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Jesuit Heritage
Contemplation in Action:
Learning That is Both Active and Reflective
St. Ignatius believed that as we come to understand
the world and develop a truer vision of it, we will be led to
act in new ways. He understood the integral connection between
knowing and acting, and hoped that Jesuits and graduates of their
schools would be "contemplatives in action." Jesuit
schools try to foster this "way of proceeding" by educating
students with an appreciation of their own agency. Ignatian pedagogy
not only requires students to read, take notes, and write papers
and exams. It also motivates them to think and learn on their
own. Such active learning empowers students with a confident sense
of their own ability to change the world: to engage it and work
fruitfully in the struggle to make it more just and gentle. Ignatius
often closed his letters with words intended to challenge and
inspire, fitting words for every Georgetown student: "Go,
and set the world on fire."
However, Ignatius also believed that the deeper truth of the
world is best discovered when we engage in serious and sustained
reflection on our reality. He encouraged prayerful consideration
and frequent examination of conscience. He did not want us to
have the experience but miss the meaning. It was during his forced
convalescence that Ignatius first found the time to reflect on
his life's meaning, an experience that changed him dramatically.
No one forces Georgetown students to reflect, but opportunities
to do so are plentiful. Retreat programs, for example, are available
for students of every faith tradition and those of none, and generations
of Georgetown students have greatly benefitted from them. On retreats
students can consider what really matters to them, their deepest
convictions and hopes, and who they want to be. Ignatius Loyola
is "the patron saint of retreats," and Georgetown students
live out the heart of his spiritual legacy when they develop as
"contemplatives in action."
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