A Colloquium on Learned Devotion in the Jesuit Way of Life
27–29 May 2021
Chicago, Illinois
Committee Chair: M. Ross Romero, S.J. (Creighton University)
Committee Members: Matthew Baugh, S.J. (Saint Louis University), Sam Conedera, S.J. (Saint Louis University), Brian Daly, S.J. (Notre Dame University), Stephen Fields, S.J. (Georgetown University), Thomas Levergood (Director, Lumen Christi Institute)
In 1523 Ignatius of Loyola left Manresa in mid-February and set out for the Holy Land. He planned to start the journey from Barcelona on a certain galley that sank soon after departing. Although Ignatius had already placed several books on this ship, fortunately he never boarded it but sailed instead on another vessel some days later. As Ignatius was scrupulously cultivating poverty (especially at this time of his life), it is curious that he did not consider these books a luxury. What books, one wonders, would he have considered essential? How might scholarly and spiritual motivations have played a part in his selection? And what might his choice of texts have been after his Parisian studies, if the companions had achieved the Holy Land mission as late as 1537? These scenarios suggest a parallel question for our time: What books (or works) do we as Jesuits consider essential for learned devotion in the Society of Jesus? Just as Ignatius decided to put certain books onto the ship at Barcelona so we might make choices about particular works for our mission today. Which works would we propose be carried in our souls and in the souls of others who aspire to lead a Jesuit way of life?
Colloquium contributors will discuss how particular works (written texts, performances, works of art, historical periods/events, or historical figures), achieve a spiritual effect in the souls of Jesuits. Contributors will discuss how a work contributes to and deepens the understanding of the way of life disclosed by The Spiritual Exercises, the Constitutions of the Society of Jesus, the Autobiography of St. Ignatius, the Ratio Studiorum, devotional practices (i.e. the Sacred Heart), and other sources. Contributors might also address how the Jesuit way of life advances the scholarly understanding of that work.
Schedule
Thursday, May 27th
7:15 PM
Welcome from Austin Walker, Assistant Director of Lumen Christi Institute
7:30 PM
Docta Pietas, the Ratio Studiorum, and Renewing the Society of Jesus Today – Claude Pavur, S.J., Institute for Advanced Jesuit Studies
Friday, May 28th
9:00 AM
Bonus vir, dicendi peritus: Cicero’s De Oratore and the formation of virtue through rhetoric – Pierce Gibson, S.J., St Ignatius College Prep
9:45 AM
Augustine: Foundation of Ignatian Prayer – Stephen Fields, S.J., Georgetown University
11:00 AM
Renewing the Social Dimension of the Sacred Heart Devotion – Peter Nguyen, S.J., Creighton University
11:45 AM
500 Years: from Ignatius, through the Sacred Heart to the Pope’s Prayer Network – Joe Laramie, S.J., The Pope’s Worldwide Prayer Network
12:30 – 2:30 PM
Break
2:30 PM
Nietzsche on the Catholicity of an Education: A Temptation! – Matthew Baugh, S.J., Saint Louis University
3:00 PM
Fr. Louis Lallemant’s The Spiritual Doctrine: An Essential Manual on Prayer in the School of the Heart – Chris Krall S.J., Marquette University
3:45 PM
Ludolph of Saxony’s Vita Christi: A Key to Ignatius’ Spiritual Exercises – Stephen Molvarec, S.J., Boston College
Saturday, May 29th
9:00 AM
Jesuit Philosophy as a Way of Life: The Contributions of W. Norris Clarke and John F. Kavanaugh – M. Ross Romero, S.J., Creighton University
9:45 AM
Ignatian Thomism: Integrating First Studies through the Work of W. Norris Clarke, S.J. – David Paternostro, S.J., Saint Louis University
10:30 AM
San Pedro de Andahuaylillas as a Monument of Learned Devotion Yesterday and Today: Jesuit Art and Mission in the Southern Andes – Taylor Fulkerson, S.J., Christo Rey Jesuit High School
All sessions will be held both in-person and online. To request a Zoom link, contact Fr. Ross Romero, S.J.