REGIS

Ignatian Understanding
By Rev. Kenneth
Caufield, S.J.
In the last essay in Ignatian Understanding,
I focused on Chris
Lowney’s (’76) book, Heroic Leadership.
In that book he points out
four principles he found in Jesuit
formation that have contributed to the
Jesuit success story over the centuries. The four principles
are: self-awareness, ingenuity, love and heroism. Chris
shows that the first principle, self-awareness, is attained by
the use of the Examen at least twice a day and from making
The Spiritual Exercises (the 30 day prayer experience he
makes in the novitiate—the beginning of his Jesuit training—and
again in tertianship—about 15 years later at the
end of his Jesuit training). In previous issues (Vol. 67 No.
4, Vol. 68 No. 2 and Vol. 68 No. 4) I have talked about the
Examen and The Contemplation to Obtain the Love of God
(the last prayer exercise in The Spiritual Exercises). Both of
these prayer exercises help one to be self-aware and to be
balanced, (indifference and ingenuity are words also used
by Lowney to describe this quality). Lowney sees the quality
in this light: “…disposes people not just to think outside
the box but to live outside the box”(p.281). A little further
on he states: “Indifference leads people to root out provincialism,
fear of the unknown, attachment to their own status
or possessions, prejudice, aversion to risk, and the attitude
that ‘we’ve always done it this way’. And when people see
their whole world as their home, they can turn a hopeful,
interested and optimistic gaze towards new ideas, cultures,
places and opportunities.” (p.281)
Lowney then gives some examples of ingenuity from Jesuit
history (Matteo Ricci in China and Roberto de Nobili in
India). I would like to point out some recent examples of
this ability “to innovate and adapt to a changing world” that
have happened right here in the United States and one right
here at Regis. In the early 60’s the Jesuit high schools in the
province tried something new called The Higher Achievement
Program. It is an enrichment program that helps students
who have completed the seventh grade to hone their
skills in math and language arts over the summer and on
Saturdays during the school year, so that they could pass
the entrance examinations for the Jesuit high schools or the
other Catholic high schools or the special public schools.
This program continues to work rather well.
Another program that was developed right here in the New
York Province is the Nativity Middle School Program. This
is a full middle school program with a six week summer
camp each summer. It also provided supervised study halls
during the school year in the afternoon right after school
and in the evening right after the family supper.
These study halls provided a place to study and an atmosphere
where it could be done. There are over forty Nativity
Middle Schools in the United States run by various groups.
Recently, one started up outside this country, so the Nativity
Middle School movement is now international. A strong
and guiding force in the development of this program is Dr.
Michael V. Mincieli of the Regis Guidance Department and
Fr. John J. Podsiadlo, S.J.,a long time director of the Nativity
School project on the lower East side.
Right here at Regis there is the REACH for Regis Program.
It is a summer program with a summer camp for 3 weeks
and another three weeks at Regis, as well as ten Saturdays
each semester during the school year. This program runs
from the summer after fifth grade to the end of eighth grade.
It deals with young men whose families are below the poverty
line. The last program I want to mention is the Cristo
Rey High School which first opened in Chicago developed
by interested Jesuits and lay people under the direction of
Fr. John Foley, S.J. Once again it is aimed at students who
cannot afford and have not been prepared for the traditional
Jesuit High School. The school year has been extended and
the students work one day a week in a business firm where
the money they earn goes toward their tuition. These young
men are involved in their own education in a very concrete
way. The New York Jesuits will sponsor along with some
other religious congregations a Cristo Rey high school in
New York within a year.
All of these innovative, educational experiments have been
developed and carried out by Jesuits and lay people working
together. Ingenuity is alive and well and I am sure Ignatius
is smiling down on all of these projects. These gifts
flow from the Church and from the Church renewed by
Vatican II.
8 REGIS ALUMNI NEWS