Augustine: This is a really wonderful resource to all discerning Christians. Had I known better about religious life in my youth, I’d probably have become a friar myself.
But given that God has not abandoned me and has blessed me with a wife and a family, I’m grateful to Him, although I carry a certain remorse for not having pursuing further His calling before.
Anyways, I’m now in the novitiate of the Secular Order of Discalced Carmelites. It’s been wonderful to grow in the charisms of this religious order as a secular member. I still pause in awe at the wisdom of the Church for providing so many ways for the faithful to strengthen their relationship with the Lord.
However, even though the Jesuits don’t have a third order, it seems to me that secular orders are often overlooked if not downright dismissed at the parish and diocesan level. Evidently, vocation to the priesthood and to the religious life should be a priority, but I think that vocations to religious orders as seculars should also be fostered. What are Fr. Martin’s views on third orders?
Father Martin: Yes, the Jesuits don’t have a third order, or a women’s religious community attached to it. The latter decision was a result of a few unfortunate experiences that St. Ignatius Loyola had early on with a few women who actually joined the order and took vows. But these days there are many women’s communities who base their spirituality and “way of proceeding” on St. Ignatius. Of course I should point out that we have always had Jesuit brothers (technically lay men) who are full-fledged Jesuits (and who also are among our greatest saints). And happily today we have several lay groups that are closely associated with us. For example, the Jesuit Volunteer Corps (for recent college grads working with the poor), Ignatian Lay Volunteers (retired persons working with the poor) as well as the thousands of Jesuit associates who participate (and often run!) our colleges, universities, high schools and retreat centers. And of course the Spiritual Exercises, the foundation of Jesuit life, are available to everyone. So though we don’t have lay associates, we are very closely related to millions of lay people who are part of the Jesuit family.
"She wrote the way she lived: on the fly, without retrospect, always on the way, climbing higher."
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Indeed, Ignatian spirituality has been found by many religious institutes of women as fitting to them. We don’t need to go no further than St. Faustina as someone who lived in such an institute.
And, of course, St. Ignatius’ Spiritual Exercises are a fountain of graces to many lay people. I heard of one confraternity of priests whose mission is precisely giving retreats for people to practice his spiritual exercises.
Thanks for your answer, Fr. Martin.
May God bless you and keep you always.
Thank you for being part of this, Augustine. The Exercises and Ignatius’s Rules for Discernment have certainly been helpful to me. I’m always amazed at how folks who aren’t Catholic find a wealth of inspiration and guidance in Ignatian spirituality as we do. Ignatian spirituality certainly can cross all sorts of boundaries.
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