SOME IGNATIAN CORE VALUES we hope to assimilate for us to understand, appreciate and live-out our Mission and Identity:
Ability to Discern and Respond to the Signs of Times
We dream of an educational system that teaches people to decide from inside, from the depths of their hearts, and to serve generously not just a tribe, but as broad a slice of humanity as it can, it is because these were the goals of Jesus, and the only reason Jesuit schools exist is to serve humanity according to the vision and the spirit of the Gospel.
Principle and Foundation and Personal Dignity
The core of our formation is to recognize each others’ dignity as a person, made in the image and likeness of God. We have a common history and personal sacred stories to tell and by the virtue of our Baptism, we are called to participate in the Mission of Christ.
To value our self and others and enhance our respect and sensitivity to one another, we begin with an interior renewal, a call to recognize that in Christ, people are created to live a life centered in the desire to come to know, love and serve our family, our country and God.
(Spex 13).
Magis
As we aspire for excellence, we return to our roots and ground ourselves in the Ignatian Spirituality. For St.Ignatius, to seek for the excellence is to seek for “magis.” It is not more work or more programs, but more quality, more love, and more depth.
Friends in the Lord in Pilgrimage
The Spiritual Exercises is a process of support through accompaniment and dialogues. The giver of the exercises, the director, accompanies the retreatant to reflect on his/her life’s experiences. The director facilitates and helps the retreatant see the different inner movements in his/her life leading to the discovery of his/her giftedness and desire to serve others.
Formation then, is a supported process, we are co-discerners, as we journey together in faith and seek the will of God through:
a) reflection b) community faith sharing and c) social justice in action. Through this process, we nurture genuine human growth towards full maturity and transformation towards an integrated life. This is premised on accompaniment, dialogue, and openness in a climate of respect and freedom.
Commitment to Faith and Justice
We are called to be an agent of change, based on the prophetic call of the Gospel. In the Spirit of GC 32 and —–, we commit ourselves to faith and justice thrust of the Church, a preferential option for the poor. In the 2nd and 3rd week of the Spiritual Exercises, Jesus is ever active in establishing a new order of love, for, with and on behalf of the poor.
Excellence in all we do for God’s greater glory.
The Ignatian spirit of excellence is basically grounded in the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius and his foundational insights. It is also the foundation of the qualities of a person in an Ignatian Community such as Ateneo de Zamboanga University.
In Jesuit education, the criterion of excellence is applied to all areas of school life: the aim is the fullest possible development of every dimension of the person, linked to the development of a sense of values and a commitment to the service of others which gives priority to the needs of the poor and is willing to sacrifice self-interest for the promotion of justice. The pursuit of academic excellence is appropriate in a Jesuit school, but only within the larger context of human excellence. “ (107)
Examen as our way of evaluation.
The Examen (Spex 43) is our way of evaluating our actions and experiences. It is a way of prayer and our tool in evaluating our actions through reflection. When adapted to our daily life, it provides a way of proceeding to carefully evaluate our actions.
