I Would “Friend” You, Lord; But in What Way?

By Edmund Lo, S.J.

We all have friends. “Bros”, Best Friend Forevers (BFFs), close friends, acquaintances, you name it. Not surprisingly, the quality of the friendship depends on how well we know the person, and how much effort we put into the relationship. Think about those groups of friends that you have, with differing levels of intimacy. Which group does God fall into?

Let us be honest about this. Some of us have God in the “BFFs” category; others may have God in the “acquaintances”, or even the “speed-dial when crap happens in my life” category. Some only seek affirming or wise words from God when they want them. When this is the case, God is not any different from an inanimate book with wisdom sayings. Such a relationship is one-way with no strings attached: I call you up when I need a quickie. Or, some may have God in the “awkward” zone: I kind of know you, but I don't know how I feel about you.

Agere Contra: Why Go The Opposite Way?

By Edmund Lo, S.J.

Image: oddrun@oddrun.com

Ah yes, another fancy Latin term from the Jesuits. From the producers of magis, ad majorem Dei gloriam and others, we bring you agere contra. Compared to its more famous counterparts, agere contra belongs to the “underrated” category. It means “to act against” in English. This begs the question: What exactly are we acting against?

Agere Contra is to act directly against my behaviours that are not life-giving. For example, if I find I chronically overeat, I act against this tendency by fasting a little, even from a just amount of food. Let's face it: We all have such behaviours in our lives, and they often take the form of avoidance. It could be the undesired chores that literally dirty our hands, being in situations in which we feel uncomfortable, or interactions with certain people whose personalities we find particularly jarring. We should note that agere contra is not simply about doing the opposite for its own sake. Otherwise, it would be a matter of “I go against these tendencies because I am strong, I am capable, and I can do it! Don't let anyone tell you that you can't!” Such a sentiment would be merely a self-centred demonstration of will-power. While exercising the will is important, our motive should be the God-centred desire to put off the “old man”, and put on the new in Christ.

What the Devil? A Brief Introduction on the Evil Spirit

By Edmund Lo, S.J.

Image: http://mumbaiontheslowlocal.blogspot.com

The Catholic media have recently picked up on a theme that Pope Francis has mentioned on several occasions. It is about the devil. This has been rightly attributed to Francis' upbringing as a Jesuit: in the Spiritual Exercises (SE), St. Ignatius of Loyola refers to it as “the evil spirit”, “the evil one”, “the enemy”, or “the enemy of our human nature”. It would be quite impossible to discuss this spiritual teaching of St. Ignatius in detail in a short blog entry; nevertheless, I shall try to highlight several main ideas.

As some of you are aware, the SE are divided up into four stages, or “weeks” as St. Ignatius calls them. There is one major section in the SE where he discusses the evil spirit in some detail, and it is called “Rules for the Discernment of Spirits”, which is divided up into rules that are suitable for “the First Week” (SE 313–327) and “the Second Week” (SE 328–336), respectively. Here, I shall focus on his discussion on the evil spirit from the Rules for the First Week. While discussing these Rules, spiritual consolation and desolation will inevitably come up, and I would recommend you to my brother Jesuit's excellent blog entry on this very topic.

I Do Care About Indifference

With the election of Pope Francis as the Bishop of Rome, questions about Jesuits and Ignatian spirituality have surfaced in both religious and secular circles. In light of this, the contributors of Ibo et Non Redibo have decided to launch a blog series on Ignatian spirituality. In six blog entries, we will attempt to introduce some key principles by which Jesuits live, and how these insights may be useful to the Church and to the world. The previous three entries addressed discernment of spirits, the idea of A.M.D.G. or Magis, and being "men and women for others". The following is the fourth entry.

* * * By Edmund Lo, S.J.

(Image: wallpaperstock.net)

The word “indifference” often carries a negative connotation, a sort of “I don't care” attitude. It may seem surprising at first glance that this word plays an important role in Ignatian spirituality. Should we not care about anything? Actually, we should – it's just that we should care in a different way. Let us return to its origin and dissect this idea further.

In The Spiritual Exercises (SE) of St. Ignatius of Loyola, he first mentions the word “indifference” in a small section called “First Principle and Foundation”. We are “...created to praise, reverence, and serve God our Lord”, and by this means to save our souls. Everything must be considered through this lens, and this is what I call the first domino. We are created to direct our entire being towards our Creator, and everything else is “just” creations. We are not to treat created things as the ultimate goal of our lives as if they were our Creator; we should not worship them as idols. It is within this context that indifference is discussed. St. Ignatius writes:

Twitter Through the Lens of the Exercises

By Edmund Lo, S.J.

When words are invented out of the sheer impact or popularity of a phenomenon, we know that such an event has “arrived”; its status is of such importance that our language needs to adapt to it. For example, to google something is to search for its meaning on the internet by using the Google search engine. Another example is to tweet; while this word has its origin in the sounds made by birds, it mainly refers to the action of sending short messages through the social media platform that is Twitter. When a friend of mine recently told me that she was giving up Twitter for the Season of Lent, it dawned onto me that Twitter has reached a point where it is considered by many as an object of indulgence, one that creates a sort of dependency on its users.

For those of you who have had the chance to know me as a person, I may come across as a sort of a severe critic of social media; after all, I am one of that dying breed who does not own a Facebook account by choice. What would such a person have to say about the quickly-evolving world that is social media? For starters, the fact that I am writing this blog entry should serve as evidence that I am not that big of a Luddite; nevertheless, a critical look at our media of communication is necessary. While using it in moderation is commendable, understanding the intentions behind it is the next step.

What to Do When You Are Stuck: Haiti and the Third Week

By Edmund Lo, S.J.

Photo: Jim Boynton, S.J.

To many people, January 12th may just be another day on the calendar; not so for me. It is the third anniversary of the devastating earthquake in Haiti, one which managed to kill more than 200,000 people. I happened to be there on that fateful day, as I had been sent to Haiti as a Jesuit novice just a week before. As Providence would have it, I was able to help out with the rescue effort at ground zero, as well as to learn about the Haitian culture during my five-month stay.

Some only know of Haiti in photos and video footage after the earthquake, which were mostly depictions of destruction, chaos and rubble. Some may not even know about it at all. In that sense, my arrival the week prior was priceless in many ways, as it gave me the opportunity to know a bit about the country before the disaster struck. I would use a Chinese phrase to describe both the pre- and post-earthquake state of Haiti: qian chuang bai kong (thousands of sores, hundreds of holes). The earthquake undoubtedly caused a catastrophic level of damage, but it did not create the crater-sized potholes on the road. It did not create the mountainous piles of garbage that one found on the street corners. It did not create racism or discrimination; nor did it create poverty, injustice, or corruption. If anything, it exacerbated an already desperate situation.