Ignatian Spirituality

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Ignatian Spirituality

• By Calin Radoi, Andrew Trares

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Eastern Orthodox Hesychasm Prayer
By Theodore Cherpas
By Ted Cherpas
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Catholicism 102

• katholikos - (Greek) universal
• kath' holou - on the whole
• Term was first used by St. Ignatius of Antioch in
  his Letter to the Smyrnæans "Where the bishop is
  to be seen, there let all his people be just as
  wherever Jesus Christ is present, we have the
  catholic Church
• katholike ekklesia - Catholic Church

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Catholicism 102

• John Carroll First bishop of the hierarchy of
  the United States of America, first Bishop and
  Archbishop of Baltimore
• Catholics cross differently then Eastern Orthodox
  Christians
• Over 10,000 beatified saints out of which 5271
  are Patron Saints

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What Is Eastern Orthodoxy?

• Isnt that like Jewish or something?
• Well, no.
• A brief history lesson

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I BelieveIn One Holy Catholic And Apostolic
Church

• In the beginning, there was one Christian Church.
• Over the years, sectional rifts grew in the
  Church
• Latin Western Catholicism vs. Greek/Byzantine
  Eastern Orthodoxy

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I BelieveIn One Holy Catholic And Apostolic
Church

• Disputes arose over papal authority and the
  content of the Nicene Creed
• Trinity Doctrine Questions Does the Holy Spirit
  proceed from the Father and the Son or just the
  Father?
• Other causes involved were cultural/political
  tensions growing in the church
• The Bottom Line The Church spilt in 1054. (Ware
  43-44).

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Who is Ignatius Loyola?
(Ignacio (Íñigo) López de Loyola)

• December 24 1491 July 31, 1556
• Basque
• Founder and first Superior General of the Society
  Of Jesus
• Compiler of the Spiritual Exercises
• Patron saint of Guipúzoca as well as of the
  Society Of Jesus.

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Life of Loyola

• Born at the castle of Loyola near Azpeitia, 16
  miles southwest of San Sebastian in the Basque
  province of Guipúzcoa, Spain.
• In 1506, Íñigo became a page in the service of a
  relative, Juan Velázquez de Cuéllar, treasurer
  (contador mayor) of the kingdom of Castile.

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Life of Loyola

• In 1517, Íñigo took service in the army,
  defending the small town of Pamplona against the
  recently expelled (1512) Navarrese monarchy
• One leg wounded, the other broken by a
  cannonball, Ignatius was returned to his castle
  by the Navarrese.

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• Now that we have an idea of where St. Ignatius
  came from, lets talk about the spiritual
  practices of the Orthodox Church

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The Efche (The Prayer)

• Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy upon me
  a sinner.
• Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy upon us
  sinners.
• Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy upon
  that guy over there.
• -Now Repeat-
• -A lot-
• -Thats the whole thing-

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Are You Serious?

• In a wordyes.
• To the average person, Hesychasm prayer may seem
  dull, tedious, and pointless to put it politely.
• Yet the Orthodox Church firmly believes that
  continuous recitation of this prayer leads to
  powerful spiritual development (Rossi Online).
• For all you non-believers, lets talk about
  Kyriacos Markides

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Kyriacos Markides

• Markides was a Greek Orthodox believer who came
  to the U.S. to become a sociologist.
• During his studies, he eventually renounced his
  religion and became an agnostic.
• Later on, a colleague exposed him to Indian
  traditions of yoga.

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Kyriacos Markides

• After experiencing the power of yoga, he returned
  to Greece to see if his previous conclusions
  about Eastern Orthodoxy were wrong too (Markides
  2-3).
• He was allowed to spend time on Mount Athos, a
  holy mountain of Orthodox monks who devote their
  lives to finding God (Markides 5).
• While on Mt. Athos, he learned about Elder
  Paisios

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Elder Paisios The LeBron James of the Efche

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Elder Paisios

• Elder Paisios was a modern living saint.
• In The Mountain of Silence, Markides recorded
  many accounts of Elder Paisios abilities
  including healing terminally ill people without
  ever seeing them.
• Paisios was said to have the ability of
  bi-location (be at two places at once) although
  Paisios himself denied this.
• Paisios was able to communicate with animals and
  even befriend them.

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Elder Paisios

• Paisios reported to frequently be subject to
  visits from other saints who had already passed
  on, the Mother of God, and Christ himself
  appeared to Paisios on occasion (and spoke to
  him.)
• During Desert Storm, Paisios locked himself in
  his cell and prayed so the conflict would not
  escalate out of control. Markides asked if
  Paisios prayer really affected the outcome of
  the war. Markides spiritual advisor (not
  Paisios) scolded Markides for asking such a
  stupid question. Do you really think Paisios
  would waste his time if it didnt work?

