GOD WORKING IN THE WORLD

Before he was to be founder of the Jesuits, St. Ignatius of Loyola was a war-wounded soldier. The year 1521 found him recovering at his home in northern Spain from grave injuries suffered during the battle of Pamplona. Those many months of convalescence proved to be a journey of healing not just for his body but also for his soul. Ignatius documented his conversion experience in letters, an autobiography and manual called the Spiritual Exercises. They would become the foundations of Ignatian spirituality.

This spirituality is deeply rooted in becoming more aware of God working in our daily experience. By paying attention, especially to God's workings in our inner selves, we can begin to discern where the spirits of light or darkness may be leading us. We become more aware of God’s working presence and more attentive to His hopes and desires for us. This is how we "find God in all things."

St. Ignatius was also committed to laboring with Jesus Christ carrying the Cross. He understood that God is an active God, ever at work in people’s lives. We are called to be attentive to this active God and promptly respond.

These are some of the hallmarks of Ignatian Spirituality. It is expressed in the arts, forms of prayer, Interreligious dialogue, the Spiritual Exercises and the Constitutions of the Society of Jesus written by St. Ignatius and approved by Pope Paul IV in 1558.

The Spirituality of St. Ignatius Loyola animates every ministry of the Society of Jesus—schools, parishes, retreat houses, spirituality centers, centers for social justice, and mission work to the Greater Glory of God (AMDG).

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