Rev Fr John Dardis, General Counselor for Discernment and Apostolic
Planning for the Society of Jesus, fellow Jesuits, faculty members from all
Loyola Institutions in Chennai, Vettavalam, and Metalla, all the religious and
friends, and all who participate in this webinar on Roots and Wings of Ignatian
charism, hearty welcome.
We are here as part of Ignatian Year enlightenment drive. That is,
commemorating the 500 th year of Ignatius’ enlightenment. After his conversion,
his focus was not anymore on his own name and fame but on the betterment and
transformation of the globe. It is celebrating his discovering the God-element
everywhere that made him see everything anew and which would help us grow
in Godness.
Jesus declared that a tree is known by its fruits (Lk 6:44). But the tree
should be well rooted in order to bear plenty of fruits – Tree, then, becomes the
connecting link between the roots and the fruits. It also indicates that one should
be firmly rooted in conviction in order to bear lasting fruits. The health and
strength of the tree depends on its environment and the richness of the roots in
order to bring forth desired fruits for all to use and benefit. There is one more
condition or prerequisite for the tree to bear fruits – It should branch out in all
directions. The more branches shoot forth from the tree, the quantity of the
fruits would be plentiful.
But the topic today is not ‘roots and fruits’ but ‘roots and wings’. One
understanding could be that wings refer to the birds that take shelter on the
branches; who enjoy the sweetness of the fruits; and who carry forward the
seeds to cause new saplings elsewhere to come up. In the same way, we who
have our roots in Ignatian spirituality; who have grown in the mindset of St
Ignatius; who would branch out where there is greater need; who would bear
fruit in the service of the needy – need to take off to go forth and set the world
on fire of knowledge and service. And we have Fr John Dardis with us today to
enlighten us on this know-how.
Our roots should be seeking God everywhere and our wings would be to
bring and plant God everywhere. Ignatian formation is holistic – One should be
formed in head, heart, and hand – to think critically, to understand others with
empathy, and to serve the needy with conviction is the hall mark of Jesuit
formation. One finds the roots of Ignatian spirituality in The Spiritual Exercises,
in his Spiritual Diary, and in his Pilgrims Journey. One imbibes the Ignatian
spirituality as the spirituality of affectivity, radiating love from the heart, and
reaching out as service to the needy and the marginalized. The UAP (Universal
Apostolic Preferences), the road map of the Jesuits, are those wings.
In this process, one realizes that he/she as the microcosm is convinced of
his/her service to the macrocosm, both the people and the nature. And it could
be realized and appreciated at three levels: First, it is at the head level of
understanding. As William Blake would put it:
“To see the World in a Grain of Sand
And a Heaven in a Wild Flower
Hold(ing) Infinity in the palm of your hand
And Eternity in an hour”.
It is seeking God in everything. Then, it is the affective level of embracing all.
Here, one experiences the Godness in the Nature, as Gerard Manley Hopkins
admired, “The world is charged with the grandeur of God”. And finally, it is the
hand to act. One merges with the evolving universe and surrenders oneself to
God, singing in harmony the hymn of the universe as Teilhard de Chardin
exclaimed,
“Blessed be you, mighty matter, irresistible march of evolution, reality
ever newborn; you who, by constantly shattering our mental categories,
force us to go ever further and further in our pursuit of the truth” (Hymn
of the Universe).
This crystalizes to do the best for the least. Ignatian charism takes roots in the
head/mind as critical thinking to see anew; and the fruits are the maturity of
one’s heart to embrace the universe with empathy; and the hands are the wings
to take on to the Ignatian spirit of planting Jesus’ values wherever one goes and
wherever one is sent to. The connecting link is the trunk of the tree which is the
Ignatian Charism, with the The Spiritual Exercises, Spiritual Diary, and
Pilgrims Journey of St Ignatius as the branches.
Ignatian spirituality gives us the impulse and dynamism of a pilgrim who
goes about with a grateful heart doing good, scattering the seeds of wisdom and
experience of spiritual fruits he has relished and planting one’s goodness
wherever one goes. In this process, our hearts, bathed with love of our Creator,
venture into the heart of the world with the spirit of magis to launch upon the
mission for the needy. We go about as John Bunyan says in Pilgrims Progress:
“This hill, though high, I covet to ascend;
The difficulty will not me offend.
For I perceive, the way to life lies here.
Come, pluck up, heart; let’s neither faint nor fear.
Better, though difficult, the right way to go,
Than wrong, though easy, where the end is woe.”
And one travels along the service road, one finds God in everything and in
everybody; and one feels, in the words of John Bunyan, “As I walk’d through
the wilderness of this world, I lighted on a certain place, (where was a Denn);
And I laid me down in that place to sleep: And as I slept I dreamed a Dream.”
Today we are invited to dream a dream in order to see the invisible and to
do the impossible. Roots and Wings of Ignatian Spirituality gives one the firm
foundation of Christo-centric dynamism and engages one with the wings of fire
fuelled with the spirit of other-centeredness to be men and women of empathy
with a spirit of enthusiasm. Now, more from Fr John Dardis. Once again a
hearty welcome to you all. Let us gather the fruits of values and scatters the
seeds of goodness for others to live and grow. After the talk by Fr John Dardis,
you are most welcome to interact with him. Have a fruitful conversation with Fr
John Dardis.