Pedro Arrupe on the Spiritual Exercises

Pedro Arrupe on the Spiritual Exercises

“The Exercises are, in the last analysis, a method in the pedagogy of love—the pedagogy, that is, of the most pure charity toward God and toward one’s neighbor. They root out carnal and worldly love from the human heart, thus opening it to the beams of God’s love. A demanding love it is, calling forth in a person a response of love and of service. Service, which is itself love. This is the message of the very last paragraph of the book of the Exercises. ‘The zealous service of God our Lord out of pure love should be esteemed above all.’ In the Exercises we find terms and concepts which are logically reducible to one another: the ‘glory of God,’ for example, can be replaced by the ‘service of God.’ The same may be said of ‘praise’ and ‘reverence.’ Only one term is final and irreducible to another: love.”  (Pedro Arrupe: Essential Writings, Kevin Burke, Maryknoll, NY: Orbis Books 2004, p. 136–137)