In her fall welcome message, “Looking Ahead with Hope,” SCS Dean Kelly Otter acknowledged the challenges and stresses many are experiencing in this semester of transition and pointed toward reasons for hope. Building upon the inspiration of Fr. Otto Hentz, S.J. that we can be hope for one another, Dean Otter articulated a special cause for hope at the University in 2021–2022: celebration of the Ignatian Year.
The purpose of this week’s reflection is to narrate the significance of the Ignatian Year, the 500th anniversary of the conversion of St. Ignatius of Loyola, the founder of the Jesuits, a religious order known for building schools all over the world. My own hope is that this brief summary of highlights will help make Georgetown’s Ignatian Year relevant to every member of this community. Regardless of your religious or spiritual tradition, your familiarity with the Spirit of Georgetown, or how long you have been at the University, the themes, principles, and practices at the heart of Ignatian spirituality and the style of education St. Ignatius inspired five centuries ago are relevant to you today. I invite you to consider how your ongoing journey at Georgetown, grounded in your unique lived experience, will be enriched by more deeply engaging with the events and opportunities planned for this special year.
This story begins with the story of St. Ignatius of Loyola (for an entertaining biographical summary, check out this short 10-minute film produced by Jesuits in Britain). The founder of the Jesuits was an unlikely saint, devoting the early part of his life to the pursuit of riches, honors, and conquest in battle. Upholding his knightly honor as a Spanish soldier, Ignatius defended against an invading French force and was struck by a cannonball that severely injured his leg. He had no choice but to recover slowly from his injuries, forced to stay put and entertain himself not with TikTok but with the castle’s only available reading material: religious books. This period of convalescence set into motion the deeper personal transformation that Ignatius would undergo for the rest of his life.
What matters most for us about this transformation story is that Ignatius eventually decided on his life’s path because he paid attention to his daydreams! During his recovery, Ignatius began to notice how he felt after imagining his life’s alternate possibilities. The authentic option, the one that would lead him to pursue a profession of generosity and the common good, left him feeling joyful in a sustained way. When he imagined returning to his past life, Ignatius experienced fleeting feelings of excitement that ultimately left him feeling dry. The path toward realizing God’s invitation, his deeper purpose, would lead to deep delight and joy. Moving from a life of vainglory to a life of noble purpose required thoughtful discernment of Ignatius’s interior movements. And so it is the same for us today five centuries later.
We are each called to make meaning of our experience by paying attention to our interior movements. You might consider these basic questions:
- What stirs you?
- What do you desire?
- What repels you?
- What distracts you?
- Where do you find purpose in your work? In your home? In your community?
- How and when do you feel most free to pursue the deeper meaning of your life?
- How do you want to share your gifts and talents with others?
- How do you want to realize justice, practice charity, and build bonds in your communities?
- Is there a shift in perspective that you are being invited to undertake?
Ignatius would tell you to pay special attention to the movement of these feelings within yourself and where they lead you. Ultimately, it’s the direction of the movements that matters. And while we may not have literal cannonball experiences like Ignatius, we are each invited – especially in light of the ongoing pandemic – to convert our individual and collective suffering and adversity into profound moral and spiritual transformation.
For Ignatius and the Jesuit spirituality that carries on this legacy, implanted in our interior life, rooted in our deepest desires, is our vocation to be realized in the world. All of our lived experience – from the most tedious daily details to the biggest cannonball moments – present opportunities to encounter a loving God. There are many names and paths for this encounter and some may use less theologically oriented language like the true self, transcendent mystery, goodness, truth, etc. According to Fr. Arturo Sosa, S.J., Superior General of the Jesuits, all of us, regardless of our beliefs, share in the “same struggle” of realizing real change in our day-to-day mission of life.
This Ignatian Year is also an opportunity to shine a light on how all Jesuit institutions are called to realize the Universal Apostolic Preferences. These orientations – Showing the Way to God, Walking with the Excluded, Journeying with Youth, and Caring for Our Common Home – are intended to focus the energy of all Jesuit works for the next 10 years. Georgetown SCS uniquely animates Jesuit mission in a way that honors the context of our learning community. One of the great opportunities of Georgetown’s celebration of the Ignatian Year is a deeper appreciation for the diverse ways that schools and units across the University bring to life an Ignatian spirit in their teaching, learning, and working.
In the coming weeks and months, Mission in Motion will dedicate attention to the meaning of the Ignatian Year. Stay tuned for opportunities, like events, communications, programs, and practices, that are designed to accompany you on your journey.