I want to start out with the Autobiography of St. Ignatius, from Chapter Four, which details his desire to get to Rome before he set off for Jerusalem. As we know, Ignatius had many setbacks in his life, such as the Inquisition, but we always seemed to turn matters around to his convenience. Even as it was designed as a missionary order, it was turned around to being schools to educate the young to become proper educated citizens. Let’s listen to this passage, though, of his persistence to get to Rome despite the plague that curtailed travel and made regularly life impossible. Ignatius did not allow his imagination to be defeated and he found ways to adapt. This strikes home because of the way that COVID has influenced our decisions, and, like Ignatius, we cannot give up on our mission, but find new ways to discover God’s will in the midst of it.
After a voyage of five days and nights the vessel in which they set out from Barcelona reached Gaeta, and the pilgrim disembarked and started for Rome, although there was danger there on account of the plague. After reaching the city, he found the gates closed. He spent the night in a damp church, and in the morning sought to enter the city, but could not obtain permission. As no alms could be obtained outside of the city, he wished to go on to a neighboring village, but for sheer weakness, the pilgrim could go no farther. On that day it happened that a great procession came out of the city. On inquiry the pilgrim learned that the Duchess was in the throng. He approached her, told her that his malady was simply the effect of weakness, and asked permission to enter the city to get relief. She readily consented. He was successful and his strength returned, and two days later he resumed his journey, reaching Rome on Palm Sunday.
En route to the Holy Lands
On this journey to Venice, on account of sentinels placed around the cities, he was obliged to sleep outside the walls. The dread of the pestilence was so great that one morning on rising he saw a man fleeing from him in terror. Pursuing his journey, he reached Chizoa with several others who had joined him on the road. There he learned that he would not be allowed to enter the city.
Ignatius could not, on account of his weakness, keep pace with the others, and was left alone in an open field. Then Christ appeared to him, as He had appeared on former occasions. By this vision he was greatly strengthened and consoled. The next morning, filled with new courage, he came to the gate of the city, and although provided with no certificate, entered unquestioned by the guard. In the same way he left the city unquestioned. His companions were surprised at this, for they had to present a certificate, which he had taken no pains to procure. At Venice they begged their food, and slept in St. Mark's Square. Ignatius refused to go to the house of the Ambassador, and although he made no effort to get money for his voyage to Jerusalem, he felt sure nevertheless that God would provide him with means.
His journey to the Holy Land was assured.
Ignatius encountered obstacles often and actively prayed to discern how and where God was leading him. The same happened for the Jesuits. The Society dealt with many crushing blows in our history, from the election of Popes unfavorable to the Society, to Dominican opposition, to slanderous books written by opponents of Jesuit influence, to the suppression of freedoms, as in the Chinese Rites controversy, to religious opposition by the indigenous governments, and to the suppression of the Society in 1773 until 1814, and the near-suppression in 1981. Somehow, by the grace of God, we have endured. Somehow, the grace of God, the Society discerned how to move forward amidst the obstacles.
Discernment requires our affective maturity, that is, emotional intelligence. It requires an inner quiet and the ability to attend to one’s interior life. It is a discipline that takes practice as we “discern the spirits” by trial and error and by learning to hear God’s distinctive voice personally for us. Discernment is an art, and art does not improve unless it is practiced day by day. We do our best with discernment by learning how to talk about our movements and perceptions with our reflector or a spiritual director.
Noticing the spirits is tricky because spiritual consolation does not always mean happiness, and spiritual desolation does not always mean sadness. Sometimes an experience of sadness, loneliness, or restlessness is a moment of conversion and intimacy with God and others. Times of human suffering an be moments of grace. For instance, accompanying a parent through death can be very sad, but it can be a time in which you experience a profound sense of peace in the intimacy between the two of you, and family. Likewise, the remorse I may feel because I hurt someone can eventually lead to the joy that comes with reconciling with that person. In contrast, feelings of peace and contentment can be illusory or a form of self-deceit if these feelings are covering over issues we need to address. I can feel perfectly happy when I am caught up in a familiar pattern of sin, the effects of which I am blind and numb. I can be a workaholic and numb myself with mindless entertainment or settle for being content while avoiding a difficult conversation with someone I love. What matters is the source of the movements? Where is the movement coming from, and where is it leading me? An increase of love, faith, and hope is a sign that it is part of Christ’s world.
Ignatius wants us to use our imagination to deal with our spiritual movements because the goal is to move deeper, the magis, into a relationship with God. He reminds us that when we are in a time of uncertainty and fluidity, we are to pray for courage and energy to find new solutions. We do not become passive because we cannot read the signs of the times, but we use more energy to bring us to a place where God’s will is right for us.
Whenever we are feeling out-of-sorts, perplexed, hesitant, it is wise for us to change our perspective, to take off the proverbial lens off our camera so we can put on a new lens, so we can get a different view of the situation. When we change our lens, we can go from looking at the dismal aspects of life to celebrate what is right with the world, to find beauty in human freedom, to see the possibilities and opportunities, to see no limits, no frontiers to our imagination. We bring God’s dream for the world into reality when we pursue our dreams together as people of faith, when we trust in God, and can separate what is our will from what is God’s will enacted through the labors of our wills.
We are in our seventh month of COVID and a contentious election cycle, and we are in a time when life as we knew it has been turned upside down. These events do not have to paralyze us or zap us of energy, because we can come together, bound by our faith in our loving, creative God, to find a way forward. As Ignatius was constantly beset by obstacles, he found new unforeseen ways forward. That is our exciting task. We can seek the best in life and bring it into being; we can reimagine church life devoid of clericalism, elitism, and misused authority; we can redesign our modes of dialogue and communication; we can create new policies designed for the betterment of human persons; we can pursue and attain happiness as we emphasize our compassion towards one another; we can reconcile with estranged loved ones; we can find favor with God and live as meaningfully as God intends, and we can start here today as we commit to opening ourselves to God’s joyful presence among us. We are a rare group because we have committed to share God’s mercy with others. We have to make the beauty of God’s life visible to others. In whatever way we can do it, let’s be the poets, artists, dancers, lyricists in our work to inspire others along the way.
Discussion questions:
1. What parallels did you hear in Ignatius’ life that resonate with your life and ministry today?
2. As we are beset by contemporary national challenges, what ways have we been forced to be creative?
3. As joy is a sign of the resurrection, where might I discover joy and happiness in a relationship that I did not think was possible?
4. The “experience of beauty” is an important and even primary factor “in our search for meaning and happiness” and the experience liberates and transfigures our lives. “Architects and painters, sculptors and musicians, filmmakers and writers, photographers and poets, artists of every discipline, are called to shine beauty especially where darkness or gray dominates everyday life,” Pope Franciscwrote. They “are the custodians of beauty, heralds and witnesses of hope for humanity.”
In my corner of the world, how can I shine beauty on area where darkness or gray dominate everyday life?
No comments:
Post a Comment