In this paper I explore what Catholic feminist Ignatian spirituality can contribute to the conversation between faith and culture, conversation that is too often muddied by vague and superficial argument and by an ‘us’ vs ‘them’ attitude driven by extremes to which the majority do not belong. The secular and the religious spring from a common past, though they exist now within the nova effect of spiritualities available today in our modern Western or North Atlantic, “secular 3” world. The 500-year-old Ignatian Exercises can be a coherent voice speaking in the cacophony of the contemporary context especially when a feminist lens is used to expand them in a more comprehensive way by applying classic feminist thought on anthropology, names of God, embodiment, and the ontological centrality of relationship to human existence. This application of a feminist hermeneutic helps us explore human reality more fully – a reality that is “irreducibly plural and not merely hierarchically dualistic.” This, in turn, helps us communicate the Exercises and a truer, deeper Christianity, than contemporary conversation typically allows. I map out the basic structure and purpose of the Exercises and offer examples of a feminist retrieval of a variety of meditations and contemplations from the “weeks” of the Exercises to illustrate how this retrieval does not negate traditional interpretation of scripture but expands it for the benefit of all – Christian and non-Christian alike. The Ignatian Exercises address questions we all ask – they help one to “play the game of the truth of existence” and to reach both inward and then outward toward neighbor and world. The bridge I am attempting to build between faith and culture is made up of the Exercises as a grounded answer to the yearning in this unbelieving world that is, nevertheless, still haunted by belief. The feminist lens is the car that drives us over that bridge.

Thesis advisor: David Hollenbach / Solidarity as spiritual exercise: a contribution to the development of solidarity in the Catholic social tradition By Mark William Potter Director: David Hollenbach, S.J. ABSTRACT The encyclicals and speeches of Pope John Paul II placed solidarity at the very center of the Catholic social tradition and contemporary Christian ethics. This dissertation analyzes the historical development of solidarity in the Church's encyclical tradition, and then offers an examination and comparison of the unique contributions of John Paul II and the Jesuit theologian Jon Sobrino to contemporary understandings of solidarity. Ultimately, I argue that understanding solidarity as spiritual exercise integrates the wisdom of John Paul II's conception of solidarity as the virtue for an interdependent world with Sobrino's insights on the ethical implications of Christian spirituality, orthopraxis, and a commitment to communal liberation. The dissertation probes the relationship between spirituality and ethics in general, and Ignatian spirituality and Catholic social teaching, in particular. My analysis of solidarity in the encyclical tradition (Chapter 1) provides an historical overview of the incremental development of solidarity in the writings of successive popes and ecclesial councils from Pius XII through Paul VI. In considering the unique contributions of John Paul II, I turn first to the theological and philosophical formation of Karol Wojtyla and the sociopolitical context of Poland (Ch. 2). My analysis then turns to a consideration of Pope John Paul II's social encyclicals (Ch. 3), with the goal of offering a definition of solidarity that integrates his intellectual formation and social context with the development of solidarity in the official social tradition. Next, I examine the development of solidarity in the writings of Jon Sobrino, first through an analysis of his intellectual and spiritual formation in the revolutionary context of El Salvador (Ch. 4), and then through an analysis of his unique theological contributions to the topic (Ch. 5). Based on Sobrino, I offer an articulation of solidarity as spiritual exercise as an original contribution to the development of solidarity in the Catholic social tradition (Ch. 6). / Thesis (PhD) — Boston College, 2009. / Submitted to: Boston College. Graduate School of Arts and Sciences. / Discipline: Theology.

