Desiring and Being Desired by Christ: Sebastian Moore’s Notion of Desire in Dialogue with Ignatian Spirituality

2018 ◽  
Vol 136 (3) ◽  
pp. 148-164
Author(s):  
Teresa Messias

This article explores the Christian theological work of Sebastian Moore O.S.B. and his notion of human desire as the existential point of impact or subjective dynamics where a human being may discover a call to communion in Love, a presence of the Creating God himself as hidden source of joy and fulfilment, attracting a person to his or her ultimate meaning. Human desire is, in its deepest reality, the emergent presence of the Self as gift. This gift is attracted, oriented, healed and liberated by the presence of Jesus and the discipleship that he awakes in every one of those to whom he revels himself as the Loving other. Desire is, therefore, considered an ontological and theological via to access and undergo the transformative three-phased process of union to God or divinization, following Jesus’ destiny: an awakening, an emptying and a fulfilling of desire. A conscious and consented transformative union ( théosis) may occur, in desire, between God and a human person. Moore’s Christian spiritual itinerary of transformation of human desire is, in a second moment, paralleled with the experience of prayer and transformation that are the Spiritual Exercises of Saint Ignatius of Loyola. We draw attention to the fact that the Christian spiritual itinerary exposed in Moore’s theology of desire is strikingly interlocked with the structure and key theological moments of the Ignatian Spiritual Exercises.

2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (4) ◽  
pp. 27
Author(s):  
Michael Barnes SJ

This article considers the theme of discernment in the tradition of Ignatian spirituality emanating from the Spiritual Exercises of St Ignatius of Loyola (1491-1556), the founder of the Society of Jesus (Jesuits). After a brief introduction which addresses the central problematic of bad influences that manifest themselves as good, the article turns to the life and work of two Jesuits, the 16th C English missionary to India, Thomas Stephens and the 20th C French historian and cultural critic, Michel de Certeau. Both kept up a constant dialogue with local culture in which they sought authenticity in their response to ‘events’, whether a hideous massacre which shaped the pastoral commitment and writing of Stephens in the south of the Portuguese enclave of Goa or the 1968 student-led protests in Paris that so much affected the thinking of de Certeau. Very different in terms of personal background and contemporary experience, they both share in a tradition of discernment as a virtuous response to what both would understand as the ‘wisdom of the Spirit’ revealed in their personal interactions with ‘the other’.


2009 ◽  
Vol 26 (2) ◽  
pp. 192-213 ◽  
Author(s):  
Catherine Mooney

AbstractThis essay examines the life of Ignatius of Loyola (c. 1491–1556), founder of the Society of Jesus [Jesuits], whose religious experience defined the contours of Ignatian spirituality. Through an exploration of foundational documents such as Ignatius's “autobiography,” the Spiritual Exercises, the Jesuits' Constitutions, and early Jesuit writings, this essay shows how the diversity of early Jesuit ministries – as spiritual guides, opponents of Protestantism, schoolteachers, and missionaries to lands outside Europe – can be subsumed under the single rubric of “apostolic mission.” Constitutive features of Ignatian spirituality impinging upon the Jesuit notion of and concrete practice of apostolic mission included the priority of prayer, the Trinitarian missio Dei, the positive embrace of creation and culture, a commitment to seek God in all things, go wherever others needed help, form them to help others, and choose ministries according to what most served the universal good. These principles, not always realized in actual Jesuit ministries, prove useful today for theorists and practitioners of Christian mission. Cet article examine la vie d'Ignace de Loyola (c. 1491–1556), fondateur de la Société de Jésus (Jésuites), dont l'expérience religieuse a défini les contours de la spiritualité ignatienne. A travers l'exploration de documents fondamentaux tels que la « biographie » d'Ignace, les Exercices spirituels, les Constitutions des Jésuites et les premiers écrits jésuites, l'article montre comment la diversité des premiers ministères jésuites – comme guides spirituels, opposants au Protestantisme, enseignants et missionnaires vers des terres hors de l'Europe – peut être rassemblée sous la rubrique unique de « mission apostolique ». Les traits constitutifs de la spiritualité ignatienne qui eurent des répercussions sur la notion et la pratique jésuite de la mission apostolique comprenaient la priorité de la prière, la missio Dei trinitaire, l'accueil positif de la création et de la culture, un engagement à chercher Dieu en toutes choses, à aller partout où il y avait besoin d'aide, à former à aider les autres, et à choisir les ministères en fonction de ce qui contribuait le plus au bien universel. Ces principes, pas toujours réalisés dans l'exercice des ministères jésuites, sont encore utiles aujourd'hui aux théoriciens et praticiens de la mission chrétienne. Dieser Artikel untersucht das Leben Ignatius von Loyolas (1491–1556), dem Gründer der Gesellschaft Jesu (Jesuiten), dessen religiöse Erfahrung die Konturen der ignatianischen Spiritualität bestimmt hat. Durch eine Untersuchung der Gründungsdokumente wie der ,,Autobiografie“ des Ignatius, der Geistlichen Übungen, der Konstitutionen der Jesuiten und früher jesuitischer Schriften zeigt dieser Artikel, wie die Vielfalt der frühen jesuitischen Dienste – als spirituelle Leiter, Gegner des Protestantismus, Lehrer und Missionare außerhalb Europas – unter der einen Rubrik ,,apostolische Mission“ zusammengefasst werden kann. Grundlegende Züge der ignatianischen Spiritualität, die das Verständnis und die konkrete Praxis der apostolischen Mission beeinflussen, schlossen den Vorrang des Gebets ein sowie die trinitarische missio Dei, einen positiven Zugang zu Schöpfung und Kultur, die Hingabe Gott in allen Dingen zu suchen, dorthin zu gehen wo andere Hilfe brauchten, sie auszubilden, damit sie anderen helfen können und jene Dienste zu wählen, die das höhere Gut am meisten förderten. Diese Prinzipien, die nicht immer in den aktuellen jesuitischen Diensten umgesetzt werden, erweisen sich heute als nützlich für Theoretiker und Praktiker der christlichen Mission. Este ensayo examina la vida de Ignacio de Loyola (c. 1491–1556), fundador de la Compañía de Jesús [jesuitas], cuya experiencia religiosa define los parámetros de su espiritualidad. A través de un análisis de documentos fundacionales, tales como la “autobiografía” de Ignacio de Loyola, los Ejercicios espirituales, Constituciones de la Compañía y otros escritos de los primeros tiempos jesuíticos, este ensayo señala cómo la diversidad de los ministerios de los jesuitas en su etapa inicial – directores espirituales, opositores del protestantismo, maestros de escuelas y misioneros a lugares fuera de Europa- puede clasificarse bajo la categoría de “misión apostólica.” Elementos importantes de la espiritualidad de Ignacio de Loyola que inciden en la noción y la práctica concreta de la misión apostólica jesuítica incluyen la prioridad de la oración, la missio Dei trinitaria, el aceptar la creación y la cultura, el compromiso de buscar a Dios en todas las cosas, ir a donde otros necesitan ayuda, proveer instrucción sobre cómo ayudar a otros y elegir ministerios que sean más beneficiosos para el bien universal. Estos principios, no siempre presentes en el ministerio actual de los jesuitas, hoy resultan útiles para los teóricos y prácticos de la misión cristiana.


