“Live the Ignatian way” at MAG+S “Macroencuentro”

More than 300 young people gathered in March in Loyola (Spain) to deepen the life of St. Ignatius

The different Jesuit organisations promote community spaces where people from different places share their experiences, stories and experiences. Also the younger ones. In this sense, 350 young people and pastoralists gathered at the Sanctuary of Loyola from 4 to 6 March 2022 for the MAG+S “Macroencuentro” (Major Assembly). The young people of the Ignatian pastoral network had time to share life and faith under the motto “Living Ignatian” and to deepen their understanding of the life and conversion of St. Ignatius.

The MAG+S Macroencuentro is one of the annual events that the network organizes cyclically every three years to animate the MAG+S Network. After hosting the Assembly of Pastoral Ministers in 2020 and the Meeting of Representatives of MAG+S groups and communities (online) in 2021, the “Macroencuentro” brings together the largest group of this three-year cycle for a great celebration of the MAG+S family. The first “Macroencuentro” took place in Madrid in March 2019.

Back home, after three days of great intensity, the MAG+S team is now reflecting on what we have experienced. Although in the coming days and weeks more reflections will surely emerge, but, for now, they want to highlight three words that sum up these days:

1. Called

The participants of the “Macroencuentro” had been preparing to take part in this proposal since November. After these years marked by restrictions and capacity limitations, convening a Major Assembly was both necessary and risky. Confidence and patience accompanied these last months of preparations, being aware that the situation could change the plans at any moment.

In addition to being called upon to participate, the young people were called upon to create. A group of young people from all over Spain, called Equipo Alfarero, began to give shape and meaning to the meeting last December, defining in format and form this proposal with a characteristic co-responsibility in the pastoral way of MAG+S: pastoral with young people. Listening to the way they want to work, the themes they want to deal with, or the spiritual needs they have, has generated a proposal from the young people, for the young people.

2. Involved

In this year of celebration of Ignatius 500, the search for key issues from the conversion of Ignatius and Ignatian spirituality was the focus of the event. Saturday brought together a large part of the experiential dynamics and activities.

The experiential testimonies dealt with topics such as professional life from the perspective of faith, the vocation to consecrated life, service through volunteer work and popular religiosity. It was the experience of the young people themselves that was listened to and shared, discovering that among them there are models of following Jesus and different proposals in which to realise their vocation.

In the same way, the workshops on the Ignatian examen, contemplative prayer and discernment provided the young people with tools to discover how God communicates with us, tracing out the path we are called to follow.

3. Sent

If “living in the Ignatian way” was the motto of the MAG+S macro-meeting, on Sunday, the last day of the meeting, the emphasis was on how to put Ignatian tools such as the examen or discernment into practice in everyday life.

Several young people from Barcelona and participants in the summer experience of Service and Ecology in Valladolid proposed a dynamic consisting of a meditation on the challenge of living on our planet without harming other people or the rest of creation.

After the final assembly of the meeting, however, the highlight of the weekend was the mass that was celebrated with the rest of the community that meets every Sunday at the Sanctuary of Loyola around the Eucharist. A special prayer of sending forth was said to invoke the Holy Spirit on the return to the places of origin of all the participants in the meeting. The community gathered there asked for the action of the Spirit to be able to live deeply the faith in Jesus in a life given to others.

Elena, a young MAG+S who participated in the event, defined the importance of the meeting with the following words:

For me it was like coming home. These years of the pandemic have been a wear and tear due to the restrictions that made our meetings and activities difficult. To meet again was very emotional for me. Seeing so many young people singing in unison to the same God, feeling Him, and coming from different parts of Spain, has made the celebrations and prayers we have had something very special.

Elena, participant in the MAG+S 2020 “Macro-encuentro”

You can consult more activities organised by MAG+S on their website (in Spanish).