unfinished
OK, NOW THIS MAKES ME VERY NERVOUS!
and I am trying to be remain open and be faithful , trusting that God protects and guides His Church....I know He protects the Church from teaching error! But I also know that some generations have had to live through difficult times when corruption runs rampant through thru the shepherds and hierarchy in the Church and even scandalous popes....
This is the website of the Jesuit Headquarters over all the Jesuit Provinces nd all the Jesuits of the ENTIRE World! And after reading one PAGE of a pdf on part of Ignation Spirituality and just glancing over topics, I am becoming alarmed. BeforeI consciously toned it down, my first sentence was,
OK, NOW I AM SCARED!
the rules for thinking, judging, feeling in the post-conciliar church
This document is from the Jesuit HQ website
THE RULES FOR THINKING, JUDGING, FEELING IN THE POST-CONCILIAR CHURCH
Father General Peter-Hans Kolvenbach, S.J.
The Spiritual Exercises are not meant to be read but to be done. The text is the fruit of one experience, that of Ignatius, offered as one way of many to enter into communication with God. They lead to a personal encounter in the liberty of the Spirit, showing the right way to follow and indicating the obstacles and dead-ends that lead nowhere. The Exercises help to attain true freedom in God through a text well- organized in weeks and days, preludes and points, examens and repetitions. To this text are added a number of diverse rules, on discernment, on distribution of alms, on how to deal with scruples, and on thinking, judging and feeling with the Church. Are these rules integral to the text or are they meant to be used at the discretion of the director? There is no doubt about the rules for discernment. There is less certainty about the rules on scruples or on almsgiving, less generally applicable although still important. There is even less accord on the rules on thinking with the Church. Specialists agree that they are of a later date, written by Ignatius partly in Paris and partly in Rome. Their context seems to be rather outdated. Ignatius is clearly referring to the sixteenth- century Church threatened by humanism and Protestantism. He is seeking to help people immersed in this humiliating and discouraging situation. Yet the phrase itself, sentire cum ecclesia, is the most widely known of any in the Exercises. In this talk, I intend to argue that these rules are relevant to the life of the Church of the Second Vatican Council, as they were to the life of the Church of the Council of Trent. The rules are part and parcel of the movement of the Exercises. God “became a human being in order to save the human race” [102], so our following of God, our spirituality, must be incarnated in that particular “state or way of life he may call us to in his service” [135, 6] and it must be lived in union with the spouse of his Son, the Church, by which “he governs and guides us for the salvation of our souls” [365, 2]. Ignatius, who defines spirituality as service “ a greater service” uses the image of spouse to describe the relationship between Christ and the Church. We on our part must be “disposed and ready to be obedient in everything to this true Spouse of Christ our Lord, which is our holy Mother, the hierarchical Church” [353]. Love of Christ goes with love for the Church and must be expressed in concrete acts. “Loving union with God”: these are the last words of the rules for thinking with the Church and the final words of the Exercises themselves. This union cannot be lived independently of the Church.
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Like all other gifts, the Church descends from heaven, from above [237] and it is essentially linked to the incarnation mystery of Christ's total self-giving. This is Ignatius' belief. In his description of God's people in these rules, Ignatius does not see the people as perfect and faultless. He refers to murmuring and speaking evil against superiors and officials [362], bad conduct, neglect of good works and other helps to salvation, loss of zeal, and a fatalistic outlook on life which expresses itself in the statement that it makes no difference whether I conduct myself well or badly [367]. Ignatius' view of humanity is not idealistic. His Church is made up of people who are strong and weak, saints and sinners. They are God's chosen people (!)gathered in the Church given from above and offered as spouse to his Son [365]. Everything comes from above, but after the Incarnation, everything is lived here below. This Church gratefully received from above and fully present in this world is, in Ignatius' words, “our holy Mother the hierarchical Church” [353]. Translators add the words “orthodox and catholic,” which are not in the text called “Autograph,” but may be in the text you are using. We must take care to avoid misinterpreting Ignatius when he speaks of “the hierarchical Church.” (And right after these words you proceed to completely misinterpret them. You choose to define the in a way they have never been defined before or since by the Church. I imagine this is to make the spirituality of your founder coincide with your 'Spirit of Vatican II' idea of a Post Vatican II Catholic Church which represents the 'hermeneutic of rupture' and a misinterpretation of Vatican II. The Documents of Vatican II are Church Teaching. The 'Spirit of Vatican II" is NOT Church Teaching! You seem to see the Church of the Council of Trent and the Church of Vatican II as 2 different Churchs-hence, the hermeneutic of rupture , which is a fruit of a "Spirit of Vatican II' mentality. Your 'interpretation of what Ignatius means by the 'hierarchical Church is LUDICROUS! Actually, these words are quite clear ! I find it amazing that you could actually be confused about this. But I do find it believable that this would have to be changed to coincide with this new distorted, inaccurate and yes, even heretical, view of a post Vatican II Church. You have turned his lessons for proper thinking with the Church to guard against heresy INTO a heresy!.This has got to be a Deception of the Devil)....You better go back to the Discernment Exercises and Rethink this one!)He does not take it to mean the world of popes and bishops, ecclesiastics and clergy.(uh Yes, he most certainly does...reread rules 1, 9, 13. But I see that you seem to be tryingto convince your fellows that these rules are still relevant...hmmm...is the new guide , Bible,for everything your "Spirit of Vatican II" vision of the Church. If something does not fit then it is relegated to the Council of ttrent Church' which is no longer relevant...Can you tell me where I can find a copy of this"Spirit of Vatican II" catechism Primacy of COnscience is # 1 , right...and this is why, the hierarchical Churchis relegated to a much lower status.and the spirit works through each of us....Peter is needed less now hunh, you only have to listen if you agree...sounds pretty protestant to me I am beginning to understand the 'reputation' of the Jesuits much better and how and why they can believe, act, teach, and preach against Church Teaching with a clear conscience) It would seem that Ignatius was among the earliest to appreciate the hierarchical Church as a church of mediation. (Wrong page, dear, you are reading Martin Luther. This would be more of a concept of Martin Luther that the hierarchy of the Church is referring to, from heaven down to earth....right time period,wrong person, Ignatius was writing to teach how to think WITH the Church precisely WITH its hierarchical structure ON THIS EARTH! against the confusion and heresies of Luther, who thought the pope was the antichrist and completely threw out the hierarchical structure of the Church(which WASvery corrupt in his time- but that has to do with the times and the people in the hierarchy NOT the structure of the hierarchy)--Flipthe page....no wonder Jesuits have a reputation for having so many 'dissenters' from Church Teaching ...These are concepts much more akin to Martin Luther , fool! AND this is NOT AT all what these rules are talking about! Damn!, This is