Forming Ignatian spirituality in the entire Aloysian Family
St Ignatius de Loyola (1491 – 1556)
St Ignatius was the founder of the Society of Jesus, also known as the Jesuits. He joined the Spanish army and, as a young man was a fierce soldier, vain and vicious. After twelve years in service, in 1522, he was badly injured and during his recovery, was called to religious life. He gave up his fine clothes and weapons and went on a pilgrimage for several years, teaching himself to meditate and pray. He settled in Paris to study and eventually, along with a group of like-minded companions, began the Society of Jesus. From the beginning, the Jesuits were educators and teachers and Ignatius sent his companions out as missionaries to create schools and colleges. Ignatius’ spirituality and teachings live on throughout the world today and our College is committed to developing a strong Ignatian Spirituality in every student. Read more on St Ignatius and the Jesuits.
Ignatius Loyola’s spirituality emerged from reflecting upon his own life experiences. He came to understand how God was dealing with him, was shaping him. This is the realm of discernment – how to reflect on the movements of head and heart, sifting through all the desires and feelings so that our lives may be shaped by the best of them.
Spirituality has to do with the connectedness of things – our relationship with self, our relationship with others, our relationship with creation and, of course, our relationship with God.
Ignatius’ spirituality always informs any work of the Society – educational institutions, youth ministry, parishes, communications and media, missions, retreat houses, and so on. It gives such works their ethos, underpinnings and focus and what Ignatius called, “our way of proceeding”.
The central insight of Ignatius was that God could be found in all things – not just in traditionally ‘religious’ activities. By living reflectively, we can be (as Ignatius himself was described) “a contemplative even while in action”... In this school we strive to help boys find God’s traces in their lives.
Both parents and teachers at St Aloysius’ have the opportunity to learn more about Ignatian Spirituality, both to enrich their own lives and to assist the boys to develop their own spiritual foundation. Courses are offered several times a year should you wish to learn more.
