“How can we find support in the spirituality of Saint Ignatius of Loyola for our pedagogies in this moment of crisis that Lebanon is going through?
This is the question that Prof. Fadi El Hage, director of the Professional Training Centre, asked me when he invited me to give a session at Saint Joseph University in Beirut (USJ).

On June 21 and 22, I met some thirty professors, directors of institutes and deans to get to work and reflect together on the itinerary of Saint Ignatius of Loyola. Nothing better than returning to his Story to discover Ignatius of Loyola in crisis, but also on the way.

Awakened to his inner life, discovering spirits and motions, Ignatius was able to set out, bearing the desire to help souls. He had thereby made an essential discovery – to move forward, Ignatius took a break: he paid attention to interior movements so as to return to himself and consider external circumstances.

I am more and more convinced that, the tirelessly repeated method, “ask what I want” / “speak to God in a colloquy”, is the richest training in making use of our freedom, by discovering how it is rooted in our desire, always called to free us from the obstacles that hinder us.

In this session I did not want to deliver pedagogical recipes, but to share a treasure, which is contained in the Spiritual Exercises and which is also deployed in our Constitutions.

Becoming indifferent to rediscover a sense of freedom, learning to express what one is looking for, consulting before deciding, learning to debate – these avenues have fuelled warm and deep exchanges.

Patrick Goujon SJ