This study looked at the impact of Ignatian spirituality and Ignatian pedagogy on staff in student-facing units at Jesuit colleges and universities. It also explored how leaders of student-facing departments and divisions operationalize components of Ignatian spirituality and pedagogy to create an Ignatian organizational culture. Qualitative data were collected through multiple semistructured interviews with nine leaders of student-facing units at Jesuit colleges and universities in the United States. Key findings were organized into four thematic sections. The findings map onto different components that derive from, or are connected to, Ignatian spirituality and pedagogy. The thematic sections are: (a) leadership’s commitment to human excellence; (b) subsidiarity; (c) showing the way to God through the spiritual exercises and discernment; (d) cura personalis and a commitment to well-educated solidarity off and on campus. These findings create a framework for leaders and student-facing staff to consult for engaging more meaningfully with Ignatian values in their attempts to build strong and positive organizational cultures for their units. Recommendations for addressing obstacles and opportunities are provided for staff leaders of student-facing units throughout the Jesuit network in the United States.

[pt] Na presente pesquisa, o objetivo é apresentar uma contribuição da espiritualidade cristã para a redescoberta do sentido da vida. O estudo está estruturado em três partes. Na primeira, foram analisadas a Modernidade e Pós- Modernidade com seus desdobramentos, desafios e provocações para este tempo. Adentrou-se também na temática da espiritualidade, propondo-a como uma via de abertura ao transcendente, apresentando uma definição de espiritualidade cristã e o perigo de uma espiritualidade intimista. Na segunda parte, foram abordadas a espiritualidade inaciana e seus fundamentos basilares, analisando-se parte por parte o Princípio e Fundamento, suas contribuições e aplicações para os dias atuais. Na terceira parte, o foco foi para a atualização da espiritualidade inaciana por meio de parte da reflexão teológica de Karl Rahner e de alguns documentos do Papa Francisco. Ambos apresentam, na prática, algumas contribuições que a espiritualidade de Santo Inácio pode oferecer. Por esse caminho, propôs-se a contribuição da espiritualidade cristã para a redescoberta do sentido da vida, tendo como referência principal uma de suas vertentes: a espiritualidade inaciana. / [en] In this research, the objective is to present a contribution of Christian spirituality to the rediscovery of the sense of life. The study is structured in three parts. In the first one, Modernity and Post-Modernity were analyzed with their consequences, challenges and provocations for this time. The theme of spirituality was also explored, proposing it as a way of opening to the transcendent, presenting a definition of Christian spirituality and the danger of an intimate spirituality. In the second part, Ignatian spirituality and its basic foundations were addressed, analyzing the Principle and Foundation, its contributions and applications for the present days, part by part. In the third part, the focus was on updating Ignatian spirituality through part of Karl Rahner s theological reflection and some documents of Pope Francis. Both present, in practice, some contributions that the spirituality of St. Ignatius can offer. In this way, the contribution of Christian spirituality to the rediscovery of the sense of life was proposed, having as its main reference one of its aspects: Ignatian spirituality.

The dissertation is a study of the origins, development and contemporary manifestations of Christian retreats. It traces origins from the Biblical record until current retreats. Christian retreat is a period of withdrawal from usual activities to experience encounter with God through Christian prayer. Jesus' pattern of engagement in ministry and withdrawal is a vital basis for retreat. Other Biblical descriptions of retreat are studied. There is an examination of retreat experiences in Church history with a particular focus on monasticism, as a major expression of retreat life, and Ignatius of Loyola, the founder of the modern retreat movement. Varieties of subsequent retreat types in the spiritualities of different traditions from the Protestant Reformation onwards are considered. The spectrum of study includes Protestant, Catholic, Eastern Orthodox and Pentecostal spiritualities. The study culminates in focusing on current Ignatian and other retreats in their many forms. This includes private devotions to lengthy periods of retreat. / Christian Spirituality, Church History & Missiology / M.Th. (Christian Spirituality)

