Now, here’s a really good, thoughtful piece from America, examining the question of how Jesuit ideals are being communicated and received in Jesuit secondary schools.

Because of its humanist origins, Jesuit education must vigilantly guard against the misuse of its language. For example, “magis” is rightly understood as the fruit of a discernment of spirits in search of that which “more” brings about union with God. Instead it often becomes, at best, an unreflective motivation affirming that the more school activities I am involved in, the more I am of value to it. At worst it means the busier I am the more I find value in myself.

After teaching at two Jesuit high schools, I can attest that the latter two translations are a real temptation among students and faculty alike. In this case, “magis” becomes a principle of bourgeois religion as it dangerously stamps an Ignatian seal of approval on a culture that equates constant busyness, mass productivity and maximum efficiency with worth.

Similarly, finding God in all things, communicated apart from Ignatius’ intense asceticism and the period of prayer during the “Spiritual Exercises” that is devoted to considering the suffering of Christ, can end up baptizing every human endeavor at the expense of a self-critical awareness. In this way it risks becoming an Ignatian form of American exceptionalism.

And to be “women and men for others” means much more than performing random acts of kindness or simply being nice. Pedro Arrupe articulated an education for justice that moves its graduates to confront unjust structures that produce poverty with imaginative transformation. Similar to what Metz calls class treason, this stance against the world in service of love for the world carries a great cost. The memory of the martyred Jesuits of the University of Central America in San Salvador keeps us mindful of the danger inherent in this discipleship.

Obvious questions of cognitive and moral development arise when applying the interruptive nature of Ignatian education to high school students. Yet unless we connect the catchphrases used to communicate our Jesuit mission and identity with the story of Ignatius, our students may miss the imaginatively prophetic dimension of our spirituality.