scary. THIS IS ON THE WORLD HQ OF THE JESUITS WEBSITE! ....I CAN See the Antichurch, the antiGospel JPII was talking about, coming into view. AND They are coming from WITHIN the Church... Thank God for the Grace of the office of Peter. Protect the Pope, Guide our Jesuit Pope .Protect HimFrom and Cleanse him of any of these Satanic Deceptions Raging through His order and our Church)The divine grace that is given to the world is mediated by each believer, of high and low estate, according to his or her life and place [189]. Each person, as a member of the Church, exercises a responsibility in the work of salvation. Thus Ignatius' perception of the Church is that of a body with a head and limbs, each part fulfilling its proper role as God wills. The head cannot say to the feet, “I do not need you.” Is a part of the body suffering? The other parts suffer along with it. Is one person honored? All the others share the joy [cf 1 Cor 12: 18-26]. Ignatius looks on the Church as a whole of which nothing can be ignored: neither its ecclesial hierarchy nor the rest of its members, neither its charismatic expression nor its canonical discipline, neither its holiness nor its sinfulness. Our holy Mother the Church is the source of life. Our attitude toward it is that of faith which enables us to see beyond the immediate with a heart-centered sensitivity to what is true and right. In the meditation on the Two Standards, Ignatius presents the Church as a gathering of persons: apostles, disciples, servants, and friends sent by the Lord throughout the whole world to spread his doctrine [145]. Without ever having developed a full and proper ecclesiology, Ignatius proposes some guidelines for living the spiritual adventure of the Exercises in full freedom within the Church, militant and hierarchical. He invites us to a seemingly impossible living out freely of a personal call to embrace the Creator's will out of love as he shows us the way which will enable us to serve him better in the future [15].
Rules: Thinking, Judging, Feeling with the Church
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Now, to turn to the text of the tules themselves at the end of the Exercises, Ignatius proposes these rules for developing a genuine attitude to the Church militant by inviting us to look with respect on all sorts of liturgical and pious practices, and to a rather radical acceptance of doctrinal and disciplinary precepts. Ignatius is aware of the seeming opposition between the spiritual freedom that the Exercises help us to attain and the obedience appropriate in the Church. He himself had experienced the difficulty of reconciling these two, but he does not see any insurmountable obstacle to reconciling them, for “between Christ our Lord, the Bridegroom, and the Church, his Spouse, there is the one same Spirit who governs and guides us for the salvation of our souls” [365,2]. In this context, Ignatius states that we must praise not only God human beings are created for that purpose but also Church practices, some of which were the subject of much controversy. Eight of the rules begin with the word “praise” [354-361]. One rule [356] invites us to praise consecrated life strongly and less so, marriage. Another states that we should praise chant, psalmody, and long prayers inside and outside the church [355]. In the last of these eight rules, Ignatius states that we should be ready to look for reasons to defend the precepts of the Church [361]. Let me say here that “praise” does not necessarily mean that we should adopt the practices he mentions. Ignatius, as we know, placed firm limitations in the Society of Jesus on practices such as these. What he deplores is a tendency to attack and ridicule them. A representative of this tendency was Desiderius Erasmus, who died in 1536. He and his disciples were not heretics. They shared with Ignatius a firm faith in Christ and a contemplative approach to the Gospels. But a reading of the Enchiridion of Erasmus brings out a negative and critical attitude, one contrary to the way of thinking that Ignatius developed from experience. In the sixth Annotation, Ignatius expresses concern about the retreatant “who is not experiencing any spiritual motions or is not being moved one way or another by different spirits” [6,1]. This describes Erasmus, a man not truly pious, never undergoing any deep spiritual crisis, never traveling along the road to Emmaus. The reason was that he conceived typical Christian life as a matter of the intellect, spiritually so elevated that there was no need for liturgy, pious practices, and the conse-crated life. The Church is accepted in so far as it lives at the level of the Spirit. It is criticized for many of its human expressions, especially the weaknesses and failings of its leaders.
The Ignatian View: Optimistic, Realistic
Ignatius' view of the Church is “diametrically opposed” [325, 6] to that of Erasmus, which explains why he forbade the reading of his books. Ignatius sought “to keep himself right in all things” [365,1]. In his rules, he encourages praise for relics and penances [359], church buildings [360], and all that is prescribed by the Church [361]. Praise is more than beautiful chant or well-phrased speech. What is essential is an inner disposition of selflessness. The biblical image of praise is the dance of David before the
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Ark of the Covenant. David sets aside his regal dignity and vestments. Praise is reverence for God and for godly things in the Church, in a spirit of thanksgiving for grace received. It is not enough for Ignatius that the person who gives the Exercises is a person of the Church, or that the one who does them is simply in harmony with “our Holy Mother the hierarchical Church” [353]. There must be fervour in our adhesion to the Church, for how can we love the Lord more intensely and distinguish ourselves in total service to him if we are lukewarm and sceptical toward his spouse? It might be objected that this passion of Ignatius for all that is churchly, above all, for unquestioned support of the Vicar of Christ on earth, is like averting one's eyes from an often less-than-glorious reality that causes discouragement and even despair among those who are ready to suffer for the Church, but unwilling to accept the suffering it causes them and who therefore distance themselves from it. Some suffer because they feel that the Church does not make as much progress as they wish, in the liturgy, or in who may minister, or in opting for the poor. Others suffer because they feel that the Church has abandoned many precious gifts and graces. Are not many of these ardent adherents to the Church in fact dreamers insisting on a perfectly reformed Church according to their passionate desires, or seeking to restore at all costs a church of the past that is irretrievable? Ignatius is not among these. He is a realist. The Church that he refers to in his rules includes within its ranks people holding high office whose “acts are not or were not praiseworthy” and who are guilty of “bad conduct” [362, 2, 4]. His ecclesial faith does not focus on these negative aspects. He believes in a future in which he who is coming continues to bring salvation. A true prayerful quest for a positive attitude to the Church does not dwell on the supposed perfection of the past. It is expressed in a trust in new beginnings, often small and fragile, yet not illusory. Thus we have liturgical renewal, new scripture discoveries, new ecclesial movements, ecumenism, interreligious dialogue, options for the poor, the Exercises in daily life, the promotion of the laity, synods, and a council. It may be that these modest beginnings do not draw as much attention as other headline- making happenings in the Church. Yet they promise “delicate, gentle, delightful” growth, “like a drop of water penetrating a sponge” [335]. It is not a question of being falsely or artificially optimistic about the Church. There is so much to praise and rejoice over, provided we open our eyes to the paschal reality, to the whole mystery of our Mother, the Church militant.
The Critical Balance of Faithful Love
After having given seven rules about praising God's presence in the real life of the Church, Ignatius offers at least four others that suggest how we should talk about matters of doctrine with reserve and caution in our affirmations on certain delicate points like faith and grace [366-369]. For “by speaking much and emphatically about faith, without any distinction or explanation, we may give occasion to ordinary people to grow listless and
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lazy in their works” [368]. The caution is that our speech, even critical, is to be informed by faithful love for what God has done and is doing at the heart of the Church. Then we are more likely to present balanced and impartial teaching. This does not prevent us from speaking the truth, the whole truth. Ignatius lived in a time when emphasis was on certain aspects of doctrine, whether grace, the Scriptures, works, tradition. Throughout the Exercises, Ignatius tries to avoid overstressing or exaggerating things, and tries rather to integrate the three aspects of Creator, creation, and created human beings [23] where there is exchange and communication [230-231] and a union of love [370]. In the Exercises, he leads us through the history of sin, of which we are all guilty, to the paschal history of the suffering and resurrected Lord and finally to the spousal mystery of Christ and his Church, our Holy Mother, the Catholic Church, the Church which approved the Exercises. The one who guides the retreatant witnesses to his encounter with Christ and accompanies him throughout the election, ensuring that all is done according to the mind of our Mother the Church [170]. Following on his experience of the Exercises, which of themselves are meant to prepare him for it at the deepest level, the retreatant is called to live in relationship with the body of Christ, the Church, sometimes harmonious, sometimes contentious. Keeping a balanced approach is not always easy. Ignatius gives us examples that were particularly debated in his own time: though already chosen, we are expected to cooperate in our spiritual development [367]; it is not enough to believe, the Lord expects actions which are expressions of that faith [368]; all is grace and yet the Lord has granted us free will [369]. It would not be difficult to give examples in our time of unilateral stances and proclamations of the Word that tend to lead away from union with the Church that the Lord desires. We are called to respect others' consciences, called to live in a pluralistic religious world, confronted with complex problems variously interpreted by theologians. It is enough to reduce us to silence. But for Ignatius, a genuine attitude toward the Church militant requires us not only to praise what God is doing in his Church but to speak out as the occasion demands as members of that Church. As Saint Paul says, without the Spirit our speech is vain, but without us the Spirit has no voice. The Exercises are not intended to develop a disincarnated and passive spirituality. Rather they dispose the retreatant to serve in the Church militant by rendering praise to God for the gift of that Church and to proclaim the Good News which fosters love for that Church. It is not a question of turning a blind eye to situations of crisis in the Church. True, when faced with the scandals of his time, Ignatius preferred to keep silent (he was always afraid that in attacking the authorities we could destroy authority, on which all society rests), yet he thought it “profitable to speak of bad conduct to persons who can bring about a remedy” [362]. In our day, this can mean that it is appropriate to make a scandalous situation public if there is no other way to correct it. Ignatius believed that if our love for Christ, inseparable from love and solidarity for the Church, his Spouse, prompts us, after a prayerful discernment, to speak out, the result will always be constructive. We must take care that the denouncing of bad conduct, whether social or political, is always done with reference to the salvific act of the Incarnation. In the third point of the meditation on
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the Incarnation, [108], Ignatius invites us to look at the destructive action of humanity in conjunction with the salvific act willed by the Trinity. Criticism should be done with reference to the mystery of the saving Church and marked with respect and real love for the person or persons concerned. Also we must take into account the ordinary people of God [362] who, being ill-prepared and insufficiently formed, may be drawn into error by our criticism [367]. The temptation is always strong to emphasize one aspect of ecclesial life to the point that it becomes an absolute. Thus, Ignatius says about one controversy in his own day that by placing too much stress on grace “we generate a poison harmful to freedom of the will” [369]. In the same way, a proclamation of faith can undermine ecumenical and interreligious dialogue and the promotion of justice can affect inculturation. We should heed Ignatius' recommendation in the rules that “great caution is necessary in our manner of speaking and teaching about all these matters” by striving to present balanced views and to avoid taking Church teaching out of context [366]. As we saw, Ignatius is convinced that by placing too much emphasis on grace we can produce the undesirable result of weakening the faith of the people. For this reason, at the end of the Exercises, Ignatius says that “we should value above everything else the great service which is given to God out of pure love” lived with the Son of God in an incarnate spirituality of a servant who recognizes his sinfulness and yet knows that he is called to be son with the Son. This state lived in the Spirit helps us to keep in balance contradictory realities like love and fear, just and sinner, son and servant, the lights and shadows of the Church. We believe that “between Christ our Lord, the Bridegroom, and the Church, his Spouse, there is the one same Spirit who governs and guides us for the salvation of our souls” [365]. This Spirit that unites in love the Bridegroom and the Spouse is the Holy Spirit that leads us through the Exercises and through the process of discernment. And that makes us spiritual people and people of the Church. Ignatius gives the startling example of the situation where, inspired by what seems the angel of light we are convinced that something is white, because of our faith in the Spirit working in the Church we will accept to see it as black because the hierarchical Church says so [365]. This well-known statement shocks many in this time of reason and science, but when we celebrate the Eucharist, this greatest sign of God's love [289, 5], we see the bread and wine but we believe with the Church that it is the body and blood of Christ. Is it not the “good” Spirit that throughout the whole experience of the Exercises has deepened my faith in the union of my sensient and rational being, my whole person, with the body of Christ that is the Church? I have tried to suggest that the rules “sentire cum Ecclesia” are as relevant to the life of the Church of the Second Vatican Council as they were to the life of the Church in Ignatius' day, the day of the Council of Trent. They are a help to live the mystery of reconciliation that is every disciple's ministry. During the fourth week, the Lord introduces us to the office of consoler towards our brothers and sisters in the world. The Exercises do not leave us “looking up to the sky” [312, 4], but invite us to continue on the road of praying discernment. With open and generous hearts, we give unto God all our liberty, memory, understanding, and will so that he may dispose all I have according to his will.