Made available in DSpace on 2016-04-25T19:20:12Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Maria Teresa Moreira Rodrigues.pdf: 1346152 bytes, checksum: 60cbe842a2be6a2e59cf7fd834721322 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2011-05-11 / The goal of this work is to examine Spiritual Exercises, a short book by Ignatius of Loyola writen 500 years ago, from today s perspective. However, it does not intend to demonstrate that this work by Loyola is still relevant nowadays. We know it is, given that it has been continuously used since it was written. Neither does this work aim at explaining the spiritual exercises themselves, for they are self-explanatory in being realized within a person. I will rather bring up some aspects that may allow one to get to know Loyola in his context, his life, and his paths. It is in this common man of his time Iñigo that a transformation happened, which can also happen to any human being (including in our present time). Supporting this transformation are the spiritual exercises, an initiation method whose goal is a type of knowledge that does not result from education or science, but rather a type of knowledge that amounts to search for illumination and intimate contact with God. In order to present the content of Spiritual Exercises, we first show its making up, the influences it received, its internal structure, and specific subparts. We show that Iñigo s socio-historical context and the different types of influence he received contributed to the writing of Spiritual Exercises. To highlight its relevance at the present time, we resort to the reading Roland Barthes made of it, which enables us to understand why it can lead to the construction of a specific language that delimits one s subjectivity, thus allowing us more autonomy due to deeper self-knowledge. The present work is justified by the contemporary people s own quests for selfknowledge and something that transcend them, helping them to get out of that massification network that consumption society nourishes / O objetivo deste trabalho é examinar os Exercícios Espirituais de Inácio de Loyola, um pequeno livro escrito há 500 anos, e trazê-lo para a atualidade. No entanto, não se trata de demonstrar que ele é atual, pois já se sabe que ele é, pois seguiu sendo usado ininterruptamente desde o momento de sua confecção. Não se trata de explicar os Exercícios Espirituais, pois eles explicam-se a si mesmos, ao se fazerem na pessoa. Trata-se de levantar aspectos que possibilitem conhecer Inácio, em seu contexto, sua vida, seus caminhos e descaminhos, porque é nesse homem comum e do seu tempo, o Iñigo, que a transformação foi se dando, como pode dar-se também em qualquer ser humano comum e do seu tempo, como o de hoje. Para favorecer essa transformação estão os Exercícios Espirituais, um método de iniciação que tem como fim um conhecimento que não é de educação e nem de ciência, mas sim um conhecimento que é busca de iluminação e de contato íntimo com Deus. Para dar a conhecer o texto dos Exercícios Espirituais, foi feito um levantamento de como se deu sua construção, influências recebidas, sua estrutura interna e divisões que o compõem. Mostramos como o contexto sócio-histórico de Iñigo e as influências recebidas contribuem para a construção dos Exercícios Espirituais. Para fortalecer essa condição de sua atualidade, valemo-nos da leitura que Roland Barthes fez deste texto, numa análise que nos permite depreender porque eles podem levar à construção de uma língua própria, que marca e demarca a subjetividade de quem o faz permitindo-lhe maior autonomia, pois maior conhecimento de si. Justifica-se esse trabalho pela própria demanda do homem contemporâneo, necessitado de encontro consigo mesmo e de algo que o transcenda, ajudando-o a sair da rede de uma massificação que a sociedade de consumo favorece

The dissertation is a study of the origins, development and contemporary manifestations of Christian retreats. It traces origins from the Biblical record until current retreats. Christian retreat is a period of withdrawal from usual activities to experience encounter with God through Christian prayer. Jesus' pattern of engagement in ministry and withdrawal is a vital basis for retreat. Other Biblical descriptions of retreat are studied. There is an examination of retreat experiences in Church history with a particular focus on monasticism, as a major expression of retreat life, and Ignatius of Loyola, the founder of the modern retreat movement. Varieties of subsequent retreat types in the spiritualities of different traditions from the Protestant Reformation onwards are considered. The spectrum of study includes Protestant, Catholic, Eastern Orthodox and Pentecostal spiritualities. The study culminates in focusing on current Ignatian and other retreats in their many forms. This includes private devotions to lengthy periods of retreat. / Christian Spirituality, Church History and Missiology / M.Th. (Christian Spirituality)