Authentic Jesuits?

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civilwar

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Hi all,

I’m wondering does anyone know if there exists anywhere Jesuits who hold to authentic Jesuit/Ignatian spirituality? In other words, Jesuits who aren’t liberal and astray from Church teaching.

God’s calling me to the Priesthood and I’m trying to find out where he wants me to go. St. Ignatius’ spirituality etc. really appeals to me but I definitely don’t want to enter a religious order that will not give me authentic Catholic formation.

Also, if anybody here knows of religious orders/communities similar in charism to the original Jesuit charism, please let me know!
 
P.S. - I’m in Ireland but am open to moving abroad, if I find a good community/order. Ireland’s seminaries and religious orders are not in great shape currently.
 
My advice would be to contact the vocations director the the Jesuits in your area, or where you want to move. Visit them, speak with them, ask them questions, and get a feel for them in person, talk to their men in formation, then decide if they’re right for you. I would advise against dismissing the Jesuits based on what you hear and read. Most orders have individuals who run the gamut of liberal to conservative, modern to traditional. Be Ignatian about it and prayerfully feel them out to make a decision. You may (or may not) be surprised.
 
civilwar said:
Hi all,

I’m wondering does anyone know if there exists anywhere Jesuits who hold to authentic Jesuit/Ignatian spirituality? In other words, Jesuits who aren’t liberal and astray from Church teaching.

God’s calling me to the Priesthood and I’m trying to find out where he wants me to go. St. Ignatius’ spirituality etc. really appeals to me but I definitely don’t want to enter a religious order that will not give me authentic Catholic formation.

Also, if anybody here knows of religious orders/communities similar in charism to the original Jesuit charism, please let me know!
Click to expand...
Sometimes I wonder:
What would St. Peter Faber or St. Ignatius think of the current condition of their order…?
 
civilwar said:
Hi all,

I’m wondering does anyone know if there exists anywhere Jesuits who hold to authentic Jesuit/Ignatian spirituality? In other words, Jesuits who aren’t liberal and astray from Church teaching.

God’s calling me to the Priesthood and I’m trying to find out where he wants me to go. St. Ignatius’ spirituality etc. really appeals to me but I definitely don’t want to enter a religious order that will not give me authentic Catholic formation.

Also, if anybody here knows of religious orders/communities similar in charism to the original Jesuit charism, please let me know!
Click to expand...
To answer your question yes there are faithful Jesuits, certainly the great majority. But the minority that is shaky on relationship to the Church and Catholic doctrine is significant. In too many cases they were allowed to remain in powerful positions in media and education way too long. This group is mostly going to retire in a few years, but will get lots of attention in the meantime.

If you have strong concerns about a religious order, I would not consider entering it. Even if you joined a Jesuit province that is, for the moment, solidly orthodox, you would be upset by what you read of Jesuits elsewhere, and there is no assurance your own orthodox seminary does not have them on the faculty. Even orthodox Jesuits and others sometimes lapse back into patterns from their own questionable seminary training from earlier decades.

Look into communities you don’t have to worry about. In another decade the Jesuits will be much smaller, but those few will almost all be orthodox.
 
Thanks for the replies guys. I appreciate them. I understand that no order can be generalised, and that there will exist communities and individuals within any order who will be more and less orthodox. I’m just trying to put feelers out to find groups/communities/orders that I may not be aware of, that others might know about, which are orthodox, faithful and zealou and which embody a charism which appeals to me (which, as I mentioned, the original Jesuit charism does.)

Still would appreciate any other suggestions/(name removed by moderator)ut! Thanks.
 
civilwar said:
Thanks for the replies guys. I appreciate them. I understand that no order can be generalised, and that there will exist communities and individuals within any order who will be more and less orthodox. I’m just trying to put feelers out to find groups/communities/orders that I may not be aware of, that others might know about, which are orthodox, faithful and zealou and which embody a charism which appeals to me (which, as I mentioned, the original Jesuit charism does.)

Still would appreciate any other suggestions/(name removed by moderator)ut! Thanks.
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There are other communities/congregations who follow Ignatian spirituality. One example are the Holy Cross Fathers and Sisters. The HCF conduct Family Theater Productions and have a weekly Holy Hour for Hollywood.

Blessings,
Cloisters
 
Here’s a site on Ignatian Spirituality.

ignatianspirituality.com/

I’ve found more women’s orders than men’s who have adapted it. The Servants of the Lord and the Virgin of Matara participate in the Spiritual Exercises, so they may be Ignatian.

Blessings,
Cloisters
 
There is nothing wrong with the Jesuits in Ireland. There are superb men among them doing sterling work.
 
Any religious institute that is in communion with the Church is orthodox.

While there may be members who might hold to some unorthodox positions if the order is in communion with the Church then it is orthodox.
 
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