Intentional Discipleship
Each person must begin with this understanding: My life
is not of mine. It is given to me by my God. I exist by an act of God and the
purpose and goal of my life is planned by God. [To become holy so that I may be
entrusted with a share in divine life.] For me, it is to accept and cooperate
with this vocation.
"Your eyes saw me when I was formless; all my days were written in Your book and planned before a single one of them began." Ps. 139
Life of Prayer
“Come and I will show you . . .” Only God knows his plan.
For me to learn what it is I must “ask, seek, knock.” I must enter the School
of Prayer, School of Ministry. Failure to do so only leaves me guessing –
making it up myself. For Ignatius prayer is an ongoing dynamic relation with
Jesus. It is contemplating (through scripture and mainly in the gospels) on
what I see Jesus saying and doing. Then I ponder and study further what I have
experienced. For Ignatius this is the ever-present practice of discernment-
outlined in his Rules.
"Jesus went out to the mountain to pray, and He spent the
night in prayer to God. When daylight came, He called His disciples to Him and
chose twelve of them, whom He also designated as apostles:…" Lk. 6:12
Union In Jesus
As a result of my time spent in the school of prayer, I
gain a clear understanding of who I am, why I am here and how I will henceforth
live my life. With mind and heart united I bind myself “unconditionally” to
Jesus and my given vocation to which he now sends me forth.
"So Jesus asked the Twelve, “Do you want to leave too?”
Simon Peter replied, “Lord, to whom would we go? You have the words of eternal
life. We believe and know that You are the Holy One of God." Jo. 6:68
Deposit of Wisdom
Like St. Paul, picked up off the Damascus Road, rising
from his personal encounter with Jesus and then brought into the communion of
the Church, we too now turn to the Church to find our assigned place in its
ministries. St. Paul was not sent to invent the church; Jesus founded the
church. Paul was sent to carry out his special assignment in the church.
Likewise, I am not being sent to reinvent Church but to build it up with the
special charisms I received from Jesus in my encounters with him in these first
three stages. Jesus will show me what the Church needs from me now.
“This man is My chosen instrument to carry My name before
the Gentiles and their kings, and before the people of Israel. I will show him
how much he must suffer for My name.” Lk 9:15
Fellowship
At the completion of making the Ignatius Exercises it is recommended that one follow up by seeking the support of a spiritual director. A one-on-one spiritual director may be difficult to obtain. Often follow-up support is obtained in a small group setting with others seeking similar support. Holding in common the shared experience of the first four of these components the group seeks to build up and support each other in their common calling to ministry and the spiritual life. Each member needs encouragement to hold tightly to their discerned vocation; to their dedication to a life of prayer in the Ignatian modeling; to their embrace of a personal relationship with Jesus who holds first place in their heart; to their desire to serve the Church in its most contemporary of needs. Such a group meets not to escape from the world but to heal each others’ wounds suffered in the world and to prepare to go back into its brokenness.
"See, I am sending you out like sheep into
the midst of wolves; so be wise as serpents and innocent as doves.” Mtt. 10:16
Service
Discipleship now formed into Ministry for service in the
Church and in the world takes on many forms. Each Fellowship member has been
endowed with their own particular charisms for the service to which God is
sending them. It can be that certain groups, in addition to these individual
callings, takes on a group held service as well. In this case, understanding
the makeup of the various individual charisms with which each member has been
empowered will help in deciding what common service best suits the group.
"There are different kinds of spiritual gifts but the same Spirit; there are different forms of service but the same Lord; there are different workings but the same God who produces all of them in everyone." 1 Cor. 12
"The one who speaks is to deliver God’s message. The one
who serves is to do it with the strength provided by God. Thus, in all of you
God is to be glorified through Jesus Christ." 1 Peter 4:8-11