A Synopsis of the Ateneo Centennial Theme: Living 100 Years of Excellence, Sprituality and Citizenship

-By Fr. Wilfredo M Samson, SJ
Edited by Dr. Aireen L Barrios and Monabelle B Delgado

EXCELLENCE
Be a living witness to excellence as a way of life

We seek “magis” (more) in our desire to respond to the signs of times in Mindanao and our country. The university does this by developing a student’s, teacher’s, staff’s individual capacities and motivating them to use their developed gifts for others.
Imbued by the life of St. Ignatius and by the spirit of  “magis” of the first Jesuits who set their foot in Mindanao 150 years ago, we follow their steps in becoming men and women for others, aspiring for a better life and a better country.

• Students, faculty and staff should have an understanding of Ignatian Spirituality, Jesuit educational history and traditions.
• We provide special orientation programs to new staff, and ongoing programs and processes which encourage a growing awareness and understanding of the aims of Jesuit education, also professional and spiritual training.

Our desire for excellence in all aspects of life, especially in education, should lead us to empower people by leading them discover their own giftedness.

SPIRITUALITY
God created us out of love and that we are to return that love with full and generous hearts.

This is the principle and foundation of life that St. Ignatius followed. Our spirituality is founded on the following ideals

1. WORLD AFFIRMING
   God is the Author of all creation. We live in “a world charged by the grandeur of God”.
2. CURA PERSONALIS
   Care and concern for the individual person.
3. TO SEE GOD IN ALL THINGS
   God can be discovered through faith in all natural and human events, in history as a whole, and most especially in each individual person.
4. DISCERNMENT OF SPIRITS
   With God’s love, we engage in an ongoing struggle to work against obstacles that block freedom, including the effects of sinfulness, while developing capacities necessary for true freedom.
5. LOVE-DRIVEN ACTION
   Our experience of God’s love, realization of our own giftedness and the awareness that all is gift, compel us to action: “love ought to manifest itself more by deeds than by words”.
6. INDIFFERENCE
   “To go to any place whatsoever where he judges it expedient to send them for the greater glory of God and the good of all”.

CITIZENSHIP
Serve the faith that does justice

Jesuit Education prepares students for an active life commitment, serving the faith that does justice. It seeks to form the students to become “men and women for and with others”, manifesting a preferential option for the poor.

1. ACTIVE LIFE COMMITMENT
   The university hopes to form students who put their beliefs and attitudes into practice throughout their lives.
2. FAITH THAT DOES JUSTICE
   Exhaust all means to contribute to the peace efforts in our region and nationwide. The university believes that awareness of one’s dignity can be the starting point for working together in the promotion of justice.
3. MEN AND WOMEN FOR AND WITH OTHERS
   The university hopes that our students will use their gifts in the service of others, out of love for God.
4. A PARTICULAR CONCERN FOR THE POOR
   ADZU attempts to cultivate capacity to love the poor by providing opportunities for contact with the poor and for service to them, both inside and outside school…so as to learn to love and to better understand the causes of poverty.
5. AN APOSTOLIC INSTRUMENT IN THE SERVICE OF THE CHURCH
   ADZU is an apostolic instrument of the Catholic Church in the building of the Kingdom of God. While ADZU desires to maintain its Catholic identity as a University, it encourages engagement in inter-religious dialogues. It is a witness to the Gospel.
6. THE DIALOGUE BETWEEN FAITH AND CULTURE
   ADZU provides opportunities for dialogue between faith and culture, encouraging contact with and genuine appreciation of other cultures