Abstract
In his letter “Confirmed in the Charism,” Father General Arturo Sosa SJ invited the Society of Jesus to understand better how “the first companions were able to read the motions of the good Spirit.” This presentation responds to Fr. Sosa’s call by examining how Ignatius and the first companions found grace in their experiences of dispersion, illness, and conflict. These difficult human experiences fill their extant texts and, as such, provide us with the opportunity to discover how they lived their quotidian apostolic work. Dispersion, illness, and conflict were not experiences to be overcome, but rather experiences to be lived with God. Such an approach to the first companions seeks a less romantic view of the Society’s origins and, for that reason, offers consolation to all of us who experience these same difficult realities in our apostolic lives.
Recommended Citation
Staab, Christopher M.
(2026)
"The First Companions: Finding Grace in Dispersion, Sickness, and Conflict,"
Landas: Vol. 38:
No.
2, Article 7.
Available at:
https://archium.ateneo.edu/landas/vol38/iss2/7