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We accept to put aside our own judgment [353] so as to “keep ourselves right in all things” [365] in the service of the true Spouse of Christ, our Lord, our holy Mother the hierarchical Church, in the one and same Spirit of love [365].
Opening Address Rome Consultation 2004
Father General Peter-Hans Kolvenbach, S.J.
The Spiritual Exercises are not meant to be read but to be done. The text is the fruit of one experience, that of Ignatius, offered as one way of many to enter into communication with God. They lead to a personal encounter in the liberty of the Spirit, showing the right way to follow and indicating the obstacles and dead-ends that lead nowhere. The Exercises help to attain true freedom in God through a text well- organized in weeks and days, preludes and points, examens and repetitions. To this text are added a number of diverse rules, on discernment, on distribution of alms, on how to deal with scruples, and on thinking, judging and feeling with the Church. Are these rules integral to the text or are they meant to be used at the discretion of the director? There is no doubt about the rules for discernment. There is less certainty about the rules on scruples or on almsgiving, less generally applicable although still important. There is even less accord on the rules on thinking with the Church. Specialists agree that they are of a later date, written by Ignatius partly in Paris and partly in Rome. Their context seems to be rather outdated. Ignatius is clearly referring to the sixteenth- century Church threatened by humanism and Protestantism. He is seeking to help people immersed in this humiliating and discouraging situation. Yet the phrase itself, sentire cum ecclesia, is the most widely known of any in the Exercises. In this talk, I intend to argue that these rules are relevant to the life of the Church of the Second Vatican Council, as they were to the life of the Church of the Council of Trent. The rules are part and parcel of the movement of the Exercises. God “became a human being in order to save the human race” [102], so our following of God, our spirituality, must be incarnated in that particular “state or way of life he may call us to in his service” [135, 6] and it must be lived in union with the spouse of his Son, the Church, by which “he governs and guides us for the salvation of our souls” [365, 2]. Ignatius, who defines spirituality as service “ a greater service” uses the image of spouse to describe the relationship between Christ and the Church. We on our part must be “disposed and ready to be obedient in everything to this true Spouse of Christ our Lord, which is our holy Mother, the hierarchical Church” [353]. Love of Christ goes with love for the Church and must be expressed in concrete acts. “Loving union with God”: these are the last words of the rules for thinking with the Church and the final words of the Exercises themselves. This union cannot be lived independently of the Church.
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Like all other gifts, the Church descends from heaven, from above [237] and it is essentially linked to the incarnation mystery of Christ's total self-giving. This is Ignatius' belief. In his description of God's people in these rules, Ignatius does not see the people as perfect and faultless. He refers to murmuring and speaking evil against superiors and officials [362], bad conduct, neglect of good works and other helps to salvation, loss of zeal, and a fatalistic outlook on life which expresses itself in the statement that it makes no difference whether I conduct myself well or badly [367]. Ignatius' view of humanity is not idealistic. His Church is made up of people who are strong and weak, saints and sinners. They are God's chosen people (!)gathered in the Church given from above and offered as spouse to his Son [365]. Everything comes from above, but after the Incarnation, everything is lived here below. This Church gratefully received from above and fully present in this world is, in Ignatius' words, “our holy Mother the hierarchical Church” [353]. Translators add the words “orthodox and catholic,” which are not in the text called “Autograph,” but may be in the text you are using. We must take care to avoid misinterpreting Ignatius when he speaks of “the hierarchical Church.” (And right after these words you proceed to completely misinterpret them. You choose to define the in a way they have never been defined before or since by the Church. I imagine this is to make the spirituality of your founder coincide with your 'Spirit of Vatican II' idea of a Post Vatican II Catholic Church which represents the 'hermeneutic of rupture' and a misinterpretation of Vatican II. The Documents of Vatican II are Church Teaching. The 'Spirit of Vatican II" is NOT Church Teaching! You seem to see the Church of the Council of Trent and the Church of Vatican II as 2 different Churchs-hence, the hermeneutic of rupture , which is a fruit of a "Spirit of Vatican II' mentality. Your 'interpretation of what Ignatius means by the 'hierarchical Church is LUDICROUS! Actually, these words are quite clear ! I find it amazing that you could actually be confused about this. But I do find it believable that this would have to be changed to coincide with this new distorted, inaccurate and yes, even heretical, view of a post Vatican II Church. You have turned his lessons for proper thinking with the Church to guard against heresy INTO a heresy!.This has got to be a Deception of the Devil)....You better go back to the Discernment Exercises and Rethink this one!)He does not take it to mean the world of popes and bishops, ecclesiastics and clergy.