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Elder Paisios

• The most extreme display of Paisios power came
  upon the death of a young, sinful monk. The
  monks elder begged Paisios to pray with him for
  the salvation of his pupils condemned soul.
  Paisios agreed and together they prayed for the
  pupils salvation. Hearing their prayers, God
  gave them ability to pull the monk out of Hell
  and send him to Heaven (which they did). The
  monks elder praised Paisios for his spiritual
  ability, although Paisios demanded that all
  credit be given to God.

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JesuitsWho are they, what do they do?

• Society created to fight the Reformation with
  knowledge.
• Regimini militantis ecclesiae - was the papal
  bull promulgated by Pope Paul III on September
  27, 1540, which gave final approval to the
  formation of the Society of Jesus.
• Ignatius Loyola had made his way to Rome in
  October, 1538, to have the pope approve the
  constitution of his new order.

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Jesuits Who are they, what do they do?

• Saint Francis Borgia, depicted performing an
  exorcism, served as the third Superior General.

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How Does The Prayer Work?

• The concept comes from St. Pauls command for
  incessant prayer.
• The power of the prayer rests on the actual name
  of Christ. In Biblical times, to know someone
  name was to have power over them. Through the
  Incarnation, Jesus gave us access to the divine
  by taking on a name.
• The sacred time of the prayer transforms every
  other moment of the day into sacred time as well.

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Practice of Hesychasm

• The Key is repetition with meaning (Savin
  239-240).
• Meaning is defined as spiritual humility which
  is defined as making sure you focus on Christ and
  not on your own spiritual condition.
• Prayer should be continuous, as automatic as
  breathing, but simultaneously as meaningful as
  any other kind of meditation. It will eventually
  lead a person to peace and inner grace (Rossi
  Online).

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Practice of Hesychasm

• Beginners usually consult a spiritual father and
  set aside special times for prayer.
• Generally, a komboschini, or prayer rope, is used
  to maintain consistency. However, it is by no
  means required (Markides 201).
• Ideally, reciting of the prayer will eventually
  be internalized so it becomes second nature
  (Markides 194).
• The key is saying the prayer sincerely (Tsichils
  Online).

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Principles and Foundations

• Human beings are created to praise, reverence and
  serve God our Lord, and by means of this to save
  their souls.
• The other things on the face of the earth are
  created for human beings, to help them toward the
  end for which they are created.
• From this it follows that I should use these
  things to the extent that they help me toward my
  end, and rid myself of them to the extent that
  they hinder me.

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Principles and Foundations Part 2

• To do this, I must make myself indifferent to
  all created things, in regard to everything that
  is left to my freedom of will and is not
  forbidden. Consequently, on my own part, I ought
  not to seek health rather than sickness, wealth
  rather than poverty, honor rather than dishonor,
  a long life rather than a short one, and so on in
  all other matters.
• I ought to desire and elect only the thing which
  is more conducive to the end for which I am
  created.

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Ignatian Spiritual Exercises

• Start every time with a prayer thanking God for
  your inspiration.
• Read a passage from the Holy Bible.
• Reflect on that passage, but think on it as
  though it was not religious, but a part of your
  daily life.
• Spend some time thinking about it.
• Close with a prayer thanking God for giving you
  the time to do the exercise.

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Ignatian Spiritual Exercises(The Director)

• Much like other religious practices, the
  exercises are supposed to be not led, but shared
  with a certain person.
• A spiritual director is someone who you talk to
  after reflecting on a weeks worth of exercises.

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Bibliography

• http//www.bc.edu/offices/mission/exploring/cathol
  icism/mcbrien_intro/
• http//bogners.typepad.com/church/2004/05/principl
  es_and_.html
• http//www.catholic-forum.com/SAINTS/indexsnt.htm
• http//images.google.com/imgres?imgurlhttp//imag
  es.amazon.com/images/P/0829419799.01.LZZZZZZZ.jpg
  imgrefurlhttp//www.amazon.ca/exec/obidos/ASIN/08
  29419799h475w307sz35hlenstart12tbnidZ0
  d-b1XmrC3j4Mtbnh129tbnw83prev/images3Fq3D
  Ignatian2BSpiritual2BExercises2B26svnum3D102
  6hl3Den26lr3D26safe3Doff26sa3DG

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Bibliography

• Markides, Kyriacos. The Mountain of Silence. New
  York Image, 2002.
• Rossi, Albert. Saying the Jesus Prayer. 2006.
  Accessed 12 October 2006. ndex.php?optioncom_contenttaskviewid140Itemi
  d116up1
• Savin, Olga. The Way of the Pilgrim. Boston
  Shambhala Publications, 2001.
• Tsichils, Steven. The Jesus Prayer. 2003.
  Accessed 12 October 2006. org/print/en/ourfaith/article7104.ASP2
• Ware, Timothy. The Orthodox Church. London,
  England Penguin Books, 1997.
• 1 Doctor Rossi is a professor at St.
  Vladimirs Seminary.
• 2 Steven Tsichils is involved with the Greek
  Orthodox Archdiocese of Pittsburgh.