St Ignatius: The Meaning of Life

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 “Man is created to praise, reverence, and serve God our Lord, and by this means to save his soul.” What Ignatius is basically saying is: We are created by God, who has given us everything we have. It is impossible to reciprocate this love but it is possible for us to praise (thank) God, revere (worship) God and serve (help/ work for) God with our lives. Ignatius is reminding us that God should be present in everything we do. We must put God first in our lives. For the greater glory of God Finding God in all things If a teacher wishes to stretch and challenge the students, feel free to delete the animations and explanations and replace them with students’ responses. This is where two of the Jesuits’ most famous phrases come from:

How can we praise, revere and serve God in our lives? Brainstorm/ MindMap: REMEMBER: Praise= thank God Revere= worship God Serve= help/ work for God How can we praise, revere and serve God in our lives? Students work in pairs or groups to come up with ideas. Teachers should challenge students by asking whether their answers ‘praise’, ‘revere’, or ‘serve God – or perhaps a combination of the three. Note: this could be done, or added to, after the upcoming scenarios activity. Extra Challenge: In a second colour, label each answer ‘praise’, ‘revere’ or ‘serve’ – or perhaps more than one

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… As well as insisting on students explain their answers, teachers should push them, challenging them to suggest how the people in the scenarios could ‘praise’, ‘revere’ or ‘serve’ even more.

Praise, Revere and Serve: Practice Scenario REMEMBER: Praise= thank God Revere= worship God Serve= help/ work for God 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. Suggested answers to the scenarios will appear in this box. There is no ‘official’ answer. Teachers encourage students to deepen their explanations and justify why they choose one and not the other.

Praise, Revere and Serve: Scenario 1 REMEMBER: Praise= thank God Revere= worship God Serve= help/ work for God Praise, Revere and Serve: Scenario 1 Linda attends Mass on a Sunday with her family and friends. She pays attention to the readings and joins in with the hymns. She then joins the choir and begins to read the daily readings outside of Church. Hold up your cards and get ready to explain your answer. Suggested answer: Serve (dedicated participation in faith inside and outside Church) Revere (readings and hymns) Praise (choir)

Praise, Revere and Serve: Scenario 2 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. Suggested answer: Praise: God is thanked as somewhat of an afterthought, but nevertheless praised. Little evidence of revering and no explicit serving of God either.

Praise, Revere and Serve: Scenario 3 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. Suggested answer: Serve (their actions enable others to learn and help those in great need.) Possibly praise, if faith is discussed in the letters.

Praise, Revere and Serve: Scenario 4 REMEMBER: Praise= thank God Revere= worship God Serve= help/ work for God 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. Suggested answer: None. Although his upset nature shows sympathy with others which is to be commended. This scenario is deepened and illuminated by the next one which will act as a lesson to children who have experienced this situation.

Praise, Revere and Serve: Scenario 5 REMEMBER: Praise= thank God Revere= worship God Serve= help/ work for God 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. Hold up your cards and get ready to explain your answer. Suggested answer: Revere: Aidan’s realises the importance of praying, especially when one feels helpless. His prayer also seems to lead to God guiding him on how to Serve in an indirect way (sharing his feelings). Feel free to click on the JM link to see the various charitable appeals that young people can get involved in.

Praise, Revere and Serve: Scenario 6 REMEMBER: Praise= thank God Revere= worship God Serve= help/ work for God 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. Suggested answer: Serve (reasons range from: generosity to help others, particularly those most in need; working in a faith-based setting alongside fellow Christians, courage not to simply follow friends but place faith at the forefront of her decision). Her example could be an example of ‘Praise’ considering she is living in/ working with a Religious community.

Examen of the Year: Did you Praise, Revere and Serve God this year? St Ignatius of Loyola was a great believer in being attentive and discernment: “For it is not knowing much, but realising and relishing things interiorly [in your mind], that contents and satisfies the soul.” 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. NB There are instructions beneath this image. An individual reflective task to be completed on the ‘Examen of the Year’ resource sheet.

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… Examen Giant Hand HWK Challenge resource sheet given to students to be completed and returned before the next lesson.

St Ignatius: The Meaning of Life

© Copyright Jesuit Missions 2017 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 education@jesuitmissions.org.uk Facebook: Jesuit Missions UK Twitter: @JesuitMissions