Twelve Weeks Journey with Ignatius

I had a twelve-week-long “Journey with Ignatius” through Zoom together with other candidates for Jesuit Vocation in Cambodia mission. This program, produced by Boston College, Institute for Advanced Jesuit Studies, showed the pilgrim journey of St. Ignatius, introducing one place in the journey of Ignatius and a theme for us to reflect on each week. We made a journey along the footsteps of Ignatius through Arevalo, Pamplona, Loyola, Olatz, Aranzasu, Monserrat, Manresa, Jerusalem, Barcelona, Paris, Venice, and finally to Rome.

In each week, we had prayers and sharing regarding various themes such as formation, disruption, conversion, departure, the unexpected, solitude, vision, holiness, culture, companionship, conversation, and foundation. While reflecting on these themes, I felt a strong attraction to Ignatius who, without losing his hope, made through fearlessly his adventurous journey which was full of joys, difficulties, and challenges.

“Finding God in All Things!” – this would summarize in one sentence what I felt during the journey with Ignatius. While watching the twelve video clips, I could sense the presence of God through the whole journey of Ignatius. Specifically, through the theme of “Conversation”, I had a very strong desire to improve my capacity to communicate with my parents, family members, and other friends around me.

From Ignatius, I learned that a spiritual life through prayer is a way of communicating closely with God. I also got to know that I need to reorient my life according to God’s invitation rather than to pursue my own pattern of life, while keenly paying attention to the movement of my emotions. Through the long journey of Ignatius, I could catch that we need to readjust ourselves to the situation we are encountering, guided always by the love of God for me and others. I want to learn how to perceive reality through both heart and mind while listening to the voice of God not only among the poor and the marginalized with whom I want to get close but also among all of God’s creation.

The sharing of prayers and experiences among fellow candidates gave me great joy and consolation, providing spiritual nourishment to me. I am affirmed that all of us were born to love and to be loved and that our life depends on God’s mercy. I found that all of us are continuously pursuing our own success and fame in this world. At the same time, we easily lose our hope for the future once we recognize how difficult it is to get on in the world. Through the journey with Ignatius and sharing with fellow candidates, I realize more clearly that God loves us unconditionally and that all things in our lives are gifts from God. I felt God’s invitation for each of us to help others who are in need through simple and small things, to protect our environment, and to listen to God’s voice through prayer. Thus, our life may be full of love, meaning, and beautiful smiles.

Human life depends on the breath from God, and all of us are to go back to him. This twelve-week-long journey with Ignatius taught us clearly that God’s love has always been there in each one’s life journey and that God is with us in every circumstance of life. I feel the invitation from God through the journey of Ignatius that I may have bigger hope and love, that I may give up my own interests for the sake of other people, especially the poor and the marginalized, and that I may keep going in this life journey with hope and patience.

Through this journey with Ignatius, God helped me to review my whole life, from my childhood up to the present moment. Sometimes, my life is filled with joy and at other times, it is filled with suffering and challenges. Though I do not know the depth of God’s love clearly at this moment, St. Ignatius serves as a good model to my journey of searching for God’s will and my journey of conversion. I am very much grateful to St. Ignatius who guided me to review my own life and helped me to deepen my understanding of spiritual life and faith through this twelve-week journey. I also give my special thanks to all my companions in this journey, including Br. Damo and Fr. Oh-Chang.

*This article was translated from Khmer by Ohchang Kwon SJ