Ignatian Glossary

A.M.D.G. – an abbreviation of a Latin phrase, Ad Majorem Dei Gloriam. It means 'For the greater glory of God' and is the motto of the Society of Jesus.

Arrupe, Pedro (1907-1991): a superior general of the Society of Jesus for nearly 20 years. He was the central figure in transforming Jesuit’s mission and vision. He challenged all Jesuits to promote faith, which involves social justice. He also promoted the CLC way of life.

Betania: is the Hebrew word for Bethany, the town located 3 km (less than 2 miles) east of Jerusalem, on the bank of the Jordan River. It is where Jesus met Lazarus, Mary, and Martha, whom he became best friends with. It is the place where Jesus felt at home and got support before his final week of ministry in Jerusalem.

Cardoner: the river where Ignatius experienced enlightenment. He wrote that all the enlightenments of his life combined “would not, in his judgment, be as great as what he experienced on that occasion.”

Consolation: an affective movement or state that draws us to God, away from self-centeredness, or towards a generous reaching out to others in love and service. We are directed towards growth, creativity, and a fuller and more genuine love of God, of other people, and of ourselves.

Contemplation: a basic method of mental prayer and consists in attending to the persons, their words, and their actions, largely by use of the imagination. In contemplation, you put yourself into the story: see the people, hear the dialogue, and engage in the actions.

Contemplatives in action: in all things, actions and conversations, Ignatius perceived and contemplated the presence of God and had an affection for spiritual things, being contemplative even while in action - a matter which he explained by saying “God must be found in all things.”

Cura Personalis: a Latin phrase meaning, “Care of the Whole person,” and that captures a Jesuit educational ideal. Its purpose is to develop awareness of another’s needs to help the person reach his or her own fullness of life. It is a desire to care for oneself and others as God does.

Desolation: affective movements draw us away from God and things which have to do with God, leading us to be self-centered, closed in and unconcerned about God or others. It agitates, disturbs the peace, and injects fear and discouragement to keep one from doing good.

Discernment: is a growing awareness of the movement of God’s grace and desire in our life and choosing to attune ourselves to such movement. Thus, it is first about orientating ourselves toward God. Secondarily, it is about making a particular choice A or choice B, as in choosing to attend graduate school or join a service program for one year after college.

Examen: Also known as 'examination of consciousness' or 'awareness examen', this structured review of each day, developed by Ignatius, is employed to discover God's movements and action within one's daily life.

Finding God in All Things: it is one of the hallmarks of Ignatian Spirituality. It invites a person to search for and find God in every circumstance of life, not just in explicitly religious situations or activities such as prayer in church (e.g., the Mass) or in private.

Friends in the Lord: The description that the first companions gave themselves when they were discerning the direction of their common life together.

Helping souls: This is one of the most frequent expressions to be found in Ignatius' writings. By 'soul' Ignatius meant the whole person, so that people could be helped by providing food for the body, learning for the mind, or provision of the sacraments.

IHS: the first three letters, in Greek, of the name Jesus. These letters appear as a symbol on the official seal of the Society of Jesus or Jesuits.

Ignatian/Jesuit: Something is said to be 'Ignatian' when it is grounded in the spirituality, ethos or world view of Ignatius. Thus some schools or religious orders describe themselves as 'Ignatian' but not 'Jesuit'. Jesuit refers to that particular 'Ignatian' manifestation found in the Jesuit order (Society of Jesus) or in ministries owned and directed by them.

Ignatian Pedagogical Paradigm (IPP): The Ignatian Pedagogical Paradigm is the model of the teaching/learning process in all schools which claim to be Ignatian, which includes the central cycle of the elements experience, reflection, and action, taking place in a particular context and always subject to evaluation. The IPP was initially outlined in Ignatian Pedagogy: A Practical Approach published in 1993.

Ignatian Retreat: A number of days (usually from three to thirty) spent in prayer/reflection with a director, often following the pattern of the Spiritual Exercises, frequently and liberally adapted for students.

Ignatian Spirituality: It is a pathway to God that helps us to find God in all things, to listen with a discerning heart, and to live for the greater glory of God. It is a way of life that involves “getting to the heart of the matter,” “living with integrity,” or “becoming one’s best self.”

Ignatius of Loyola (1491-1556): a founder of the Society of Jesus (Jesuits) and, in a way, a founder of CLC. During his college years in Paris, he and his roommates (Francis Xavier and Peter Faber) got together to pray and to help one another discern and discover their personal vocation and mission.

Jan Leunis: a Jesuit professor who formed a group of students at the Roman College to explore a way of living out the Spiritual Exercises in everyday life. Thus, CLC was born in 1563.

Jesuit: a member of the Society of Jesus. It is a shorthand name by members of the Society themselves, as well as by others favorable to them.

La Storta: a chapel at La Storta where God the Father told Ignatius, “I will be favorable to you in Rome” and that he would place Ignatius with His Son.

Loyola: Saint Ignatius was born in the town of Loyola in northern Spain.

Magis: The yardstick of Ignatius was always to undertake that which was 'the better choice', 'the more effective enterprise', 'the more widely influential', and 'meeting the greater need', not simply because such a course was harder, but because it would yield 'the greater good' or be more loving. This is the essence of the magis.

Manresa: a town in northeastern Spain where Ignatius had the powerful spiritual retreat experiences that led to his famous “Spiritual Exercises” and later guided the founding and the pedagogy of Jesuit schools.

Meditation: a first of two methods of prayer which Ignatius teaches in the Exercises. It is discursive mental prayer especially suited to “beginners” in the stage of spiritual growth, who usually need to reason out principles and to form basic convictions. In this method, a person chooses and ponders any words, images, or passages that strike him/her.

Men and Women for others: The phrase first appears (in a non inclusive form) in Jesuit General Pedro Arrupe's letter to the international Jesuit alumni conference in Valencia (1973), where he exhorts all alumni to use their gifts and talents in the service of others.

Montserrat: the place where Ignatius spent three days writing out the sins of his life and confessed them to a priest. On the eve of Annunciation, following the rites of chivalry Ignatius offered his sword and dagger to Our Lady at the shrine.

The Service of faith and the promotion of justice: The 32^nd General Congregation of the Society of Jesus (1975) spelt out the Society's mission today in the strongest terms: “The mission of the Society of Jesus today is the service of faith, of which the promotion of justice is an absolute requirement.” Reconciliation with God demands the reconciliation of people with one another.

The Society of Jesus: The English translation of the name of the Jesuit order. In Latin, Societatis Iesu. In Spanish, Compania de Jesus.

The Spiritual Exercises: A retreat (usually for thirty days, broken up into four 'weeks') developed by Ignatius, which employs an ordered sequence of prayers and contemplations, often undertaken when the retreatant wishes to make a choice in life towards greater love and service of God.