27 Jun SPIRITUAL EXERCISES AND ECOLOGICAL CONVERSION. Manresa
From 11 to 17 June, I had the privilege of participating in the II International Symposium on Spirituality, at the Cova de Sant Ignasi Spirituality Centre in Manresa (Barcelona). This year the theme was ‘Spiritual Exercises and Ecological Conversion’. In an atmosphere of prayer, listening reflection and dialogue, we were able to deepen and discover how to help ourselves and others to take steps in conversion and ecological transformation from the exercises of St. Ignatius. We were 72 participants – Jesuits, religious and lay people – coming from 5 continents and 33 different countries. It was a very rich sharing and a great opportunity to get to know closely such different realities and commitments to integral personal and communal ecological conversion. Each day was dedicated to one of the 4 weeks of exercises. The speakers have been presenting the full potential of the exercises in the process of personal and community conversion as a response to the ecological challenge and in the light of the Encyclical LS of Pope Francis. Several experiences already carried out in this experiences already carried out in this field, very inspiring and possible to implement in other places. The morning began with a proposal for personal prayer in silence, a contemplative walk through Manresa and a visit to a place of significance for Ignatius. This helped us to live the whole symposium from this prayerful, contemplative and open to the spirit attitude that Ignatius, the Pilgrim, lived the Pilgrim.
After each day’s keynote speech, several testimonies and projects of some Spirituality Centres that have already started on this path were presented,
Le Chatelard (Lyon /France) ECO Exercises in the key of Laudato Si EcoINEA: taking concrete steps in ecological conversion, with different proposals for EE and retreats with a greater ecological focus from the paradigm of Integral Ecology proposed in the LS. The social dimension of the ecological crisis was also present in several of the presentations and testimonies, challenging us to greater involvement, commitment and concrete actions to combat climate injustices and to work (advocacy) for the dignity of the poorest and most excluded, who are always those who suffer the most from its consequences.
Ukama Center/ Social Transformation platform(Fabian Moos, sj)
INEA Center, Ecological Project in Comunity (Felix Revilla, sj)
The Amazonia Itinerant Team (Fernado Lopez, sj y eq)
Civil Resistance / Germany – (Jörg Alt, sj)
For me it has been a richness to rediscover how the exercises can be a ‘true school of ecological conversion’, not as something ‘imposed’ from outside, but as the fruit of the encounter with God the Creator and His mercy, of a greater awareness and pain for our personal/structural involvement in the rupture of a harmonious relationship with our brothers and sisters and the degradation of our Common Home. involvement in the rupture of harmonious relationships with our brothers and sisters and the degradation of our Common Home and, as the encounter with Jesus, which seduces and converts us, makes us capable of ‘turning’, changing our route and desiring to live from a new relational paradigm with all beings. From this comes the desire to commit ourselves to repair, reconcile and care for our world as the common home of all and for all. ‘There is no ecological conversion without personal transformation’. From 31 July all the presentations of these days will be available on the Youtube channel of the Cova de Sant Ignasi. There you will also find the whole programme, as well as the shared experiences. I encourage you to listen, all of you who are concerned and want to continue deepening in your personal ecological conversion and/or those who accompany and give exercises. We are all on the way, and the different ways/doors of approaching the reality of the socio-ecological crises presented during these days will surely enlighten our own conversion. Courage!
Ana Pina, aci
