The Jesuit Post recently ran an article “You Know You’re a Jesuit When…” by the always wonderful Fr. James Martin. I thought it would be hilarious to
expand this to all of us who live in the Jesuit world (and thereby use words
like “informatio” on a regular basis), yet clearly are not Jesuits.
I present to you, “You Know You’re in the Ignatian Family
When…”
1. Your favorite pastime is the “Name all the Jesuit
Colleges and Universities” game.
You even have a strategy that you argue is best, i.e.: Start with the
Loyolas, go west to east. And, you
pride yourself on the fact that when you name “LeMoyne,” everyone else looks at
you in astonishment.
2. James Martin and Jon Sobrino constitute “Jesuit Royalty”
in your eyes, and you probably have an embarrassing story about freaking out
when you met them.
3. At some
point, your email signature has been “Go forth and set the world on fire,” “Fall
in love, stay in love, and it will decide everything” or a Hopkins quote.
4. Even though it is overused, you still tear up every time
you hear Pedro Arrupe’s prayer, “On the Love of God.” And you have it posted in
your house somewhere. And probably include it in at least 85% of the talks that
you give.
5. You also know the “secret” access code to the majority of
Jesuit residences. But, you have
good enough boundaries not to use them.
6. You have a favorite Jesuit residence, a favorite item on
the menu, and a favorite place to sit during social.
7. You wish that you had a cloth napkin at the Jesuit
Residence that you frequent the most.
8. November 16, the Feast of the UCA Martyrs, is a solemn
day for you. You mark it in a
variety of ways: prayer, liturgy and of course, a facebook post.
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| Because why wouldn't you have a picture with Father General? |
9. When you
mention that you went on a silent retreat to someone not in the Ignatian
family, they look at you like you have 3 heads. When you mention that you really want to do a 30-day silent
retreat, they have no way to process what you are talking about. You hope that one day you’ll have a
break in your work schedule that will allow you to complete the exercises. Also, when you hear “the exercises,”
you think of Ignatius, not Richard Simmons.
10. You get irrationally upset when people think that Notre
Dame is a Jesuit school.
11. Words like solidarity, consolation, desolation and indifference are
commonplace in your lexicon. It’s
not unheard of for you to call a friend and say, “Let’s grab a drink. I’m experiencing some desolation today.”
(via Katie Bignell).
12. There are four letters that guide your life: AMDG.
