Dear Loyola community,
As I reflect on the Feast of St. Ignatius Loyola and the close of the Ignatian Year, my thoughts turn to Fr. Jerry Fagin, S.J., who taught for many years in the Loyola Institute for Ministry. “Courage” functioned as a verb for him. It stems from the Latin for “heart,” and with that one word, he encouraged people in difficult situations to act courageously, that is, with an inspired, strong, and generous heart.
I learned so much about Ignatian spirituality from Fr. Jerry and his books, Putting on the Heart of Christ and Discovering Your Dream. He pointed out, for example, that one of the greatest sins for St. Ignatius was ingratitude. If all is grace, if every breath is a gift, how else to respond but with lives of gratefulness?
He regularly recalled that St. Ignatius developed his retreat, the Spiritual Exercises, and his examen prayer while a layperson and aimed them initially at laypeople. So, they serve as resources not just for Jesuits but for all people of good will.
It strikes me that behind our country’s most divisive issues are, on some level, commitments to the good. Few would say, I hold this position because it’s evil. In response, St. Ignatius invites a magnanimity on the lookout for goodness, even in people and positions we disdain.
In these times, abundant as they are with conflict and disdain, we could do worse than remember and act on Fr. Jerry’s counsel of “Courage!”
Tom Ryan
Interim Vice President for Mission and Identity
