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Thursday, September 07, 2006

Ignatius of Loyola: Spiritual Exercises

Read the Spiritual Exercises.

Answer the usual 5 questions. To whom was Ignatius writing?

Pick two (2) of Ignatius' rules that you found most interesting and comment on them.

Due: MIDNIGHT, Sunday, Sept. 10

posted by RJS at 2:38 PM

7 Comments:

  • Ignatius of Loyola was speaking as someone who had a religious epiphany and very quickly became very devout to the Catholic church. Reading his words one can feel a sense of fervor and conviction in these rules. The overall message of "Spiritual Exercises" seems to similar to that of the Council of Trent- this is what we, as Catholics, should believe and hold true. One rule I found interesting was the 4th- "To praise much Religious Orders, virginity, continence, and not so much marriage as any of these." This, to me, seems to highlight one of the differences between Catholicism and Protestanism. At this time, Protestants put importance on marriage and the family unit. Another rule I found interesting was the 13th- "To be right in everything, we ought to hold that the white which I see, is black, if the Hierarchial Church so decides it, believing that between Christ our Lord, the Bridegroom, and the Church, HIs Bride, there is the same spirit which governs and directs us for the salvation of our souls. Because be the same spirit and our Lord who gave the ten Commandments, our holy Mother the Church is directed and Governed." At first this seemed rather paradoxical to me, calling Chirst a bridegroom when the de-emphasis on marriage had already been stated. This rule, however, very strongly stated something that had long been in question- the infalliability of the Church. The Council of Trent and "Spiritual Exercises" seem to strongly echo one another in this rule, it reinstates and reaffirms a major Catholic belief.

    By Blogger laura, at Sunday, September 10, 2006 10:49:00 AM  

  • This text was written by Ignatius with the purpose of instructing a new, but soon to be very expansive, order of Catholics, that would get all the way to converting some Japanese clans in the seventeenth century. He was trying to set these rules in a fashion that would not anger Protestants, but perhaps convert some of them back, and was very successful at this task. The text is in an instructive but moderate and sensible tone that tends to work. This is similar to the other instructory documents we have read, but tends to use softer terminology like "should" and "ought to", not quite as domineering. The most interesting rules were:
    Fifth Rule. The fifth: To praise vows of Religion, of obedience, of poverty, of chastity and of other perfections of supererogation. And it is to be noted that as the vow is about the things which approach to Evangelical perfection, a vow ought not to be made in the things which withdraw from it, such as to be a merchant, or to be married, etc.

    This displays a different value system from today, when the parts of the Bible against usury (I assume there are some) are ignored, and one can be a banker and a good Christian. Marriage also takes away from evangelical perfection, but that's just a difference between Protestantism and Catholicism.

    Eighth Rule. To praise the ornaments and the buildings of churches; likewise images, and to venerate them according to what they represent.

    This sounds like there wasn't much of a problem with Iconoclasts at this time, for this is said more strongly than I would suspect for an issue that was in debate at times.

