In the Present Tense

The Australian Jesuits recently published a 2018 poem of Caleb Ryan. Mr. Ryan is a religious education teacher; he “was part of a Jesuit Leadership Pilgrimage that saw him and a group of his peers walk in the footsteps of Ignatius through France, Spain and Italy.”

“A Basque Man Who Came to Know God” describes St. Ignatius of Loyola conversion story. It also considers the life-pilgrimage of Jesus as well as contemporary people with the goal of becoming “suitably free.”

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Image of O.L. of Montserrat at Manresa Jesuit Retreat House, Bloomifield Hills, MI by PDP

Hand in Glove

Humans are embodied spirits. Age-old wisdom—which includes wisdom of holy people in all spiritual traditions—contains truth for future ages. Containers of the wisdom may need to be exchanged to receive the wisdom; or, moderns may have to reconsider old containers and not trash them with wisdom they contain.

Sue Do’s contribution to America Magazine reaffirms that old and new are not opposed and offers much encouragement.

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How Ignatian spirituality enhanced my cognitive behavioral therapyhttps://t.co/uOuGjo76CD

— America Magazine (@americamag) August 2, 2021

To Navigate What 2021 Brings

"We’re entering another year, one that I hope is marked by less volatility, uncertainty and chaos. But if it’s not, we can navigate it soberly if we learn the way of St. Ignatius: Cultivate a bonded attachment with the Giver instead of the gifts.” The words close Seth Haines’ 01 January 21 article in America Magazine. That “bonded attachment” is not limited to a few. 

St. Ignatius helped me get sober as a Protestant—and stay sober in 2020 as a Catholic @sethhaines https://t.co/GqOCkszs9X

— America Magazine (@americamag) January 1, 2021

Keeping Balanced

Consequential means stressful. Degrees of feeling stress vary by person. The U.S. Election stresses many even beyond that nation’s borders. Ignatian spirituality can help us regain balance during and after the election.

Stressed? Despairing? Freaking out? Here are some Jesuit tools to help you get through the election and its aftermath. https://t.co/1QoZS6Iedq

— James Martin, SJ (@JamesMartinSJ) November 2, 2020

Turning at a River

The midpoint of the month-long celebration of St. Ignatius of Loyola has passed. Daily reflections up to now and all July are available at the link in the sidebar (“31 Days with Saint Ignatius’). Today focuses on the revelation Ignatius received near the Cardoner River in Manresa.

What exactly is the Cardoner Vision? In today's #31DayswithIgnatius blog post, we will explore what it is and what it means for all of us. https://t.co/7zLDNc0XAs

— Loyola Press (@loyolapress) July 19, 2020

Thinking 'Chrisitan' = Thinking Differently

Thinking the same way as other social groupings does no think with the mind of Jesus. Radical individualism modern, Western people take for granted did not exist in the time of Jesus; it did not exist when the scriptures written about him and homilies proclaimed him and his risen life.

Helen Orchard contrasted “St Ignatius Loyola’s approach in the Spiritual Exercises with that of modern spiritualities that can mask a self-indulgent individualism. …while the Spiritual Exercises begins with the human person, he or she does not exist in isolation as the centre of a universe around which all else revolves.”

‘Thy will be done’ or ‘follow your bliss’? https://t.co/j8uXmbiumE #spirituality #AMDG

— Thinking Faith (@ThinkingFaith) July 13, 2020

Learning from St. Ignatius of Loyola

When people freely isolate themselves, they fare better than when circumstances limit their freedom. Retreat—which one may not immediately classify as isolation—is freely chosen. Dealing with shifting moods on retreat happens. Knowing the end-date of retreat is one help.

Pandemic isolation is less easy to choose, yet people choose it to respect the lives of others and self.  Jesuit David Lonsdale recalled that St. Ignatius of Loyola experienced both “necessary” and “voluntary self-isolation”. His “reflections on his experience of isolation…can offer us valuable help in our present circumstances.”

In a time of pandemic, when many of us are struggling to find hope, or to live in charity with ourselves and others, the prayer of ‘Contemplation for love of God’ in the #SpiritualExercises can help as an effective response. https://t.co/sg0GUkpI9u #coronavirus #AMDG

— Thinking Faith (@ThinkingFaith) May 27, 2020

Mindfulness: New and Old

Y ale Medicine posted some physicians recommend the practice of mindfulness to help “patients cope with illness and the anxiety related to it.” A program developed in 1970 undergirds this contribution to health care.

People of faith recognize familiar elements in the practice that are older than 50 years. Jesuit Chris Krall noted 16^th-Century Christian foundations.

Modern neuroscience advocates the use of imagination and attention to bodily sensations as treatments for the long-term effects of trauma, but this approach is nowhere near as novel as it might sound, argues Chris Krall SJ. https://t.co/PblXQA5jmJ #MentalHealthAwarenessWeek #AMDG pic.twitter.com/VwkXYoQ6VD

— Thinking Faith (@ThinkingFaith) May 23, 2020

Thought Experiment

Iona Reid-Dalglish is a spiritual director and a member of the retreat team at St Beuno's Jesuit Spirituality Centre. In 2018 she offered a “thought experiment” to help her readers appreciate “four key things [Iona suggested] that Ignatian spiritual direction might tell us about encountering the risen Christ.”

The pandemic has upended everyone’s patterns of living. Our spiritual lives are as deeply or more deeply affected. The “four key things [about] Ignatian spiritual direction” remain valid. “Encountering the risen Christ” is a prescription very much in need.

What does the framework of Ignatian spiritual direction tell us about how we meet the risen Christ in our everyday lives? https://t.co/7oM0sBPmHG

— Thinking Faith (@ThinkingFaith) April 13, 2020

Tackling Head On

Physical distancing is gradually replacing the contradictory phrase, social distancing. Physical distance was from the first and remains the way to lower infections among people. Humans, though, desire to come together; our inability to do so is the source of unease and pain as we cope. Working against our instinct is crucial to keep well and keep others well. Questions arise:

What form can love take when deprived of its touch, its immediacy, its flesh and bones? How do I still respond compassionately and humanely to the needs of others around me, even though physically separated from them?

      These are big questions that might challenge each of us in different ways. Of course, love takes many and varied forms depending on the concrete circumstances in which it finds itself.

At Thinking Faith spiritual director Tim McEvoy helps readers navigate these questions from the tradition of Ignatian spirituality.

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Wiki-image Symbol for collaboration by “pixabay free images | CC0"

Prescient Post?

St. Ignatius of Loyola admired St. Francis of Assisi. On Ignatius’ feast in 2009 ThinkingFaith posted an adaptation of an earlier essay by Brian Purfield. He explored “the spiritual experiences of the founder of the Society of Jesus with those of Francis of Assisi.”

With a Jesuit Francis as pastor of the Catholic Church his essay seems more than farsighted. On the eve of the Memorial of St. Francis of Assisi ThinkingFaith reposted it.

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Wiki-image by Pere López of statue of St. Ignatius of Loyola CC BY-SA 3.0.

Franciscan and Ignatian Discomforts

Shortly after his election Pope Francis told assembled media personnel that to be true the church ought to be “poor and for the poor.” Days before the pope stated his desire, he had signaled his humility. Jesuit James Hanvey considered “how Francis of Assisi and Ignatius of Loyola [might] inform this papacy and what resources...they offer” the Jesuit who has taken the Poverello’s name. Fr. Hanvey identified “three particular influences.”

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Wiki-image by Jim McIntosh of praise of creatures CC BY 2.0.