In 1909, the same year that the Jesuits of the Saint Louis Province established Rockhurst College, Rockhurst High School, and Saint Francis Xavier Parish in Kansas City on shared land where 52^nd Street intersects with Troost Avenue, the Jesuits of the United States established a magazine called “America.” Its title indicated their desire to engage Catholics of the United States, and throughout the Americas, to contemplate issues of the day in the context of Ignatian Spirituality, Ignatian Conversation, and the Ignatian Way of Proceeding.

The way of Saint Ignatius, founder of the Society of Jesus (or Jesuits), is discernment, i.e., dialogue, discussion, debate, and discourse that listens for the voice of God, gives important issues the value they deserve, and offers readers knowledge, understanding, and wisdom to think critically and make good decisions based on prayerful thoughtfulness. Ignatian Spirituality, like Catholic Social Teachings, is rooted in granting dignity to every person while engaging in acts that benefit humanity’s common good. Ignatian Conversation begins with reverencing those with differing viewpoints while acknowledging that they, also, desire what is good. If those with opposing opinions express themselves in ways that insult or demean, we are to restate their views in ways that orient us all positively toward what is good. During the 16^th Century Council of Trent, the crux of Catholic counterreformation efforts, the pope asked Ignatius to send Jesuits to help bishops and other council fathers dialogue with one another through their polarizing positions and guide them along a path where they could move forward together in union with the Holy Spirit.

This approach was recently reintroduced to Catholics by the Jesuit pope, Francis, through the concept of Synodality. It is a process that gathers us to face one another as emissaries of God’s will and to also face the issues of our times with integrity. The synodal process calls us to get in sync. It is not unlike what our Jewish forbears did in synagogues when they listened to the Word of God, prayed about it, discussed it, and got up together to live it more honestly and honorably. You will probably agree that our nation, as well as our church, would benefit from a healthy and holy dose of this Ignatian Way of Proceeding today. Too often, we find comfort in group think or political party affiliations or preferred conservative or liberal principles that cluster us in bunkers that dig in till they become immovable and arrogant fortresses, which can become irrational and destructive. I believe that Ignatius’ style can help us, if we’re willing to emerge from the bunker or leave the fortress according to the voice of Holy Spirit, the Word of God, that beckons us to exist in more sacred and wholesome ways.

The church is currently in the implementation stage of the Synod on Synodality (or Vatican Synodal Process), and this weekend marks the feast of Saint Ignatius in the 250^th anniversary of our nation’s founding. To me, it is an ideal time to think about what we have become and where we are headed as a nation and a church. While America Magazine, like other periodicals, has moved online and to other sources than the original printed word, the 117-year-old intent of its founders and subsequent editors remains extremely impactful. I pray that we will follow the example of the Jesuits in implementing Ignatian values while grappling with difficult daily societal issues and seek to move forward together as one toward the place where the Holy Spirit calls us: a place of unity where we reverence others (even opponents, who are also made in God’s image and likeness), respect differences, embrace the Word of God in America, and proceed in solidarity, knowing that Christ walks with us into a hope-filled future.