    By Blogger Unknown, at Sunday, September 10, 2006 4:58:00 PM  

  • The first thing which struck me about this document was Ignatius' use of "we." This extremely smart decision puts himself and his readers together on a team, if you will.
    Ignatius takes several points throughout his various rules. Firstly he defends the Catholic faith against Lutheran assertions. He defends indulgences, sacraments, the authority of the church and pope, veneration of the saints, and the role of good works in salvation. This last point he takes to a rather interesting tangent when he addresses the doctrine of predestination in rule 15. "We ought not, by way of custom, to speak much of predestination; but if in soem way and at some times one speaks, let him so speak that the common people may not come into any error, as sometimes happens, saying: Whether I have to be saved or condemned is already determined, and no other thing can now be...." Ignatius' problem with predestination seems not to be a philosophical or intellectual problem (which any Catholic should have) but an almost economic concern as to its effect on the church's reputation. In rule 14, Ignatius actually says "Although there is much truth in the assertion that no one can save himself without being predestined... we must be very cautious in the manner of speaking and communicating with others about all these things." WHAT? Since when would a Catholic defend predestination? Those two rules stuck out as major questions in a group of otherwise generically Catholic guidlines. Based on Ignatius' history, I can find no clear answer. True, he had something of a religous awakening after his adventurous youth, but I was under the impression that he clung strictly to Catholic doctrine.
    Moving past this anomaly, Ignatius seems to be writing to current Catholics (hence "we"), attempting to persuade them of the effectiveness of their own church and to put them on their guard against Protestantism. Well, perhaps this is not quite adequate. He attempts to accomplish the above by giving the people of the Catholic church a set of strict guidelines with which to follow church dogma. This might be called "The Catechism for Dummies."
    Some of Ignatius' assertions bring back to mind Martin Luther's objection in the 95 theses. I noted Ignatius' insistence on scholasticism, studying the bible with guidance, and accepting church doctrine without question.
    Laura made a good point in comparing this to the council of Trent. They both shared a similar purpose- reaffirming the Catholic faith. Apparently, however, Martin Luther did a better job of attacking it.

    By Blogger ThomasBatson, at Sunday, September 10, 2006 5:20:00 PM  

  • Although coming from Ignatius' personal perspective, these Spiritual Exercises were most likely practiced by many Catholics. Ignatius most likely had the intentions of setting these as examples of how Catholics should live, helping Catholics become more morally correct and devout in their faith. The most possible audience would have been members of the Catholic Church. The basic principles of the Spiritual Exercises are praising and respecting church figures, the canons, the Sacraments, religious ceremonies, ect. and conducting yourself with modesty and religious morality. Of course, this document reminds me of every other spiritual document based on moral codes that I've read because it lists off basic rules for what's right and what's wrong.

    Two rather interesting ones:

    [Rule ten] "We ought to be more prompt to find good and praise as well the Constitutions and recommendations as the ways of our Superiors. Because, although some are not or have not been such, to speak against them, whether preaching in public or discoursing before the common people, would rather give rise to fault-finding and scandal than profit; and so the people would be incensed against their Superiors, whether temporal or spiritual. So that, as it does harm to speak evil to the common people of Superiors in their absence, so it can make profit to speak of the evil ways to the persons themselves who can remedy them."
    This would probably have to be the rule I agree with most. Even though it speaks only of talking evil about superiors, the moral of the story is if you permit yourself to talk evil of someone, say it to them so that they are aware and can resolve the issue. Everyone should practice such morals.

    [Rule twelve] "We ought to be on our guard in making comparison of those of us who are alive to the blessed passed away, because error is committed not a little in this; that is to say, in saying, this one knows more than St. Augustine; he is another, or greater than, St. Francis; he is another St. Paul in goodness, holiness, etc."
    This one is just funny. It's very tedious that someone could say it is good practice not to compare one's people to saints.

    By Blogger TeganLove, at Sunday, September 10, 2006 7:27:00 PM  

  • Ignatius of Loyola wrote "Spiritual Exercises" to lay out the rules of the Catholic church for those converting back to Catholosism. The main idea of these rules is similar to what was discussed in the Council of Trent. The Church figures out what they truly believe and lays it out for Catholics to follow. One rule I found interesting was the 8th- "To praise the ornaments and the buildings of churches; likewise images, and to venerate them according to what they represent."
    This seems to contradict what is going on at the time. This issue of praising objects was being debated and yet Iganatius says it as though it's been happening all along. Another rule I found interesting was the 15th- "We ought not, by way of custom, to speak much of predestination; but if in some way and at some times one speaks, let him so speak that the common people may not come into any error, as sometimes happens, saying: Whether I have to be saved or condemned is already determined, and no other thing can now be, through my doing well or ill; and with this, growing lazy, they become negligent in the works which lead to the salvation and the spiritual profit of their souls." This seems as though the Church is trying to hide the fact that they believe in predestination. Also, the Church is afraid the common people will stop participating in services if they know they are destined for Heaven.

