Pastoral and Spiritual Ministries

IGNATIAN SPIRITUALITY 
GOD WORKING IN THE WORLD

Before he was founder of the Jesuits, St. Ignatius of Loyola was a war-wounded soldier. The year 1521 found him recovering at his home (Loyola) 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 a manual called the Spiritual Exercises. They would become the foundations of Ignatian spirituality.

Ignatian 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 and the world. This is how we "find God in all things."

St. Ignatius was committed to laboring with Jesus Christ. 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, promptly respond to God's call, and become partners with Christ in his mission.

These are some of the hallmarks of Ignatian spirituality. They are expressed in Ignatius' Spiritual Exercises and the Constitutions of the Society of Jesus and animate every ministry of the Society of Jesus.

Ignatian Spirituality is much more than a characteristic of the Society of Jesus. Rather, it is a gift to the whole Church. Popes throughout the years have encouraged the Jesuits to bring the "worldly spirituality" of Ignatius to others, especially to laity. Ignatius was a layman when he wrote and first gave the Exercises. His spirituality, his way to God, is especially suited to those who are steeped in the busy-ness of the world because it is precisely there, in all things, where we encounter God. Benedict XVI, at the the 35th General Congregation of the Jesuits held in Rome the spring of 2008, again encouraged Jesuits and their colleagues to spread this "gift" of the Exercises.

Everything that is done in the name of the Society of Jesus has Ignatian spirituality at its center. Pastoral and Spiritual ministries are the formal, institutional methods of communicating the gift of the Exercises to others. Following, you will find the Ignatian spirituality ministries of the Missouri Province: parishes, retreat houses, and spirituality centers.