like us." But the Trinity as a whole is beyond human comprehension in the same manner as a glass cannot contain an ocean.But let us go on to the popular devotion known as the Sacred Heart of Jesus. It was supported by the Jesuits as a means to communicate the love of Christ for all people, in opposition to the strict moral rigorist and denial of divine love to all people, which was taught by the Jansenists. And in some way, I think that the Jesuits promoted a form of Incarnational realism, as opposed to the nominalism of Reformation soteriology, which saw the sole purpose of Christ as that which was to make possible a mere path for depraved sinners to get their tickets to heaven. What was the meaning of the Incarnation, if not to make God known to man, and to teach man the way of obedience to the perfect will of the Creator? And furthermore, by the infatuation of the Reformation thinking on how to get "saved", a fundamental component of reality was missing: the very existence of the day-to-day life of the world, and also of the God of the universe partaking in the lot of humanity as a poor and obscure rabbi, and ultimately as a vagabond Who was executed by the great powers of His time for going against what they thought was the "right way" to understanding the predicament of man and the nature of God. And this all amounts to the Ignatian teaching regarding effective love as the only true love as opposed to affective love as a fanciful sort of sentimentalism, which means that God must not be an obscure Vantage Point which transcends all things in order that the only love we may express towards Him is a nice feeling of awe and reverence, or of a tingling of sorts regarding how much Jesus loved us so that we could merely play a harp on a cloud. Effective love demands the sacrifice of self, indeed the death of self, to the glory of God and to the realization that in heaven, we shall have no possessions, but God alone. Heaven is not a place in the sky, but more than a place, it is the consummation of the redeemed into the very life of God, which is the fountainhead of all existence. As of now, we merely experience the stream of life running down the valley. In eternity, nothing matters but the unity of the eternal song sung by man and God. And this is where I shall pick up tomorrow by discussing the nature of the work of Christ as pointing the way to the Kingdom of God as the harmony of the dance set in perfect order.
posted by Bob at 9:23 PM
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