“Go forth and set the world on fire." ( St Ignatius of Loyola.) The Ignatian Year began on May 20, 2021 “ it was the 500th anniversary of Ãñigo López de Loyola, the soldier, being injured by a cannon ball in the Battle of Pamplona and it was also the 400th anniversary of the canonization of St. Ignatius Loyola and St. Francis Xavier.
The theme for the Ignatian Year was: “To see all things new in Christ.” It was a cannon ball that hit and injured Ignatius’ leg and while he was recuperating in the Castle of Loyola, his life took a new direction. Certain events led to Ignatius finding God in a novel way. It is believed that great things came from Ignatius’ shattered leg and this left a legacy not only for Christendom but for the world.
Formation of the
Society of Jesus (SJ)
Ignatius was a worldly man, full of ambitions for glory and fame but after his injury he turned his energy towards serving God. He began to seek ways to be of service to others. We wanted others to discover God just as he had done so; knowing this was the only way towards living a transformed life.
During his studies, Ignatius was on the lookout for energetic young men to join him in his mission. Those he managed to rope in marched ahead sacrificing their own worldly selves to unitedly work to give Christ to the world. Gradually, Ignatius gained tremendous followers who believed in the teaching of Jesus Christ.
By 1540 Ignatius of Loyola formed the ‘Society of Jesus’ (SJ) along with six companions with the approval of Pope Paul III. Ignatius was the first Superior General of the Society. Today, the Society of Jesus is led by Superior General Arturo Sosa SJ and has its headquarters and General Curia located in Rome.
The Society of Jesus, also known as ‘The Jesuits’, is a major religious order of the Catholic Church across the world, specializing in service to humanity and imparting quality education to the young.
Since the founder of the Jesuits was a nobleman, members of the Society of Jesus were expected to go anywhere in the world to serve as God’s soldiers for the propagation of the faith and for the progress of souls in the spiritual life.
St Ignatius of Loyola and
The Spiritual Exercises
One of the main tools of the Jesuits is the Spiritual Exercises written by St. Ignatius. The Spiritual Exercises are a series of directed meditations on the purpose of life through contemplations on the life of Jesus Christ and have been composed to help follow the teachings of Jesus as the center of the retreatant’s life.
For better coordination and understanding of the Spiritual Exercises, the retreatant can have a Spiritual Director who will guide the individual according to the needs of the individual by offering him specific exercises to enable to help him to discern his/her love for Christ.
Today, Jesuits are spread all over the world and along with their collaborators are involved in various works like running educational institutions, research centres, counseling centres, evangelizing, being engaged in cultural pursuits, retreats, gospel choirs, religious workshops, orientations, helping the downtrodden, the marginalized, involved in hospital ministries, running parishes, etc.
Through their varied ministries the Jesuits ensure care for the whole person - body, mind and soul.
The Goa Jesuit Province
The mission of the Goa Jesuit Province is to send Jesuits to proclaim a faith that does Justice, to promote love and fosters human communities imbibed with the values of God’s Kingdom.
The need of the hour is to save our planet, and so Jesuits through their educational institutions in Goa, have stepped up awareness on nature and protection of the environment. They do this through initiatives in their educational institutions to ensure that the message is imbibed by the students.
The Jesuit connect with Goa goes back many centuries, with Francis Xavier, one of the original companions of Ignatius arriving in Goa on May 6, 1542 when the latter was under the Portuguese rule, to carry out evangelical work in the Indies.
Xavier spent his first few months preaching and ministering to the sick. He was soon invited to head St Paul’s College at Old Goa, a pioneer seminary for the education of diocesan priests. This was the first Jesuit headquarters in Asia.
The St Paul’s College and Asia’s first printing press was established at Old Goa in 1556.
Currently, the Jesuits of the Goa Province, that comprises parts of Karnataka and Maharashtra is headed by an energetic Provincial.
The Magis
A popular and familiar word among the Jesuits is the word “Magis”. The word 'Magis”, means 'more'. Taken from 'Ad Majorem Dei Gloriam,' a Latin phrase meaning "All for the greater glory of God", ‘Magis’ refers to the axiom of doing ‘more’ for Christ and therefore for others. It is an expression of aspiration and inspiration centered on Jesus Christ.
Keeping the word Magis in mind the Jesuits are involved in various apostolic works and are mostly remembered for their missionary and educational works.
Higher education has been synonymous with the Society of Jesus. The founding members of the Society, be it Ignatius or Francis Xavier were all University educated right from the beginning. When the Society was founded on September 27, 1540, Ignatius stressed on a rigorous academic formation for all those who desired to become Jesuits.
(The writer teaches Computers at Loyola High School, Margao)
