St. Ignatius and Jesuit Missions Welcome to your second lesson about St. Ignatius of Loyola (whose feast day is on 31 st July). These lessons have been designed for you by Jesuit Missions. Jesuit Missions is a charity which uses the teachings of St Ignatius and brings them into the 21 st Century. It does this by: – Working in schools to promote education for justice (helping young people to understand how to make the world a fairer, more equal place) – Providing opportunities to volunteer in Jesuit projects around the world – Raising money to provide financial support To help Jesuits working around the world To help people suffering due to natural disasters and emergencies (Nepal earthquake, Philippines typhoon) To help people suffering due to war and inequalities (Syrian refugee crisis)

St. Ignatius and Jesuit Missions We hope that you enjoy these lessons on St Ignatius and that they help deepen your understanding of St Ignatius, his life and his beliefs. We also hope that you learn more about Jesuit Missions and our work. Perhaps most importantly, we also hope that these lessons will inspire you to act more like St Ignatius did: – To deepen your love and gratitude for God – To become more attentive of God’s presence in your life – To try and glorify God with everything you do in future.

St Ignatius: The Meaning of Life Last lesson you focused on the basics of St Ignatius’ life. Today we move onto the beliefs of St Ignatius and, in particular, his belief on the meaning of life…

St Ignatius: The Meaning of Life You may remember from last lesson that St Ignatius wrote a book called the Spiritual Exercises. This isn’t a normal ‘reading book’, but a book full of prayer Exercises that help you understand God more. On the first page, St Ignatius explains what he thinks ‘the principle and foundation’ of life is. He writes: “Man is created to praise, reverence, and serve God our Lord, and by this means to save his soul.” But what does this mean?

St Ignatius: The Meaning of Life What Ignatius is basically saying is: 1.We are created by God, who has given us everything we have. It is impossible to pay back this love but it is possible for us to praise (thank) God, revere (worship) God and serve (help/ work for) God with our lives. 2.Ignatius reminds us that God should be present in everything we do. We must put God first in our lives. 3.This is where two of the Jesuits’ most famous phrases come from: – For the greater glory of God – Finding God in all things “Man is created to praise, reverence, and serve God our Lord, and by this means to save his soul.”

Brainstorm/ MindMap: Extra Challenge: In a second colour, label each answer ‘praise’, ‘revere’ or ‘serve’ – or perhaps more than one REMEMBER: Praise= thank God, Revere= worship God Serve= help/ work for God Praying to thank God at the end of the day. Praise

Praise, Revere and Serve: Scenarios Listen to the following scenarios and decide whether the person in them is praising, revering or serving God (or perhaps a combination of more than one). Hold up your cards to demonstrate your opinion, but be ready to be questioned and explain your answer…

Praise, Revere and Serve: Practice Scenario John prays before he goes to bed and when he wakes up in the morning. Hold up your cards and get ready to explain your answer. REMEMBER: Praise= thank God, Revere= worship God Serve= help/ work for God

Praise, Revere and Serve: Scenario 1 Samantha goes to Mass on a Sunday with her family and friends. She listens to the readings and sings the hymns. She then joins the choir and begins to read the daily readings at home. Hold up your cards and get ready to explain your answer. REMEMBER: Praise= thank God, Revere= worship God Serve= help/ work for God

Praise, Revere and Serve: Scenario 2 Nick plays rugby for the school team. After scoring the winning try he prays to God, thanking Him for helping him to play well and experience success. Hold up your cards and get ready to explain your answer. REMEMBER: Praise= thank God, Revere= worship God Serve= help/ work for God

Praise, Revere and Serve: Scenario 3 Monica and Daniel decide to organise a letter- writing campaign to get in touch with their Jesuit Missions companion school in Zimbabwe. It is a huge success – they persuade their teachers to have the entire year write a letter. This begins a pen pal scheme that helps Zimbabwean students improve their English skills and helps English students to learn more about life in a Jesuit school in Zimbabwe. Hold up your cards and get ready to explain your answer. REMEMBER: Praise= thank God, Revere= worship God Serve= help/ work for God

Praise, Revere and Serve: Scenario 4 Christopher is watching the news with his Dad. He sees a news story about a destructive typhoon in the Philippines that really upsets him. But he thinks there’s nothing he can do to help and goes to bed soon after. Hold up your cards and get ready to explain your answer. REMEMBER: Praise= thank God, Revere= worship God Serve= help/ work for God

Praise, Revere and Serve: Scenario 5 Christopher’s brother Aidan is also watching the news with their Dad. He also sees the news story about the destructive typhoon in the Philippines and feels upset like his brother. He feels that there’s nothing he can do to help, but decided to pray to God asking Him to help the people in trouble. The next day he looks on the Jesuit Missions Facebook page and shares it on social media. This allows Aidan and his friends to see what they can do to help.Jesuit Missions Facebook page Hold up your cards and get ready to explain your answer. REMEMBER: Praise= thank God, Revere= worship God Serve= help/ work for God

Praise, Revere and Serve: Scenario 6 Clara is eighteen and about to finish her A-Levels. Rather than spending her summer by going on a holiday with her friends, she decides to take part in a Jesuit Missions’ overseas volunteering programme. She spends six weeks in India, looking after poor children with the Jesuits in a local orphanage. Hold up your cards and get ready to explain your answer. REMEMBER: Praise= thank God, Revere= worship God Serve= help/ work for God

Examen of the Year: D id you Praise, Revere and Serve God this year? St Ignatius of Loyola believed that being attentive was very important. He encouraged people to listening to their feelings and their soul by praying the Examen. Now that you’ve considered how it is possible for people to praise, revere and serve God in daily life, we want you to take part in an Examen of the Year. Did you glorify God (praise, revere and serve Him) this school year? Write your ‘highlights’ of the year on the sheet and complete the ‘discernment space’ question afterwards.

Home Learning Challenge Complete a much more detailed Examen of the year, using the A3 homework sheet and questions. This will really test your attentiveness and discernment skills and help you begin to think like St Ignatius of Loyola. It will also prepare you for the final lesson on St Ignatius…

© Copyright Jesuit Missions 2016 Text by Christopher Brolly and Samantha Aidoo. All images were taken from Jesuit Missions and the Jesuit Institute London. Users are welcome to modify the material to fit their needs. jesuitmissions.org.uk Facebook: Jesuit Missions UK