Model and Mission:
Ignatius, after his enlightenment, left his castle and went to live in a cave
in Manresa. Life has taught him a lot of good lessons: Instead of fighting for the
earthly King, he decided to serve the heavenly King. During his convalescence
he happened to read about the lives of the saints and their heroic
accomplishments for God. He asked himself the questions: “If St Dominic
could do great things, why cannot I?”, “If St Francis was able to achieve so
much for God, why cannot I?” He took them as his model to imitate in his own
life.
But soon his role model changed. From Dominic and Francis, his gaze
was on the Lord Jesus. Jesus became his model. Jesus said, “I am the light of
the world” but he also said, “You are the light of the world”. These two
sentences made St Ignatius to see that the light is emanating from the common
origin from God and this was confirmed by Jesus who said, “Be perfect as your
heavenly Father is perfect”. Hence, his ultimate role model became God.
All these enlightenment and consciousness, St Ignatius learnt from God
who taught him as a school teacher. Ignatius felt and realized that God was
holding his hand, as the teacher would do for a child, teaching him nicely,
admonishing him gently, inspiring him profoundly, and walking with him every
day. For St Ignatius God was real and he would see God working for him in the
creation and he could see everything anew in Jesus.
Learning Process:
The whole life of St Ignatius was a learning process. Once he realized
that fighting on the battle field is not what God wanted of him, he left his home,
Loyola Castle, never to return back. He was a man on the move – His initial
schooling in the Manresa cave where he had 360 o U-turn. From leading a life of
untidiness with long and uncombed hair, uncut nails, dirty clothes etc, he learnt
to be presentable to others in order to win them over to God. His writing of The
Spiritual Exercises was his spiritual dissertation and he graduated in the
spirituality of finding everything new in God. Then onwards, he realized the
need of himself to be academically educated in order to educate others. At the
age of 30, he was determined to sit with children of 10-12 to learn rudimentary
Latin and he went on to Salamanca for further studies. Finally he landed in Paris
and earned his Master’s degree. The journey did not end there. His pilgrimage
to the Holy Land to stay there in the land of Jesus did not work out – He landed
in Rome and it dawned on him and his first companions to start a Company that
would stand by the Pope and the Church which were at that time battered by the
Reformers like Martin Luther in Germany, Zwingli in Switzerland, Calvin in
France etc.
The Company of Jesus had education as one of its activities and soon it
became the basis of all their good works, for St Ignatius realized that education
is the basis of all empowerment process that the people stood in need of. He was
convinced that it is the teacher who could effectively form the youth and he was
encouraged to found schools and colleges in Europe. He himself founded a
school in Messina in 1548 and the Roman College in 1551. The purpose of
education, through educational institutions, according to St Ignatius as
mentioned in the Jesuit Constitutions is: “… to form students in mind and
heart… the students… may obtain, thus being themselves qualified to teach
elsewhere what they have successfully picked up from us, to God’s glory
(Const. 440). Within a decade, the Jesuits could found nearly 30 university
colleges in Europe and today there are over 200 Jesuit universities all over the
world. In India, we have over 35 arts and science colleges, 15 business schools,
and 12 technical institutions – all for the formation of the students.
And this is reflected by the Jesuits down the centuries in the documents
of the General Congregations (GC), the highest instant to form policies for the
Jesuit Order. GC 35 asserts:
‘The Jesuits attempt to discover, shape, renew or promote human wisdom,
while at the same time respecting the integrity of disciplined scholarship’ (GC
34 404). Further, ‘the Society of Jesus has carried a flame for nearly five
hundred years through innumerable social and cultural circumstances that have
challenged it intensely to keep that flame alive and burning’ (GC 35 D2/1).
Teacher as the Cornerstone of the Social Edifice:
St Ignatius would consider education as the transforming power and the
teacher as the cornerstone of the social edifice and the architect of each student.
He would take care of what would be conducive for the best education of the
students. The teacher could implant in the students, among many other virtues,
the following:
i. Be open to change and get acclimatized to new environment: St Ignatius
and his first companions were not initially planning on starting schools nor
colleges. But when they realized the need they went out whole heartedly
into education and excelled in it. St Ignatius is often shown with one foot
raised and ahead of the other indicating that the Jesuits should be ready to
step forward, away from where they currently are.
ii. Change in life is inevitable – Be prepared to embrace change for the
better: St Ignatius was a soldier but he underwent a change. Though he was
born in a feudal lord’s family, he chose the life as a poor and later he
dedicated his life to serve the people at the margin of the society.
iii. Live with gratitude and optimism all through your life: St Ignatius
recommended the Jesuits to examine oneself twice a day: First, to thank
God and others, with gratitude, for all the graces and helps received; and
second, to resolve to serve others ever better. In a fast-paced world, St
Ignatius recommends periodic pause to reflect and respond to the needs out
there (https://catholicreview.org/favorite-lessons-from-st-ignatius-of-
loyola/).
Generosity as the hymn of life:
The famous prayer of St Ignatius is the prayer for generosity. Here is the
teachers’ version of the same prayer as a hymn of life:
Lord Jesus, teach me to be generous;
teach me to be generous with my time, especially when it’s running low;
teach me to be generous with my patience, especially when it’s running thin;
teach me to be generous with my praise, especially when I’m feeling
judgmental.
Lord Jesus, teach me to serve you as you deserve,
teach me to serve you as my students deserve;
teach me to serve you as my co-workers deserve;
teach me to serve you as my community deserves.
to give and not to count the cost,
even though it’s the last period of the week;
even though it’s the fifth meeting today;
even though it’s my 15 th call from a parent.
to fight and not to heed the wounds,
the wounds to my health;
the wounds to my social life;
the wounds to my pride.
to toil and not to seek for rest,
even when I haven’t seen my family all week;
even when that last student is waiting at the college;
even when I feel like I can’t go on.
to labour and not to ask for any reward,
not even another free period;
not even the teacher of the year award;
not even a bigger paycheque.
but that of knowing that I do your will.
(cf. https://www.ignatianspirituality.com/ignatian-prayer/prayers-by-st-ignatius-
and-others/a-teachers-prayer-for-generosity/)
Conclusion:
Finally, the tips from St Ignatius to be happy are:
Never hate;
Don’t worry;
Live simple;
Expect a little;
Give a lot;
Always smile;
Keep in touch with God.