Our Beginnings
The Ignatian Spiritual Exercises grew out of the personal spiritual experiences of St Ignatius of Loyola and his reflection on the spiritual conversations he had with men and women of his time. Ignatius developed a dynamic pattern of scripture based prayer exercises that invited those who made them to remain attentive to inner experiences, to encounter profoundly Jesus Christ, to be deeply converted, to experience consolation in their relationship with God and to live their daily lives with a renewed sense of mission.
Given the significance of the Exercises for the contemporary Church, in the mid 1990’s a group of lay people, Jesuits and Religious involved in Ignatian spirituality and giving the exercises to others, commenced a process of discernment and reflection around the formation of an association that would support those involved in the Ignatian spirituality ministry. This lead to Companions in the Ministry of the Ignatian Spiritual Exercises ‘Companions’ being formed in 2000 as a professional Association to provide those engaged as givers of the Ignatian Spiritual Exercises in their various forms the opportunity to enhance their understanding and practice of Ignatian spirituality and to support their commitment to the highest standards of formation, ethical practice and accountability.
Companions has evolved over the years since its inception as a ‘Community of Consolation’ to embrace, nurture and support members in their spiritual journey.
Our Renewal
In an atmosphere of listening, spiritual conversation and discernment, a Gathering in 2023 was initiated to provide opportunities for Companions members to share in our past, present, and future evolving journey as a ‘Community of Consolation’. Members had an opportunity to prayerfully reflect on their own personal graced history of embracing Ignatian Spirituality as a way of life and of making, living, and giving the Spiritual Exercises in all forms: ‘How did we first come into this ministry and how did we experience this call’?
Members shared their ministries and Companions experiences, their wisdom, feelings, joys and sadnesses in an atmosphere of openness and honesty. Members reflected on their history and identified those key people, events, feelings, and meanings that had been instrumental in their personal and group formation. There was an opportunity to contemplate the ‘Dream of the Trinity’ for Companions…who are we, what are we, what attracts people to us, what are we a part of and what is the underlying purpose of our mission.
We felt particularly moved by Pope Francis apostolic exhortation ‘Gaudete et Exsultate’…the call to Holiness in the contemporary world. This offers us a way of being, both personally and as a member of Companions….being our authentic selves, living our lives in love, bearing witness to God in all we do, being kind and seeing and acting with mercy, following the Beatitudes as our guide.
We worked through a discernment process to shape and form a framework for Companions that embraces contemporary movements where we are supported as individuals and have opportunities for ongoing formation and community. We responded to invitations, involved ourselves in spiritual conversation and discernment, working together to ‘name a way forward, a new way of being’ and develop a process of framing our Identity, Vision, Mission and Values.
When reframing our ‘Identity, Vision, Mission, Values’, we acknowledged that:
- As Companions, our identity subsists in our relationship with Jesus as the foundation and the source, working with Him in companionship for making God’s reign a reality in the here and now; through our practice of Ignatian Spirituality and the Ignatian Spiritual Exercises.
- Companions is a place to belong in companionship with like-minded people with a common vision. A community of support and encouragement in our individual mission, in living and giving the Spiritual Exercises. We find that support in community prayer, conversation, sharing of resources and being involved in the formation of others in giving the Exercises.
- The identity, vision, mission and values of Companions are framed in a way that allows them to be compatible with those of members.
We strive to be an open circle community of welcome and hospitality where we are encouraged to listen, be reflective, trusting, loving, kind and joyful. A place where creativity, cheerfulness, courage and prayerfulness are integral in our way of being.
Companions continues to be an evolving and transforming professional association that honours each other’s story and shared ministry and provides a comforting, supportive, connecting and embracing community for all givers of the spiritual exercises in their various forms. We dwell in possibility and imagine what might be new and emerging.
