When it comes to silence and the contemplative life, it’s easy to think that it’s a solitary experience. Like being a monk in a cave on a lonely mountain. But it’s not. At least not as Ignatius envisioned. Not as I experienced during my 30 days of silence.
In 1534 Ignatius gathered with 6 other students from the University of Paris and formed what would become the “Society of Jesus.” Not the “individual followers” of Jesus. Not the “monks & mystics living in isolation” with Jesus. But the “society” of Jesus. From the start, Ignatius envisioned a life lived in community with others.
In fact, he wrote this in the charter to the society: “Whoever desires to serve as a soldier of God beneath the banner of the Cross in our Society, which we desire to be designated by the Name of Jesus, and to serve the Lord alone and the Church, his spouse…should, after a solemn vow of perpetual chastity, poverty and obedience, keep what follows in mind. He is a member of a Society founded chiefly for this purpose: to strive especially for the defence and propagation of the faith and for the progress of souls in Christian life and doctrine…Moreover, he should show himself ready to reconcile the estranged, compassionately assist and serve those who are in prisons or hospitals, and indeed, to perform any other works of charity, according to what will seem expedient for the glory of God and the common good.”
This was a society. A community. A band of brothers dedicated to serving the church. And notice–this church did not exist to meet their needs. They existed to serve the mission of the church.
The priority of community in growing toward Christ is also seen in the Ignatian emphasis on Spiritual Direction. The Jesuits rely upon the aid of trained & experienced mentors called Spiritual Directors. Thus, during my 30 day period of silence, I was dependent upon a Spiritual Director. It was not just me and God. It was me, my director and God.
Each day I would call her and she would engage in diagnosis. “How’s your soul?” she would ask. She also engaged in prescription. She provided texts, readings and prayers for me to meditate on. She determined when it was time for me to move to the next “week” in the Spiritual Exercises. She introduced me to tools in the spiritual life such as the “suscipe”–a prayer by Ignatius, prayer beads, and the Spiritual Canticle–a beautiful love poem by John of the Cross. I could not have made it through that journey into Christ without her guidance.
Benedict wrote “Always we begin again.” That is, we are all beginners when it comes to the spiritual life. And we need the guidance and assistance of others along the way.
Writing of the contemplative life, Martin Laird stated, “”Into the uncharted land of prayer we bring a false map.” Thus, we need the guidance and assistance of others who have gone farther and deeper than we have.
This is the very thing Paul writes about in Philippians. He uses a form of “koinonia” in each chapter of this letter. And in Phil. 1:3-11 he writes about how all Christians have a shared ministry that flows from receiving a shared mercy. Life without Christ is simply impossible without one another.
This, in fact, is the point of all those “one another” passages in the New Testament. We are called to “one another” each other more deeply into Christ.
Thus, while the practice of silence and contemplation may seem like a solitary business, it’s far from it. At least when practiced in the Ignatian way, the contemplative life is wholly dependent upon the community of the church.
There is no Christ without community.
And this leads me to ask two questions:
- Are our churches fostering the type of fellowship among Christians that leads to deeper knowledge of/ experience of Christ?
- Are we pursuing this type of relationship with other Christians?
