I am writing this while in Argentina teaching... so I don't have time for substantial writing on the Exercises. But here are a few nuggets that I hope will be as meaningful for you as they are for me.
FIRST, an accolade from Ron Hansen, novelist (left).
"I have simply been trying to figure out how to live my life magnificently, as Ignatius did, who sought in all his works and activities, the greater glory of God."
SECOND, an illumination from Howard Gray, S.J. (below). "Ignatian spirituality is at heart a discerning pilgrimage to God guided by three important elements: the reality of Christ, the mission entrusted to the church and human experience."
THIRD, a prayer from Ignatius.
Take, Lord, and receive all my liberty, my memory, my understanding, and all my will - all that I have and possess. You, Lord, have given all to me. I now give it back to you, O Lord. All of it is yours. Dispose of it according to your will. Give me love of yourself along with your grace, for that is enough for me.
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I too would like to live magnificently as did Ignatius.
That means, I too,(most likely) must be on a discerning pilgrimage to God guided by the same elements that guided Ignatius.
And it means I need to genuinely pray prayers similar to what Ignatius did.
Cordoba was one of the center's for Jesuit mission. If a future life, if I have the time, I would love to walk some of the Jesuit trails in Latin America. Doing this in Argentina would be nice. For two nights, I was staying one block away from the Jesuit block. The block is literally a city block near the center of Cordoba. It is a church and place of learning and residence for the early Jesuits in Argentina. The next time I am here, I am going to do a proper tour of the place, which now has a museum in it as well. While I was there, I did buy a copy of the Exercises in Spanish.
What was also real interesting is that several of the Protestant leaders that were at the training course are interested in the Jesuits and the Exercises. But, a few who had the book, made the observation that is at the heart of my motivation to produce a useful "manual." They said, they couldn't figure out how to do the Exercises!
I surfed the web looking for good resources I could link for anyone interested in this little tid bit of information. Here is the best I could find.
Lugares Magazine: The Jesuits in Argentina has some basic history, short and easy to read.
A website devoted to Jesuit Stamps from around the world! Who would have ever guessed! But this was really fun since I use to be a stamp collector and you can get a nice little bit of history added in to describe the stamps. This link is one that shows you the Cordoba Block which is also pictured below.
Brian K. Rice
Leadership ConneXtions International
www.lci.typepad.com
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