New Global Project for Students! “A global contemplative prayer – to pray for the world that Christ desires”

The Ignatian Year was a great opportunity to remind ourselves of all things Ignatian and reiterate Ignatian practices, such as reflection and prayer, where the centre of attention is our relationship with God, and the desire to grow in this life-giving relationship. Our schools are invited to help “Showing the Way to God” (UAP 1) and to offer faith formation and become dialogue schools where students of different faith traditions learn, dream, hope, and pray together for a more just world (Global Identifier #1 and #5 of A Living Tradition). Therefore, as a continuation of this great Ignatian Year experience, we would like to invite teachers from our global community to bring a new global project to their students, a global project that focuses on guiding a contemplative prayer – to pray for the world that Christ desires – with the artwork students created back in 2021, for the global project “Imagining the World that Christ Desires”.

Contemplation is an Ignatian way of prayer, an imaginative prayer, which allows us to use our imagination to dig deeper into the story so that God may communicate with us in a personal, evocative way. To read more about contemplation please follow this link: https://www.ignatianspirituality.com/ignatian-prayer/the-spiritual-exercises/ignatian-contemplation-imaginative-prayer/

Recommended Steps to take for the implementation of this new project “A global contemplative prayer to pray for the world that Christ desires”:

Step 1.

  • Choose one or two works of art from this Virtual Global Art Exhibition to use as a resource for your students’ contemplative prayer, or if you prefer you can also choose to use the printable collage.
    We have created a printable collage using the artworks from our Virtual Global Art Exhibition “The World that Christ Desires”. This global art exhibition was created by students who participated in the global project “Imagining the World that Christ Desires”, which ran from July to November 2021.

Step 2. 

  • Share the artwork that was chosen and your prayer experience on a Word document, with the title “A global contemplative prayer – to pray for the World that Christ Desires”. We will publish all prayer experiences as blog articles on Educate Magis for all students and teachers to read.
  • Print out the collage and hang it on your school’s walls. Such beautiful works of art should be displayed for others to enjoy! We invite you to print and hang up the collage on your school’s walls and to send us a picture of this to info@educatemagis.org, if you prefer you can also upload it in this dedicated virtual photo album here.

All blog articles with the prayer experiences and the link to the photo album will be shared on the Educate Magis newsletter and newsletters and social media channels from the different regional school networks around the world when we conclude this project on November 2nd, 2022 on the Feast of All Saints and Blessed of the Society of Jesus.  

Some resources to guide your Contemplative Prayer.

Questions for reflection:

  • How is God talking to you through these artworks?
  • What thoughts and feelings does it awaken in you?
  • What is Christ calling you to act on (What is the world that Christ desires)?

Guidelines for a contemplative prayer: 

(You could use these or similar words to invite students to contemplate the images)

As we gather let us take a moment to quiet down, a moment to breathe deeply and slow down.  
 
I would like to invite you on a special journey, a journey into the hearts and minds of fellow students around the world who created these artworks. Students were invited to reflect and pray imagining a world that Christ desires. From these experiences they created something amazing and deeply expressive. These images come from each of the 6 regions of the world.  

  • Spend some time viewing each of the images. 
    • Wonder why the artist made what they did. Look at the context of the artist’s country, language, city, school.
  • As you contemplate each image, notice any thoughts and feelings that emerge.
    • Place yourself inside the image you have chosen. Who is there with you? What do you hear? Smell? See? What are you feeling? Do you say something to the others? What do they say to you? 
    • Notice how changing the focus within the image impacts your perceptions. 
    • Think about the possibilities, the hopes, and/or challenges it represents.
    • What is God revealing to you through this image? And how you are invited to respond? 
  • Share the fruits of your contemplation with the group
    • Share briefly what these images brought up for you.
  • Finish with a sense of wonder and gratitude for this time with God.
     

Do you have any questions or comments?

If you have any questions, please leave your comment or question on the coment box below or send us an email to info@educatemagis.org