The context of writing » Hopkins' beliefs about religion and poetry » Jesuit spirituality
Ignatius Loyola was the founder of the Jesuits. There were two features of the Jesuit ‘order’ which attracted Hopkins:
- their emphasis on a thorough intellectual training, which took seven years from start to finish
- their emphasis on spirituality.
Visualised prayer
The Jesuits had a very disciplined prayer life, which centred on a particular form of meditation laid down by Ignatius.
- For this, the individual is encouraged to visualise as intensely as possible in their imagination the events in Christ’s life, especially these to do with his suffering. (Mel Gibson’s film The Passion of the Christ, depicts the physical and mental suffering surrounding Christ’s crucifixion.)
- As the individual visualises this, he or she is then encouraged to imagine themselves as present at the biblical scene
- Next, the individual is to reflect on how they feel and express these feelings to God. More on a poetic example?
More on a poetic example: A good example in English poetry of a poet who was inspired by this method of meditation is John Donne, some of whose Holy Sonnets are meditations in the Ignatian method.
Poetry and meditation
Poets often visualize in much this way, even if it is only in recreating personal memories. Hopkins, who clearly possessed a very artistic nature from boyhood, found this method of meditation very similar to a poetic way of imagining and creating poems of intense personal feeling. In fact, for him, Ignatian meditation disciplined him to shut out anything irrelevant, and gave a greater devotional feel to his work.
An order within the Roman Catholic church, founded by St. Ignatius Loyola, and known as the Society of Jesus. They are an active order, serving as priests, missionaries, and teachers.
A religious order is a group of men or of women who have taken vows to live a religious life in a certain way, usually by living, worshipping and working together.
In any religion, there will be many ways to practice that religion, and to become aware of the divine. Spirituality can mean either the depth of religious practice and awareness in an individual; or the type of practice.
Christian devotional practice in which a verse of the Bible or some aspect of the Christian life is held in prayerful and focused thought, until some deeper aspect of its reality manifests itself.
Title (eventually used as name) given to Jesus, refering to an anointed person set apart for a special task such as a king.
Execution by nailing or binding a person to a cross.
In the manner of St. Ignatius Loyola, the founder of the Jesuit Order, the Society of Jesus. Used most often in terms of a form of spirituality or meditation.
Christian devotional practice in which a verse of the Bible or some aspect of the Christian life is held in prayerful and focused thought, until some deeper aspect of its reality manifests itself.
Bookmark this page with: