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Loyola University Chicago Loyola eCommons Theology: Faculty Publications and Other Works Faculty Publications 2017 A Spirituality of Citizenship: Cultivating the Ignatian Charism for Dialog Michael Murphy Loyola University Chicago, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://ecommons.luc.edu/theology_facpubs Part of the Religious Thought, Theology and Philosophy of Religion Commons Recommended Citation Murphy, Michael. A Spirituality of Citizenship: Cultivating the Ignatian Charism for Dialog. Conversations on Jesuit Higher Education, 51, : 3-7, 2017. Retrieved from Loyola eCommons, Theology: Faculty Publications and Other Works, This Article is brought to you for free and open access by the Faculty Publications at Loyola eCommons. It has been accepted for inclusion in Theology: Faculty Publications and Other Works by an authorized administrator of Loyola eCommons. For more information, please contact [email protected]. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 License. © The Author 2017 Murphy: A Spirituality of Citizenship: Cultivating the Ignatian Charism o A Spirituality of Citizenship Cultivating the Ignatian Charism of Dialogue By Michael P. Murphy Let’s face it: the world has emotional energy, our pas- never been so complex. From sions have become particu- navigating the physical and larly flammable. We are emotional fatigue caused by quickly moved to outrage by global terror, ecological cri- most anything that disturbs sis, and domestic gun vio- our world view. Can it be any lence to addressing the vast surprise that social tensions – social and economic inequal- uniquely aggravated online – ities that disrupt any sense of spill over into our physical justice, life in the 21st century spaces? Is it any wonder that is in variable states of disre- newer phenomena like trigger pair. Add to that disagree- warnings and safe spaces ments about the meaning have sprouted up in institu- and mystery of life and tional settings to become about what is owed to one good-faith responses to another, and the problems mounting social conflict and quickly compound. perceived aggression? Our already heated de- The juggernaut of the bates about relationships safe space movement most among rights and responsibil- likely began its life online. ities, justice and fairness, priv- Cyberspace has become the ilege and access – about the newest frontier to reveal a common good – are amplified perpetual need: constant care by the unprecedented ability in citizenship education in to transmit our feelings, im- order to cultivate a more just mediately and globally, via and humane world. Ameri- various cyber venues. Given can colleges and universities the fact that these commit- have always occupied an im- ments sprout from deeply portant historical role for held values freighted with both diagnosis and remedy Published2 byCONVERSATIONS e-Publications@Marquette, ON JESUIT 2017 HIGHER EDUCATION 1 Conversations on Jesuit Higher Education, Vol. 51, Iss. 1 [2017], Art. 3 in the realm of such dynamics and are in a special posi- lems, especially in human communities. In this sense, it tion to address these crises in community and commu- is no small detail to reiterate the profound theological nication. But lately turns to corporatism and qualities attached to dialogue, specifically as a central managerialism, to cite two prevalent trends, coupled attribute of God. So instrumental is dialogue in the dis- with provocative experiments in new utopianism, too closure of trinitarian unity that it becomes the very often obscure the educational mission of institutions of means of God’s boundless, self-donating love for cre- higher learning. And they disaggregate both pedagog- ation. So singular too is its power that, when dialogue ical focus and the esprit de corps of their communities. is botched or abused, it is also uniquely capable of ex- Precisely in this brokenness – in this confusion about ploding such beauty and reveals itself as a linguistic what colleges and universities can teach people about precursor to physical violence and social disintegration. communication, civility, and polity – Jesuit colleges and To resurrect some older language, these failures in universities are in a unique position to lead. communication are essentially rooted in sin – the spe- Expertise in the art and craft of dialogue is a pillar cific nature of which piqued St. Ignatius’s imagination upon which Ignatian spirituality and the Jesuit “way of and fired the “Presupposition” that orients all Ignatian proceeding” is built. The art of conversation was so communication. As Georgetown’s John Borelli, who dear to St. Ignatius that reference to its mystery, com- convened last year’s national seminar on Ignatian dia- plexity, and charismatic quality appear in many of his logue, notes, Ignatian character “is not something to be personal correspondences and undergird his Spiritual grasped arrogantly; rather, it is an ongoing accommo- Exercises. dation