St. Ignatius and Contemporary Iconography: Ignatius in Rome

Panel 5 of 5: Ignatius in Rome

During my past few posts, I had been quoting the prayer cards that I have of the icons at St. Ignatius Chapel at Seattle University.  Although there were a number of differences between the ones at SU and the ones in the novitiate, the essence of the art is the same.  However, this 5th icon is strikingly dissimilar to the one at SU, and I felt that the quote that described SU's icon does not really capture what is going on in this new icon.  

On the icon at SU, Ignatius is shown writing the Constitutions of the Society of Jesus. He sits alone in his room in contemplative thought, amidst books and letters.  An image of the Virgin Mary is in the background, with only 2 other people walking down an alleyway. Certainly, to write a robust document like the Constitutions, Ignatius would have needed that quiet solitude.  

Yet, as we see here in the icon at the Oregon novitiate, Bittau's depiction of Ignatius is completely different. Instead of being withdrawn in Rome, Ignatius is flooded by people reaching out to him. He is in priestly garb, preaching to the people and administering to them while the light of Christ overlooks all. His arms not only are in a giving posture to the people but also are open to receiving the graces of God poured down, inviting the people to do the same.  

Indeed, Ignatius was quite active in the works he began in Rome, and I think Bittau is right to highlight that in this icon. For example, he aided the people in the winter of 1538 during a harsh famine, helped those who were poor, sick, and crippled, established a work "The House of St. Martha" to help prostitutes and "The Association of Downtrodden Young Women" for those in danger.  

Throughout the 5 icons, Bittau gives equal weight not only to Ignatius' life of prayer following his conversion, but also his life of ministry.  It is this fusion that gives Jesuits our charism. 

Well, this ends my week-long glimpse at the life of St. Ignatius through the iconography of Dora Bittau.  I have found my own prayer life enriched in being able to look again upon these icons and to contemplate the life that he led. And, as with any art, you may see things that I did not catch, or you may even find something in the future that had not caught your eye in the past. Definitely, there are much more to these icons that I have written about. I hope this week at least has given you a glimpse into the life of a man that inspires so many works today. And, perhaps, it has offered you a way in which you can pray with art. 

"O Spirit of God, we ask you to help orient

all our actions by your inspirations,

carry them on by your gracious assistance,

that every prayer and work of ours

may always begin from you

and through you be happily ended."

St. Ignatius and Contemporary Iconography: Confirmed in Mission at La Storta

Panel 4 of 5: Confirmed in Mission at La Storta

"Ignatius' desire and prayer that he and his companions serve Christ's mission is confirmed when God places him with Jesus carrying his cross"

The following quote is all we get from Ignatius himself about this vision:

"One day, a few miles before reaching Rome, he was at prayer in a church and experienced such a change in his soul and saw so clearly that God the Father placed him with Christ his Son that he would not dare doubt it--that God the Father had placed him with his Son."

However, other Jesuit documentation gives greater detail around this experience. Ignatius is said to have been praying frequently to Mary for this grace to place him with his son, and his prayers were answered at La Storta.  An early companion and future General, Diego Lainez writes that Ignatius told him "that it seemed to him that God the Father had impressed on his heart the following words: 'I shall be propitious to you in Rome'...then at another time it seemed to him that he saw Christ carrying a cross on his shoulder and the Eternal Father nearby who said to Christ: 'I want you to take this man for you servant.' Upon receiving this vision, Ignatius felt inspired to name the new order he would found using the name of Jesus--the Company of Jesus, or the Society of Jesus.  Most religious orders are named after their founder, but Ignatius wanted the emphasis to be squarely placed on Christ.  

Like the 2nd icon, Bittau again obscures the vision in a radiant white light. This is actually a departure from the icons at Seattle U that she made before, in which Ignatius' visions are clearly shown.  In this way, it honors the mystery of Ignatius' vision.  Yet, you can still make out the cross of Christ in the light.  

You can see Rome in the background, showing the close proximity of this experience to his mission.  On the side is the chapel of La Storta.  

What is fascinating in this icon is that Bittau again chooses to fuse modern day images with the experience of Ignatius.  Stark images of torture and naked bodies lie amidst the vision. She wanted to highlight that Jesuits, who are called to be in the world, are necessarily called to be in the midst of suffering.  Indeed, many Jesuits have lost their lives in the Society's long history.  

When I look at this icon, I am reminded about Fr. Pedro Arrupe's witness of the atomic bomb in Hiroshima and his service to the Japanese people who suffered its effects--a true example of a Jesuit in the midst of real suffering.  Trained as a medical doctor, Fr. Arrupe did his best to save as many lives as he could. I have much to say about that topic, but I think I will save my reflection of Arrupe at Hiroshima for another day.  

Ideally, as Jesuits, we do what we do because we are rooted and grounded in Christ--that profound love and affection inspires and sustains our life and our ministry. It is that orientation that orders our thoughts and actions. Some of us even lose our lives because of that love.  

It is that love that brought Ignatius to Rome. 

What/who are you in love with? What sets you on fire?

"Nothing is more practical

than finding God, that is,

than falling in love

in a quite absolute, final way. 

What you are in love with,

what seizes your imagination,

will affect everything. 

It will decide 

what will get you out of bed

in the morning,

what you do with your evenings,

how you spend your weekends,

what you read, who you know,

what breaks your heart,

and what amazes you

with joy and gratitude. 

Fall in love, stay in love,

and it will decide everything."

~Fr. Pedro Arrupe, S.J.

St. Ignatius and Contemporary Iconography: Educated and Blessed with Companions at the University of Paris

Panel 3 of 5: Educated at the University of Paris

"Ignatius pursues an education so he can help others and serve God."

Ignatius had a deep desire to aid souls.  Yet, he realized that in order to be effective in his ministry, he had to obtain a good education.  Thus, he traveled to Paris in pursuit of higher learning (even studying with children to strengthen his lack of fundamentals). It is during this time that Ignatius meets the "first companions", the ones who will later join him in establishing the Jesuit Order--Blessed Peter Faber and St. Francis Xavier.   

It is clear that Ignatius' desire for learning inspired the role that Jesuits would play in educating others. Bittau acknowledges this relationship with the past by melding Ignatius and companions with present day students in their graduation garbs.  Most of the students are directed towards Ignatius, but notice that Ignatius is pointing directly upwards towards the "IHS".  We look to Ignatius who inspired Jesuit education, but Ignatius points at his own inspiration--Christ.  

Many who attend Jesuit institutions, particularly Jesuit high schools, would be familiar with the phrase "AMDG" - for the greater glory of God. Ignatius believed that through this education that he would obtain, he would have greater ability to magnify God's work here on earth.  

I think it's quite a conscientious move on Bittau's part to depict the students in their graduation robes.  Not only does it represent success in obtaining one's education, it also points towards the future. It marks the transitional phase in which we enter into the world, bringing our newly formed gifts and talents to others.  

Specifically as a Jesuit in formation in the phase of first studies, I find that reflecting on this icon puts my philosophical studies in a bit of perspective. This time of studies is meant to make me a better Jesuit down the line. It is not education for education's sake and for one's personal benefit--it is education for ministry. 

How has your own education shaped and formed you? Have you been able to bring those unique gifts and talents into ministry? For those Jesuit educated, how has Jesuit education influenced the way you see the world today?

"The contemporary mission of the Society of Jesus is the service of faith and the promotion of that justice of the Gospel that is the embodiment of God's love and saving mercy."

             ~General Congregation 34.d.2.no.3

"We should recall that mediocrity has no place in Ignatius' world view; he demands leaders in service to others in building the Kingdom of God in the market place of business and ideas, of service, of law and justice, of economics, theology, and all areas of human life.  He urges us to work for the greater glory of God because the world desperately needs men and women of competence and conscience who generously give of themselves for others."

             ~Fr. Peter-Hans Kolvenbach, S.J. (former General of the Society of Jesus)

St. Ignatius and Contemporary Iconography: Transformed at River Cardoner

Panel 2 of 5: Transformed at the Cardoner

"The pilgrim to Jerusalem pauses in Manresa and spends a year of purification and enlightenment, culminating in a transforming illumination by the River Cardoner"

When I look at this icon, I see St. Ignatius retreating from the world.  It represents a "desert" experience, of needing to take a few moments away from the business of everyday life in order to reflect and examine his life.  In the background, we see in the distance that is in Ignatius' view.  He is outside the city, yet can still see it.  

This experience probably inspired parts of his work with the Spiritual Exercises, the main retreat experience that binds all Jesuits together.  

This retreat experience is important for the Jesuit life and indeed shapes who we are and how we interact with the world.  We are called always to step back and to reflect, to remove ourselves completely from the world for a short time in order to re-enter refreshed and renewed.  

If you look closely, you may see images within the rocks themselves.  In those times of prayerful solitude, we may see things that we would not be able to otherwise.  I mean that in a very positive sense too--not in the sense of "seeing" things because we're going crazy.  Well, we are a little crazy...But, I mean that our ability to discern and to reflect back on experiences becomes heightened in that short detachment from the world.  

Overlooking everything is a white dove, representing the Holy Spirit.  I find that image to be very comforting. 

In Ignatius' spiritual autobiography, he shares specifically about this experience at the river (always referring to himself in the 3rd person as he dictates his story to a brother Jesuit): 

"Once he was going out of devotion to a church situated a little more than a mile from Manresa; I believe it is called St. Paul's and the road goes by the river.  As he went along occupied with his devotions, he sat down for a little while with his face toward the river, which ran down below.  While he was seated there, the eyes of his understanding began to be opened; not that he saw any vision, but he understood and learned many things, both spiritual matters and matters of faith and of scholarship and this with so great an enlightenment that everything seemed new to him" 

I feel that Bittau, the artist, captures this understanding quite well.  She intentionally obscures the image in the river as a ray of light to represent this new understanding of Ignatius.  Yet, you can still faintly make out a silhouette of the Virgin Mary with child. 

Have you ever had a "river" experience in which old things all of a sudden became new, in which you saw things in a new and breathtaking light?

"Take, Lord, Receive

all my liberty,

my memory,

my understanding

and my entire will,

all that I have and possess.

You have given all to me. 

To you, Lord, I return it. 

All is yours. 

Dispose of it wholly

according to your will.

Give me only your love and your grace

That is sufficient for me."

~St. Ignatius