    By Blogger taylor, at Sunday, September 10, 2006 7:57:00 PM  

  • Ignatius seems to be addressing members of the Catholic church, and more specifically long standing members rather than particularly new ones. His manner of speaking makes his motivation for writing apparent: to outline the mindset of a good Catholic that will not only obey the church, but will in turn gain converts and keep the laity. He speaks of being careful with words so as not to put, say, predestination into the minds of others so that they become lazy. There is alternating fervor and reluctance which seems to be a sort of psychological cocktail to gain some Protestants back by the actions of the laity rather than authority. This is a switch of gears by the church, putting power into the hands of the people rather than solely the authority figures, but it is abruptly cancelled out by the unquestioning nature of the pamphlet. I would compare its paradoxes to the building of a Communist state, except entirely built upon religion: if the illusion of some sort of personal power is put up, the laity is more likely to accept the ultimate authority of the church. The most religious of the Spiritual Excercises are, in my opinion:
    Eighteenth Rule. Although serving God our Lord much out of pure love is to be esteemed above all; we ought to praise much the fear of His Divine Majesty, because not only filial fear is a thing pious and most holy, but even servile fear -- when the man reaches nothing else better or more useful -- helps much to get out of mortal sin. And when he is out, he easily comes to filial fear, which is all acceptable and grateful to God our Lord: as being at one with the Divine Love.
    I think there is some truth to this. I'm sure the fear of god is, to some extent, residing in the hearts of all who believe in him, but Ignatius addresses two levels of fear: filial (in the nature of a son or daughter), or servile fear, the first one most likely meaning, in this context, the fear that comes with the respect you hold for someone that has accepted you, and the second being the desparate fear one holds for want of being accepted. And as mentioned in the quote and agreed to by Machiavelli, the latter fear will be obeyed and in this context will more likely convice someone to discipline himself.

    Fifth Rule. The fifth: To praise vows of Religion, of obedience, of poverty, of chastity and of other perfections of supererogation. And it is to be noted that as the vow is about the things which approach to Evangelical perfection, a vow ought not to be made in the things which withdraw from it, such as to be a merchant, or to be married, etc.

    This actually confuses me a bit. I understand the conflict between the Protestant views of marriage and the Catholic views, but what about a vow to be a merchant? As I see it, the Catholic church at the time was a little more tolerant of all things material, and surely it hopped on the bandwagon to trade with itself during the age of exploration in the new world, to pay off debts and whatnot. It seems a bit hypocritical.
    I think Thomas had a concern, that Ignatius was defending predestination in one of his rules, but he wasn't really. It was one of those reluctance things, to appear tolerant or indifferent when really just not wanting the mess of having to address it and put out into the open for people to debate on and maybe convert to Protestantism.

    By Blogger Victoria, at Sunday, September 10, 2006 8:36:00 PM  

  • Ignatius of Loyola wrote to his Jesuits inorder to inform them how they should act. The main idea was pretty much how to lead the ideal Christian life as a Jesuit. He mentions what all they should praise, what things they should practice, and how they should think. Ignatius of Loyola was writing this document as a set of guidelines on how to have a Christian life style. However, though widely accepted I'm sure, these were what he thought made a good Christian. This reminds me a lot of the first piece we read that told how to be a good coutier. A list of the expectations and guidlines that one should fulfill if they wish to be a good Christian, or courtier.

    "Fourth Rule. The fourth: To praise much Religious Orders, virginity and continence, and not so much marriage as any of these." This shows the lack of importance placed on marriage as opposed to the great emphasis on home life represented in the protestant beliefs.

    "Fourteenth Rule. Although there is much truth in the assertion that no one can save himself without being predestined and without having faith and grace; we must be very cautious in the manner of speaking and communicating with others about all these things." This shows that they are still careful about upsetting people, or maybe they wanted to stay in good favor with people by not bringing up subjects that invoke so much debate.

    By Blogger manxomefoe, at Sunday, September 10, 2006 10:36:00 PM  

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