(uh Yes, he most certainly does...reread rules 1, 9, 13. But I see that you seem to be tryingto convince your fellows that these rules are still relevant...hmmm...is the new guide , Bible,for everything your "Spirit of Vatican II" vision of the Church. If something does not fit then it is relegated to the Council of ttrent Church' which is no longer relevant...Can you tell me where I can find a copy of this"Spirit of Vatican II" catechism Primacy of COnscience is # 1 , right...and this is why, the hierarchical Churchis relegated to a much lower status.and the spirit works through each of us....Peter is needed less now hunh, you only have to listen if you agree...sounds pretty protestant to me I am beginning to understand the 'reputation' of the Jesuits much better and how and why they can believe, act, teach, and preach against Church Teaching with a clear conscience) It would seem that Ignatius was among the earliest to appreciate the hierarchical Church as a church of mediation. (Wrong page, dear, you are reading Martin Luther. This would be more of a concept of Martin Luther that the hierarchy of the Church is referring to, from heaven down to earth....right time period,wrong person, Ignatius was writing to teach how to think WITH the Church precisely WITH its hierarchical structure ON THIS EARTH! against the confusion and heresies of Luther, who thought the pope was the antichrist and completely threw out the hierarchical structure of the Church(which WASvery corrupt in his time- but that has to do with the times and the people in the hierarchy NOT the structure of the hierarchy)--Flipthe page....no wonder Jesuits have a reputation for having so many 'dissenters' from Church Teaching ...These are concepts much more akin to Martin Luther , fool! AND this is NOT AT all what these rules are talking about! Damn!, This is scary. THIS IS ON THE WORLD HQ OF THE JESUITS WEBSITE! ....I CAN See the Antichurch, the antiGospel JPII was talking about, coming into view. AND They are coming from WITHIN the Church... Thank God for the Grace of the office of Peter. Protect the Pope, Guide our Jesuit Pope .Protect HimFrom and Cleanse him of any of these Satanic Deceptions Raging through His order and our Church)The divine grace that is given to the world is mediated by each believer, of high and low estate, according to his or her life and place [189]. Each person, as a member of the Church, exercises a responsibility in the work of salvation. Thus Ignatius' perception of the Church is that of a body with a head and limbs, each part fulfilling its proper role as God wills. The head cannot say to the feet, “I do not need you.” Is a part of the body suffering? The other parts suffer along with it. Is one person honored? All the others share the joy [cf 1 Cor 12: 18-26]. Ignatius looks on the Church as a whole of which nothing can be ignored: neither its ecclesial hierarchy nor the rest of its members, neither its charismatic expression nor its canonical discipline, neither its holiness nor its sinfulness. Our holy Mother the Church is the source of life. Our attitude toward it is that of faith which enables us to see beyond the immediate with a heart-centered sensitivity to what is true and right. In the meditation on the Two Standards, Ignatius presents the Church as a gathering of persons: apostles, disciples, servants, and friends sent by the Lord throughout the whole world to spread his doctrine [145]. Without ever having developed a full and proper ecclesiology, Ignatius proposes some guidelines for living the spiritual adventure of the Exercises in full freedom within the Church, militant and hierarchical. He invites us to a seemingly impossible living out freely of a personal call to embrace the Creator's will out of love as he shows us the way which will enable us to serve him better in the future [15].
Rules: Thinking, Judging, Feeling with the Church
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Now, to turn to the text of the tules themselves at the end of the Exercises, Ignatius proposes these rules for developing a genuine attitude to the Church militant by inviting us to look with respect on all sorts of liturgical and pious practices, and to a rather radical acceptance of doctrinal and disciplinary precepts. Ignatius is aware of the seeming opposition between the spiritual freedom that the Exercises help us to attain and the obedience appropriate in the Church. He himself had experienced the difficulty of reconciling these two, but he does not see any insurmountable obstacle to reconciling them, for “between Christ our Lord, the Bridegroom, and the Church, his Spouse, there is the one same Spirit who governs and guides us for the salvation of our souls” [365,2]. In this context, Ignatius states that we must praise not only God human beings are created for that purpose but also Church practices, some of which were the subject of much controversy. Eight of the rules begin with the word “praise” [354-361]. One rule [356] invites us to praise consecrated life strongly and less so, marriage. Another states that we should praise chant, psalmody, and long prayers inside and outside the church [355]. In the last of these eight rules, Ignatius states that we should be ready to look for reasons to defend the precepts of the Church [361]. Let me say here that “praise” does not necessarily mean that we should adopt the practices he mentions. Ignatius, as we know, placed firm limitations in the Society of Jesus on practices such as these. What he deplores is a tendency to attack and ridicule them. A representative of this tendency was Desiderius Erasmus, who died in 1536. He and his disciples were not heretics. They shared with Ignatius a firm faith in Christ and a contemplative approach to the Gospels. But a reading of the Enchiridion of Erasmus brings out a negative and critical attitude, one contrary to the way of thinking that Ignatius developed from experience. In the sixth Annotation, Ignatius expresses concern about the retreatant “who is not experiencing any spiritual motions or is not being moved one way or another by different spirits” [6,1]. This describes Erasmus, a man not truly pious, never undergoing any deep spiritual crisis, never traveling along the road to Emmaus. The reason was that he conceived typical Christian life as a matter of the intellect, spiritually so elevated that there was no need for liturgy, pious practices, and the conse-crated life. The Church is accepted in so far as it lives at the level of the Spirit. It is criticized for many of its human expressions, especially the weaknesses and failings of its leaders.
