“The spirit of Ignatius of Loyola inspires our common work and commitment to one another.” This is part of the commitment staff has made to each other at Loyola Spirituality Center.
At different points in Ignatius’ Spiritual Exercises, he invites retreatants to reflect on the nature of the world’s history and to see the parallels with today. A world driven by the pursuit of power, money, and control versus a world drawn to love. A world filled with lies and deceit versus the truth. A world filled with selfishness and self-centeredness versus the common good.
I was privileged to travel to the country of Turkey recently. There are ruins there that go back to 4,000 B.C. across 4 different civilizations, including the Roman and Byzantine empires. There were so many visible accomplishments in all of them. And yet to see that they all came and went, regardless of their power and might. And in all of it, human nature does not seem to have changed much. It was humbling. The Gospels invite us to create a world based on our best selves and not our worst. To notice, name, and cooperate with God already at work transforming this world. Are we awake enough to see it even when there are so many challenges? Spiritual direction is all about that adventure.