The Autobiography of Ignatius Loyola

The Autobiography of Ignatius Loyola

Next Week • MONDAY: witches • WEDNESDAY: LAST class, review for the final (try not to miss it) • FRIDAY: NO CLASS

The Society of Jesus as a military order • Read pp.21-23 • What did Ignatius do for a living? • What was he reading when he was wounded? • What kind of thoughts did he have?

So… • Ignatius was a soldier, and he saw his calling as being another kind of fight • Also, keep in mind the kind of lust for ‘big accomplishment’ (‘St.Dominic did this…St.Francis did this’), that is a key component of the society • Mission is, to a certain extent, an expression of this

Asceticism and activism • Read on p.33 • What does Ignatius do? • Read at pp.36-37 • What about now?

So…. • So the Society of Jesus is not about extremities: you need your strengths in order to do your work, so no need for starving yourself. Jeronimo Nadal, one of Ignatius’s early companion, used to say: ‘the world is our convent’ • Also, spiritual and mystical aspects need to be regulated: Ignatius always checks with his confessor to make sure that what he does is ok

The ‘Spiritual exercises’ or the Jesuit way to mysticism

Jesuit mysticism • Ignatius is not against visions and mysticism in principle, however • He wants all these to be regulated. How? • Always get yourself checked by your confessor • Follow his ‘mystical manual’, the ‘Spiritual Exercises’, that tells you what to think and how to tell whether your visions or mystical experience are good or not

Ignatius and Plan A • Read on p.67 • Why does Ignatius get in trouble then?

So… • The Jesuits are born out of the fervor and air of change that also brought about the Plan-A: they ‘preach about vices and virtues’ • Erasmus is mentioned in passing, for two reasons: • 1) notice the Erasmian flavor of what Ignatius was doing, but • 2) Erasmus was a ‘suspicious’ character when the Autobiography was written, so it was better to downplay the whole thing • Loyola gets in trouble for that: ‘You are not educated men, said the friar…no one can speak about these [virtues and vices] except in one of two ways: either through education, or through the Holy Spirit’

Ignatius and Plan B • What happens on pp.70-1? • How does Ignatius react to the sentence? • What does that suggest you?

So… • Ignatius could fit and did fit Plan B too, and that is why the Society of Jesus was so successful! Two main reasons why: • 1) Obedience to the superior and to the Pope: the Jesuits to what they are told to do • 2) The Jesuits ARE the establishment, and become very powerful very quickly • Also, education is important for the Jesuits: ‘Ignatius went to Paris to study’

Ignatius among the people • Read on pp.82-3: What does Ignatius do? • What does that suggest you?

Preachin’ and fixin’: the Jesuits and Counter-Reformation ‘high’ and ‘low’ Church • Ignatius preached ‘to the children’: emphasis on teaching the proper Catholic doctrine • Ignatius ‘made an attempt to eliminate some abuses’: social and moral control is a crucial part of Counter-Reformation Catholicism

The Autobiography of Ignatius Loyola