The Ignatian View: Optimistic, Realistic
Ignatius' view of the Church is “diametrically opposed” [325, 6] to that of Erasmus, which explains why he forbade the reading of his books. Ignatius sought “to keep himself right in all things” [365,1]. In his rules, he encourages praise for relics and penances [359], church buildings [360], and all that is prescribed by the Church [361]. Praise is more than beautiful chant or well-phrased speech. What is essential is an inner disposition of selflessness. The biblical image of praise is the dance of David before the
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Ark of the Covenant. David sets aside his regal dignity and vestments. Praise is reverence for God and for godly things in the Church, in a spirit of thanksgiving for grace received. It is not enough for Ignatius that the person who gives the Exercises is a person of the Church, or that the one who does them is simply in harmony with “our Holy Mother the hierarchical Church” [353]. There must be fervour in our adhesion to the Church, for how can we love the Lord more intensely and distinguish ourselves in total service to him if we are lukewarm and sceptical toward his spouse? It might be objected that this passion of Ignatius for all that is churchly, above all, for unquestioned support of the Vicar of Christ on earth, is like averting one's eyes from an often less-than-glorious reality that causes discouragement and even despair among those who are ready to suffer for the Church, but unwilling to accept the suffering it causes them and who therefore distance themselves from it. Some suffer because they feel that the Church does not make as much progress as they wish, in the liturgy, or in who may minister, or in opting for the poor. Others suffer because they feel that the Church has abandoned many precious gifts and graces. Are not many of these ardent adherents to the Church in fact dreamers insisting on a perfectly reformed Church according to their passionate desires, or seeking to restore at all costs a church of the past that is irretrievable? Ignatius is not among these. He is a realist. The Church that he refers to in his rules includes within its ranks people holding high office whose “acts are not or were not praiseworthy” and who are guilty of “bad conduct” [362, 2, 4]. His ecclesial faith does not focus on these negative aspects. He believes in a future in which he who is coming continues to bring salvation. A true prayerful quest for a positive attitude to the Church does not dwell on the supposed perfection of the past. It is expressed in a trust in new beginnings, often small and fragile, yet not illusory. Thus we have liturgical renewal, new scripture discoveries, new ecclesial movements, ecumenism, interreligious dialogue, options for the poor, the Exercises in daily life, the promotion of the laity, synods, and a council. It may be that these modest beginnings do not draw as much attention as other headline- making happenings in the Church. Yet they promise “delicate, gentle, delightful” growth, “like a drop of water penetrating a sponge” [335]. It is not a question of being falsely or artificially optimistic about the Church. There is so much to praise and rejoice over, provided we open our eyes to the paschal reality, to the whole mystery of our Mother, the Church militant.
The Critical Balance of Faithful Love
After having given seven rules about praising God's presence in the real life of the Church, Ignatius offers at least four others that suggest how we should talk about matters of doctrine with reserve and caution in our affirmations on certain delicate points like faith and grace [366-369]. For “by speaking much and emphatically about faith, without any distinction or explanation, we may give occasion to ordinary people to grow listless and
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lazy in their works” [368]. The caution is that our speech, even critical, is to be informed by faithful love for what God has done and is doing at the heart of the Church. Then we are more likely to present balanced and impartial teaching. This does not prevent us from speaking the truth, the whole truth. Ignatius lived in a time when emphasis was on certain aspects of doctrine, whether grace, the Scriptures, works, tradition. Throughout the Exercises, Ignatius tries to avoid overstressing or exaggerating things, and tries rather to integrate the three aspects of Creator, creation, and created human beings [23] where there is exchange and communication [230-231] and a union of love [370]. In the Exercises, he leads us through the history of sin, of which we are all guilty, to the paschal history of the suffering and resurrected Lord and finally to the spousal mystery of Christ and his Church, our Holy Mother, the Catholic Church, the Church which approved the Exercises. The one who guides the retreatant witnesses to his encounter with Christ and accompanies him throughout the election, ensuring that all is done according to the mind of our Mother the Church [170]. Following on his experience of the Exercises, which of themselves are meant to prepare him for it at the deepest level, the retreatant is called to live in relationship with the body of Christ, the Church, sometimes harmonious, sometimes contentious. Keeping a balanced approach is not always easy. Ignatius gives us examples that were particularly debated in his own time: though already chosen, we are expected to cooperate in our spiritual development [367]; it is not enough to believe, the Lord expects actions which are expressions of that faith [368]; all is grace and yet the Lord has granted us free will [369]. It would not be difficult to give examples in our time of unilateral stances and proclamations of the Word that tend to lead away from union with the Church that the Lord desires. We are called to respect others' consciences, called to live in a pluralistic religious world, confronted with complex problems variously interpreted by theologians. It is enough to reduce us to silence. But for Ignatius, a genuine attitude toward the Church militant requires us not only to praise what God is doing in his Church but to speak out as the occasion demands as members of that Church. As Saint Paul says, without the Spirit our speech is vain, but without us the Spirit has no voice. The Exercises are not intended to develop a disincarnated and passive spirituality. Rather they dispose the retreatant to serve in the Church militant by rendering praise to God for the gift of that Church and to proclaim the Good News which fosters love for that Church. It is not a question of turning a blind eye to situations of crisis in the Church. True, when faced with the scandals of his time, Ignatius preferred to keep silent (he was always afraid that in attacking the authorities we could destroy authority, on which all society rests), yet he thought it “profitable to speak of bad conduct to persons who can bring about a remedy” [362]. In our day, this can mean that it is appropriate to make a scandalous situation public if there is no other way to correct it. Ignatius believed that if our love for Christ, inseparable from love and solidarity for the Church, his Spouse, prompts us, after a prayerful discernment, to speak out, the result will always be constructive. We must take care that the denouncing of bad conduct, whether social or political, is always done with reference to the salvific act of the Incarnation. In the third point of the meditation on
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the Incarnation, [108], Ignatius invites us to look at the destructive action of humanity in conjunction with the salvific act willed by the Trinity. Criticism should be done with reference to the mystery of the saving Church and marked with respect and real love for the person or persons concerned. Also we must take into account the ordinary people of God [362] who, being ill-prepared and insufficiently formed, may be drawn into error by our criticism [367]. The temptation is always strong to emphasize one aspect of ecclesial life to the point that it becomes an absolute. Thus, Ignatius says about one controversy in his own day that by placing too much stress on grace “we generate a poison harmful to freedom of the will” [369]. In the same way, a proclamation of faith can undermine ecumenical and interreligious dialogue and the promotion of justice can affect inculturation. We should heed Ignatius' recommendation in the rules that “great caution is necessary in our manner of speaking and teaching about all these matters” by striving to present balanced views and to avoid taking Church teaching out of context [366]. As we saw, Ignatius is convinced that by placing too much emphasis on grace we can produce the undesirable result of weakening the faith of the people. For this reason, at the end of the Exercises, Ignatius says that “we should value above everything else the great service which is given to God out of pure love” lived with the Son of God in an incarnate spirituality of a servant who recognizes his sinfulness and yet knows that he is called to be son with the Son. This state lived in the Spirit helps us to keep in balance contradictory realities like love and fear, just and sinner, son and servant, the lights and shadows of the Church. We believe that “between Christ our Lord, the Bridegroom, and the Church, his Spouse, there is the one same Spirit who governs and guides us for the salvation of our souls” [365]. This Spirit that unites in love the Bridegroom and the Spouse is the Holy Spirit that leads us through the Exercises and through the process of discernment. And that makes us spiritual people and people of the Church. Ignatius gives the startling example of the situation where, inspired by what seems the angel of light we are convinced that something is white, because of our faith in the Spirit working in the Church we will accept to see it as black because the hierarchical Church says so [365]. This well-known statement shocks many in this time of reason and science, but when we celebrate the Eucharist, this greatest sign of God's love [289, 5], we see the bread and wine but we believe with the Church that it is the body and blood of Christ. Is it not the “good” Spirit that throughout the whole experience of the Exercises has deepened my faith in the union of my sensient and rational being, my whole person, with the body of Christ that is the Church? I have tried to suggest that the rules “sentire cum Ecclesia” are as relevant to the life of the Church of the Second Vatican Council as they were to the life of the Church in Ignatius' day, the day of the Council of Trent. They are a help to live the mystery of reconciliation that is every disciple's ministry. During the fourth week, the Lord introduces us to the office of consoler towards our brothers and sisters in the world. The Exercises do not leave us “looking up to the sky” [312, 4], but invite us to continue on the road of praying discernment. With open and generous hearts, we give unto God all our liberty, memory, understanding, and will so that he may dispose all I have according to his will.
