One of the insights I gained while preparing for the March 4 Lenten recollection on the film “Ignacio de Loyola” was how Ignatius went through trial and error, despite the great illumination by the River Cardoner.
He speaks of this clarity of enlightenment in his autobiography: “He understood and knew many things, both spiritual things and matters of faith and learning, and this was with so great an enlightenment that everything seemed new to him. It was as if he were a new man with a new intellect.”
After this, Ignatius made several attempts to live out his vocation and mission. He went to the Holy Land, as his first attempt, but was asked to leave within a few weeks of arriving. Upon his return to Spain to study, he tried to organize his first community, but it was also disbanded as he moved on to Paris for further studies.
Greater glory of God
In Paris, he formed what was to be known as the first seven companions of the Society of Jesus. Their game plan was still to go to the Holy Land, but when external forces prevented it from happening, they went to Rome and presented themselves to the Pope to be in the service of the church, for the greater glory of God.
What we see now are the remarkable works of Ignatius and his company of men, growing into a network of tens of thousands of Jesuits and millions of lay partners and alumni. But what also gives us rich material to reflect on is the story behind the story.
Key to this story is the enlightenment at the River Cardoner. This was Ignatius’ experience of the Transfiguration in today’s Gospel. Christ assures his disciples of his glory and majesty as the promised Messiah.
In this Gospel narrative, its place within the larger story helps in better understanding its importance. The Transfiguration narrative comes after Christ predicts his passion and rebukes Peter for using human terms for a divine mission. This entire episode is the final journey to Jerusalem, where the mission and vocation of Christ was to be fulfilled, and from where Christ will send his disciples out into the world to continue his mission.
From the Ignatian story perspective, the Transfiguration was the River Cardoner of Peter, James and John. From here on, it was trial and error for them. Peter does this a few seconds after the Transfiguration experience.
Peter suggests that they stay on the mountain and build three booths, one each for Elijah, Moses and Christ, and perpetually enjoy the fruits of the experience. But Christ points out “the error of the trial”; the mission is not there on the mountain, but down in the world.
Then it continues, the cycle of trial and error, until we come close to doing it right. In every cycle, we go back to the Transfiguration moment in our own journey to Jerusalem, the confirmation of our previously discerned mission and vocation and a “pit stop” in our journey.
This gives us renewed inspiration to try again until we reach a level of mastery that is quite close to the Master. This is why Ignatius prescribes the grace “to follow Christ more nearly” and later on was added, “day by day.”
Daniel Pink (Drive) refers to this as the mastery asymptote, the mathematical concept that tells us we come as close as possible to a curve, but never really get there. In his study of motivation and drive, Pink cites three key elements. First is autonomy, second is mastery and the third and final one is purpose.
Saying ‘yes’
Autonomy is taking responsibility for a task, a journey, or our life. It is to be self-directed and self-driven. We can consider this our realization that we have a mission and a vocation—and we say “yes.”
Mastery is becoming good at what one chose to dedicate oneself to, a choice autonomy makes possible. The gold standard of mastery is the mastery asymptote, perfection, but not quite. This mastery starts with autonomy and is inspired by purpose or meaning; what we are doing belongs to a larger picture and a whole, what Fr. Catalino G. Arevalo, SJ, termed as “a dream larger than life.”
It is in this dream that we find purpose and deeper meaning. It transforms our autonomy from a simple stage in our personal development to being a person with and for others. It fuels mastery into a passion for excellence for greater service with and for others, and ultimately for the greater glory of God.
The Transfiguration tells us that all shall be well. It also gives us a “pit stop” for us to synthesize the journey at this point, and gives us renewed energy and guidance as we continue. It provides inspiration, a renewed spirit that is also closer—think mastery asymptote—to the Spirit of God.
The Transfiguration gives us a process, a cycle to take stock of our “yes” to our mission and vocation (autonomy); our efforts to live it out, and gauging how much closer we are to our “dream larger than life” (mastery); our greater and deeper following of Christ in our day-to-day life.
In the complexity of the journey and the seemingly convoluted movements of the human psyche, mind, heart and soul, the Transfiguration stills us and makes us remember that all shall be well. Because in this moment, we hear somewhere—in our mind, heart, soul or all of the above—“Remember, I loved you first… because I gave myself up for you.”