St. Ignatius of Loyola: Our university’s very own namesake. And an eminent creative in the domain of religion and spirituality.
Following his conversion in 1521, Ignatius began his travels with the goal of eventually reaching the Holy Land. One of his early destinations was Manresa, a town in what is now Catalonia, Spain. He spent a year there practicing religious asceticism while in Manresa, begging for food and living in a cave largely isolated from other people. This is where Ignatius laid the foundation for and wrote much of what would become his main creative product: The Spiritual Exercises.
About the Exercises
According to IgnatianSpirituality.com, "The Spiritual Exercises are a compilation of meditations, prayers, and contemplative practices developed by St. Ignatius Loyola to help people deepen their relationship with God." That sums it up pretty well. The Exercises can be made in a 30 day silent retreat (what Jesuits do) or a retreat in everyday life over several months (what laypeople do). Of course, many practices of the Exercises can be used on their own outside the context of a full retreat.
The Creative Process, Inspiration, and Motivation of Ignatius
During and after his conversion, Ignatius experienced much consolation, or periods of increased faith, hope, and love. His goal as a missionary was to help others feel this deep consolation. A particular tenet of Ignatius's was meeting people where they are in life, and this turned into a cornerstone of the Exercises. The Exercises are very focused on each person's own experience, which comes from Ignatius wanting to share his prayer experience with others and help them to find the consolation he found in Manresa, among other places. The Exercises were designed to be accessible by many--whether Christian, doubting, nonbeliever, or another religion altogether. I would categorize St. Ignatius's motivation as intrinsic because his deep consolation moved him from within to spread faith, hope, and love to others. He was driven from within to make the long pilgrimage to the Holy Land, preaching to many souls along the way.
Collaboration
I think it is safe to say that Ignatius's number one collaborator in his work was the Big Guy. But in terms of human collaborators, he had a lot of those as well. Ignatius collaborated with many of his friends whom he met during his studies to solidify (and test out!) the Exercises. They also collaborated in the formation of the Society of Jesus (the Jesuits) and the first educational institution run by the Jesuits. Among these early Jesuits and collaborators of Ignatius were big name saints like St. Francis Xavier and St. Peter Faber. Although Ignatius did isolate himself from people (not unlike T.S. Eliot or Nikola Tesla) while in Manresa, much of the longevity and success of the Society and Ignatian Spirituality was made possible thanks to his work and travels with other saints.
Ignatian Spirituality Today
Ignatian Spirituality and the Spiritual Exercises are still in wide use today, including right around us at Loyola. carry on Ignatius's legacy and motivation to meet others where they are and help others achieve consolation. In fact, the Society of Jesus recently named helping people to make the Exercises as one of its top four apostolates, or missions. Although St. Ignatius Loyola may not be a household name in the present day for those unfamiliar with the Jesuits, his influence has been pervasive in one of the world's largest institutions for nearly 500 years now, and I'd say that's enough to call him an eminent creative.
https://www.ignatianspirituality.com/ignatian-prayer/the-spiritual-exercises/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ignatius_of_Loyola
A Pilgrim's Journey: The Autobiography of Ignatius of Loyola (print)
I really appreciate how much St. Ignatius valued meeting each person where they personally were at and recognizing the individuality and specificity of faith. The fact that he struck a balance in the Exercises between their focus on accessibility to many people while also remaining a personal spiritual endeavor impressed me a lot.
ReplyDeleteI have never thought of saints in terms of their creativity before, so this blog post was very interesting. The idea that St. Ignatius's biggest collaborator was God is also something I've never considered as a possibility, but it makes sense. I'm curious about how 'creative' St. Ignatius was before his conversion compared to after.
ReplyDelete