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We accept to put aside our own judgment [353] so as to “keep ourselves right in all things” [365] in the service of the true Spouse of Christ, our Lord, our holy Mother the hierarchical Church, in the one and same Spirit of love [365].
Opening Address Rome Consultation 2004
36. These rules were written by Ignatius ...
... for an exercitant who for a month had been gazing in love on Christ, contemplating his calls for help in spreading his Kingdom and his example, and was now about to return to ordinary life, perhaps among heretics or weak Catholics. Polanco states in his Directory that these rules are given as antidotes ‘to those things which the heretics of our time, or those showing affinity to their doctrine, are prone to attack or scorn . . . Moreover, they serve not only to keep such an exercitant from erring by speaking privately or writing publicly in a manner other than proper, but they also help him to discern whether the statements and writings of others are departing from the Catholic Church’s manner of thinking and speaking, and to advice others to be on their guard.
38. Ignatius’ Rules for Thinking, Judging, and Feeling:
The First Rule. With all judgment of our own put aside, we ought to keep our minds disposed and ready to be obedient in everything to the true Spouse of Christ our Lord, which is our Holy Mother, the hierarchical Church.
The Second Rule. We should praise confession to a priest, reception of the most Sacred Sacrament once a year, and much more once a month, and still more every week, always with the required and proper conditions. [even more daily reception of the Blessed Sacrament if it be appropriate].
The Third Rule. We should praise frequent attendance at Mass; also, chants, psalmody, and long prayers inside and outside the church; and further, the schedules setting the times for the Divine Office as a whole, for prayers of every kind, and for all the canonical hours.
The Fourth Rule. We should strongly praise religious institutes, virginity and continence, and marriage too, but not as highly as any of the former.
The Fifth Rule. We should praise the vows of religion, obedience, poverty, chastity, and vows to perform other works of supererogation which conduce to perfection. We should remember, too, that just as a vow is made in regard to matters which lead toward evangelical perfection, so vows ought not to be made with respect to matters that withdraw one from it, such as to enter business, to get married, and the like.
The Sixth Rule. We should praise relics of saints, by venerating the relics and praying to the saints. We should extol visits to stational churches, pilgrimages, indulgences for jubilees and crusades, and the lighting of candles in churches.
The Seventh Rule. We should praise precepts of fast and abstinence, for example, in Lent, on ember days, vigils, Fridays and Saturdays; also penances, not only interior but also exterior.
The Eighth Rule. We ought to praise the ornamentations and structures of churches; also images, and their veneration according to what they represent.
The Ninth Rule. Lastly, we should praise all the precepts of the Church, while keeping our mind ready to look for reasons for defending them and not for attacking them in any way.
The Tenth Rule. We ought to be more inclined to approve and praise the decrees, recommendations, and conduct of our superiors than to speak against them. For although some of these acts are not or were not praiseworthy, to speak against them either by preaching in public or by conversing among the ordinary people would cause more murmuring and scandal than profit. And through this the people would become angry at their officials, whether civil or spiritual. However, just as it does harm to speak evil about officials among the ordinary people while they are absent, so it can be profitable to speak of their bad conduct to persons who can bring about a remedy.
The Eleventh Rule. We ought to praise both positive theology and scholastic theology. For just as it is more characteristic of the positive doctors, such as St. Jerome, St. Augustine, St. Gregory, and the rest to stir up our affections toward loving and serving God our Lord in all things, so it is more characteristic of the scholastic teachers, such as St. Thomas, St. Bonaventure, the Master of the Sentences, and so on to define and explain for our times the matters necessary for salvation, and also to refute and explain all the errors and fallacies. For the scholastic teachers, being more modern, can avail themselves of an authentic understanding of Sacred Scripture and the holy positive doctors. Further still they, being enlightened and clarified by divine influence, make profitable use of the councils, cannons, and decrees of our Holy Mother Church.
The Twelfth Rule. We ought to be on our guard against comparing those of us who are still living with the blessed of the past. For no small error is made when one says, for example, "He knows more than St. Augustine," or "He is another St. Francis, or even more," or "He is another St. Paul in goodness, holiness, and the like."
The Thirteenth Rule. To keep ourselves right in all things, we ought to hold fast to this principle: What I see as white, I will believe to be black if the hierarchical Church thus determines it. For we believe that between Christ our Lord, the Bridegroom, and the Church, his Spouse, there is the one same Spirit who governs and guides us for the salvation of our souls. For it is by the same Spirit and Lord of ours who gave the ten commandments that our holy Mother Church is guided and governed.
