Understanding “Ignatian Spirituality”
First, let us remember that Ignatian spirituality is a spirituality of discernment, of choice. We meditate on the Word of God for decisive and important decisions in our lives. This spirituality is rooted in the Word of God, which touches our lives, allowing us to converse with God as a friend speaks to a friend. God created, forgives, accepts, and loves us unconditionally. He calls us to unite with Him. He is active in the world and our lives. His creation is good and reflects His presence. Thus, we must revere Him through charity, service, and contemplation.
Ignatian spirituality engages us in the world by encouraging us to bear witness to our faith and our joy of believing alongside our brothers and sisters. It forges in us a personal love for Jesus and devotion to the Church through commitment to the well-being of our fellow human beings, especially those on the peripheries of society.
We are called to pray and discern continually, not forgetting that God deals directly with each person individually, respecting their freedom. God is distinct from His creation, which serves as a means for the love and service of God and others. We are also called to free ourselves from disordered attachments to things created and focus on the love of God while distinguishing divine action from the distractions that undermine freedom and love.
Ignatian spirituality is also a Eucharistic and Trinitarian spirituality: the Father sends us with the Son into the world, guided by the Holy Spirit.
A Viewpoint on Ignatian Spirituality in Today’s World…
Ignatian spirituality is practised by many men and women in the world today. It helps many people to unite with God in everyday life. It is an essential means of Christian spiritual experience. It remains relevant in religious life to such an extent that many Institutes of Consecrated Life and pious associations identify with it.
…and in my Mission with the Charism of our Apostolic Society
Our charism is identified by three fundamental principles: mission, dialogue and communion. It is characterised in particular by a spirituality of mission with a special passion for the African world, both on the African continent and in other continents, through prophetic witness in commitments to Justice, Peace, and the Integrity of Creation. A spirituality of communion also characterises our charism through living in a prophetic community and a dialogue of life and even theology with Muslims and Christians of other Churches.
I draw on elements of Ignatian spirituality, such as discernment and the search for divine action, in all my experiences and daily life to live out my life as a Missionary of Africa.
The daily practice of self-examination enables me to distinguish the unfolding of divine grace from distractions, thereby uniting myself more closely with God by being aware of my state of mind at all times. This exercise enables me to contemplate divine grace in my brothers and sisters with whom I live and interact daily. As a Eucharistic and Trinitarian spirituality, Ignatian spirituality strengthens my love of God and my commitment to the sacrificial following of Christ.
Examples of where Ignatian spirituality has played a key role
By way of example, I would like to share my faith in the divine action in men and women, regardless of their religious orientation. As a missionary in the parish, I collaborated with Muslims and non-believers towards the realisation of social projects for health and education within the Church of Kasongo. I have even accepted being accommodated by a Muslim family more than once during my parish pastoral tours.
In my current role of accompanying aspiring missionaries, I apply the principles of discernment outlined by Saint Ignatius in training young people, especially at pivotal moments in their life orientation.
The bicentenary of Lavigerie and the possibility of speaking of a “Lavigerian spirituality”
Cardinal Lavigerie undoubtedly drew inspiration from the Holy Spirit to initiate the mission thousands of men and women carried out in the African world, primarily through the Society of Missionaries of Africa and the Congregation of the Missionary Sisters of Our Lady of Africa. In this regard, we could speak of “Lavigerian spirituality” because our two Institutes, although living Ignatian spirituality, have unique characteristics in the application of Ignatian exercises, as guided by the guidelines of missionary life established by Lavigerie, our founder.
We live by the specific directives of Lavigerie, such as “being crazy about Christ” and “making ourselves all things to all men”. This is how we justify our presence in the existential peripheries. Lavigerie always insisted that we have a team spirit, which justifies the diverse composition of our communities (interculturality) and also the primacy of community life in our missionary life.
Lavigerie wanted the Blessed Virgin Mary to occupy an important place in our missionary life. Thus, we are known for our devotion to Mary, Our Lady of Africa: the men wear the rosary as their insignia, and the women have Our Lady of Africa in the very name of their congregation.
However, to speak of a typically Lavigerian spirituality, there is still the challenge of formally grouping Lavigerie’s spiritual directives, a process that began with the celebration of the bicentenary of Lavigerie’s birth with meditations on the experiences of Lavigerie’s own life as a man of faith and founder of our two missionary institutes
Integrating prayer into my daily activities
My daily life is given rhythm by personal and community prayer. My current ministry of being present in the House of Formation allows me to maintain a regular prayer life. I thank God for giving me the opportunity to work in a structured environment where everything goes according to established timetables. I have the joy of sharing various moments of spiritual life with aspirants and my confreres on the formation team and with other community members.
By: Bertin Bouda, M.Afr.