to humility, acknowledging one’s own sinfulness and giving way to liberty to think and feel with the What We’ve Got Here Is a mind of another, namely that of the master, Jesus,” so Failure to Communicate that we can think and feel in goodness and edification with all others. When we presume the best in people – when we practice the Ignatian Presupposition (“to put We are living through the most all-encompassing his- a good interpretation on another’s statement rather torical sea change since Gutenberg’s printing press than to condemn it”), we begin to engage the world in came on the scene in 1439; and the implications for cul- the ways that the Gospel counsels. We begin to love oth- tivating healthy pedagogies, spirituality, and citizenship ers better, even the ones who persecute us, and seek to in this new reality are legion. Never before has commu- live in mercy and forgiveness. Why? Because, like us, nication been so easy and open; never before has tech- they are fighting a great battle for which they are too nological innovation been so rampant and lush. But often ill-equipped. Like us, they have been created in emerging alongside these marvels are also toxic forces. the Imago Dei – in the image of God whose simple com- Baser visions of citizenship emerge and increased in- mand is to love and for whom, as the theologian Hans juries to the common good impede our ability to com- Urs von Balthasar concludes, “Love alone is credible.” municate peacefully and fruitfully. So numerous are these impediments that our notions of social and spiri- tual progress and our theories about human purpose University as Womb for Civic are rightly called into question. Life: Incubating Ignatian, Lest we forget, cultural fracture has essentially the- Catholic Citizenship ological implications and therefore requires theologi- cally astute responses. The dynamics of digital culture In this sense, the rich tradition of Ignatian spirituality unfold in a kind of binary system – an “as above, so and the practical wisdom of Ignatian pedagogy create below” mentality and an “on earth as it is… in the cloud” a solid space for engagement for Jesuit colleges and uni- kind of algebra. In this way, digital life uniquely demon- versities. But we must tread carefully. Since hateful strates theological mysteries of transcendence. The speech patterns flood and pollute the air, the reflex ac- trouble is, most people do not interconnect life in this tion is to create safe physical spaces that might be free way, a blindness which causes subtle and serious prob- http://epublications.marquette.edu/conversations/vol51/iss1/3 3 2 Murphy: A Spirituality of Citizenship: Cultivating the Ignatian Charism o from hostility. However, this may be ill-advised. As the evasions from micro-aggressions, almost always Greg Lukianoff and Jonathan Haidt observed in sourced in racism, sexism, and trauma, do too little to “Coddling of the American Mind,” (The Atlantic, Sept. assuage the conflict they so justly indict. They nobly 2015), “Attempts to shield students from words, seek to create protected dialogue about historically ideas, and people that might cause them emotional sensitive issues but too often confine the project to discomfort are bad for the students. They are bad for protracted and sanitized settings. My view is that, as the workplace, which will be mired in unending liti- nuanced and controversial as all of this is, our obliga- gation if student expectations of safety are carried for- tion is to confront nefarious hegemonies and expose ward. And they are bad for American democracy.” their errors in the light of day. Let us not make new What is needed instead is the integral view so central hegemonies in the process of prosecuting the old. In- in the charism of Ignatian dialogue. What is needed stead of circumscribing conversation in our class- is a pilgrimage in pedagogy – from cura personalis to rooms, we should be cultivating the Jesuit art of cura universitatis to cura civitatis – a journey in educa- eloquentia perfecta – the practice of good people speak- tion that fosters a spirituality of citizenship by culti- ing well in search of truth and justice. Instead of cre- vating the integrity of the whole. ating inauthentic zones of purity, let us teach to the This integral view is not easy, and the tenets of di- problem. Let us utilize Ignatius’s own letters – so alogue demand that we listen better. Students who many of which include practical counsel about how call for trigger warnings are to be applauded for car- to creatively deal with others in a spirit of peace and ing for others who might harbor memories of trauma reconciliation. As Ignatius knew, to curtail any dia- that could be reactivated, but the too sweeping re- logue is almost always antithetical not only to most sponse needs to be carefully midwifed. As well-inten- any idea of a college or university but to any human tioned as they are, requests for trigger warnings and community whatsoever.

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