2021 ◽  
Vol 76 (4) ◽  
pp. 1425-1450
Author(s):  
M. Ross Romero

John F. Kavanaugh and W. Norris Clarke, two twentieth-century Jesuits, contributed to philosophy through their development of a Thomistic and personalist view of reality emphasizing the human endowments of knowing, freely choosing, and loving. While spiritual exercises played a role in the formation of both Jesuits, the function of spiritual exercises in their own philosophy has not been explored. Recent interest in philosophy as a way of life provides a means by which this can be accomplished. In their work Michel Foucault and Pierre Hadot have shown how spiritual exercises function in the formation of the self and in the acquisition of a synoptic vision that allows contemplation of one’s participation in the whole. This paper shows that while Kavanaugh primarily uses spiritual exercises in his philosophy to accomplish a disciplinary/formational aim Clarke’s aim is dialogical/exploratory. A brief examination of the Spiritual Exercises of Ignatius of Loyola reveals how these different aims in fact complement one another.


2021 ◽  
Vol 53 (2) ◽  
pp. 397
Author(s):  
André Brouillette

The Pneumatology of the Spiritual Exercises of St Ignatius of Loyola is famously discreet. However, other Ignatian authors give the Holy Spirit a central place in their spirituality. This article analyzes the Pneumatological contribution of Louis Lallemant’s Spiritual Doctrine to Ignatian spirituality, in dialogue with the Spiritual Exercises. Anchored in the guidance of the Holy Spirit, this spiritual teaching advocates a docility to the Spirit nurtured by the “guard over the heart” and an on-going responsiveness to the Spirit’s promptings. The “second conversion” promoted by Lallemant to his hearers is revealed as a Pneumatological event. It nonetheless conforms the believer to Christ, acknowledging the Christological focus of Ignatian Spirituality, while expanding its Pneumatological dimension. KEYWORDS: Spiritual Exercises. Pneumatological. Louis Lallemant. Spiritual Doctrine.


Author(s):  
Deepak Tirkey

The Bhagavad Gita like the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius of Loyola leading to spiritual enrichment points out of a meeting of heart and mind between two texts. The essence of the spirituality of the Bhagavad Gita, like the spirituality of Ignatius is the vision of God. Its spirituality is oriented towards God above the world as well as within it. Both texts offer a parallel insight for deep and authentic happiness building up a life towards God and in God. Even though the Bhagavad Gita and the Spiritual Exercises play different qualitative rolls in its own traditions, both agree that only those who have God above the visible world are able to experience God vice-versa. The quest to have God experience is an exercise involving conscious effort and constant attentiveness.


Author(s):  
Natalia Marandiuc

In conversation with Kierkegaard, the chapter argues that human and divine loves interweave to cocreate the self. Referring to Plato’s thought that love is a union between need and desire, the chapter suggests that underneath the gospel commandment to love one’s neighbor as oneself, which channels human desire, lies a powerful need for love. It is argued that Kierkegaard’s bilayered theological anthropology corresponds to his theology of love whereby universal love for human beings forms a ground from which preferential loves grow and gives birth to human subjectivity through the Spirit’s mediation. The chapter distinguishes between universal neighbor love, which Kierkegaard counts as Kantian duty, and particular love attachments, which home the self and anchor its freedom. Kierkegaard inherits from Scotus the framework of dovetailing human and divine loves and uses it to portray one’s love for God as a letter sent with a forwarding address to another human being.


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