The Fourteenth Rule. It is granted that there is much truth in the statement that no one can be saved without being predestined and without having faith and grace. Nevertheless great caution is necessary in our manner of speaking and teaching about these matters.
The Fifteenth Rule. We ought not to fall into a habit of speaking much about predestination. But if somehow the topic is brought up on occasions, it should be treated in such a way that the ordinary people do not fall into error, as sometimes happens when they say: "It is already determined whether I shall be saved or damned, and this cannot now be changed by my doing good or evil." Through this they grow listless and neglect the works which lead to good and to the spiritual advancement of their souls.
The Sixteenth Rule. In the same way we should notice with caution that by speaking much and emphatically about faith, without any distinction and explanation, we may give the people an occasion to grow listless and lazy in their works, wither before or after these persons have a faith which in informed by charity.
The Seventeenth Rule. Similarly, we ought not to speak so lengthily and emphatically about grace that we generate a poison harmful to freedom of the will. Hence one may speak about faith and grace as much as possible, with God’s help, for the greater praise of his Divine Majesty; but not in such ways or manners, especially in times as dangerous as our own, that works and free will are impaired or though worthless.
The Eighteenth Rule. It is granted that we should value above everything else the great service which is given to God because of pure love. Nevertheless we should also strongly praise fear of his Divine Majesty. For not only is filial fear something pious and very holy, but so also is servile fear. Even if it brings a person nothing better or more useful, it greatly aids him or her to rise from mortal sin; and once such a one has risen, one easily attains to filial fear, which is wholly acceptable and pleasing to God our Lord, since it is inseparably united with love of him.
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Rules for Thinking with the Church Moleski, SJ
1. Always to be ready to obey with mind and heart, setting aside all judgement of one's own, the true spouse of Jesus Christ, our holy mother, our infallible and orthodox mistress, the Catholic Church, whose authority is exercised over us by the hierarchy.
2. To commend the confession of sins to a priest as it is practiced in the Church; the reception of the Holy Eucharist once a year, or better still every week, or at least every month, with the necessary preparation.
3. To commend to the faithful frequent and devout assistance at the holy sacrifice of the Mass, the ecclesiastical hymns, the divine office, and in general the prayers and devotions practiced at stated times, whether in public in the churches or in private.
4. To have a great esteem for the religious orders, and to give the preference to celibacy or virginity over the married state.
5. To approve of the religious vows of chastity, poverty, perpetual obedience, as well as to the other works of perfection and supererogation. Let us remark in passing, that we must never engage by vow to take a state (such e.g. as marriage) that would be an impediment to one more perfect…
6. To praise relics, the veneration and invocation of Saints: also the stations, and pious pilgrimages, indulgences, jubilees, the custom of lighting candles in the churches, and other such aids to piety and devotion.
7. To praise the use of abstinence and fasts as those of Lent, of Ember Days, of Vigils, of Friday, Saturday, and of others undertaken out of pure devotion: also voluntary mortifications, which we call penances, not merely interior, but exterior also.
8. To commend moreover the construction of churches, and ornaments; also images, to be venerated with the fullest right, for the sake of what they represent.
9. To uphold especially all the precepts of the Church, and not censure them in any manner; but, on the contrary, to defend them promptly, with reasons drawn from all sources, against those who criticize them.
10. To be eager to commend the decrees, mandates, traditions, rites and customs of the Fathers in the Faith or our superiors. As to their conduct; although there may not always be the uprightness of conduct that there ought to be, yet to attack or revile them in private or in public tends to scandal and disorder. Such attacks set the people against their princes and pastors; we must avoid such reproaches and never attack superiors before inferiors. The best course is to make private approach to those who have power to remedy the evil.
11. To value most highly the sacred teaching, both the Positive and the Scholastic, as they are commonly called…
12. It is a thing to be blamed and avoided to compare men who are living on the earth (however worthy of praise) with the Saints and Blessed, saying: This man is more learned than St. Augustine, etc…
From Documents of the Christian Church, 3rd ed., Henry Bettenson, ed., pp. 364-367. 1 Copied from <http://wps.ablongman.com/long_longman_lwcdemo_1/0,9493,1532993-,00.html>. Emphasis added; some insertions made in brackets by MXM, SJ.
13. That we may be altogether of the same mind and in conformity with the Church herself, if she shall have defined anything to be black which to our eyes appears to be white, we ought in like manner to pronounce it to be black. For we must undoubtedly believe, that the Spirit of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the Spirit of the Orthodox Church His Spouse, by which Spirit we are governed and directed to Salvation, is the same;…
14. It must also be borne in mind, that although it be most true, that no one is saved but he that is predestinated, yet we must speak with circumspection concerning this matter, lest perchance, stressing too much the grace or predestination of God, we should seem to wish to shut out the force of free will and the merits of good works; or on the other hand, attributing to these latter more than belongs to them, we derogate meanwhile from the power of grace.
15. For the like reason we should not speak on the subject of predestination frequently; if by chance we do so speak, we ought so to temper what we say as to give the people who hear no occasion of erring and saying, 'If my salvation or damnation is already decreed, my good or evil actions are predetermined'; whence many are wont to neglect good works, and the means of salvation.
16. It also happens not unfrequently, that from immoderate, preaching and praise of faith, without distinction or explanation added, the people seize a pretext for being lazy with regard to any good works, which precede faith, or follow it when it has been formed by the bond of charity.
17. Not any more must we push to such a point when the preaching and inculcating of the grace of God, as that there may creep thence into the minds of the hearers the deadly error of denying our faculty of free will. We must speak of [grace] as the glory of God requires…[in such a way] that we may not raise doubts as to liberty and the efficacy of good works.
18. Although it is very praiseworthy and useful to serve God through the motive of pure charity, yet we must also recommend the fear of God; and not only filial fear, but servile fear, which is very useful and often even necessary to raise man from sin… Once risen from the state, and free from the affection of mortal sin, we may then speak of that filial fear which is truly worthy of God, and which gives and preserves the union of pure love.
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