Do you speak Ignatian?

I had the honor and blessing of participating in an inspiring and grounding workshop on Saturday with a slew of awesome people from the east coast who work or live in the Ignatian spirit.  Folks traveled from as far away as South Carolina and Jersey (!) to gather at Saint Joe's Prep in Philadelphia for a day of brainstorming, dreaming and fellowship.  As the day happened, I was overcome with a sense of being 'at home' and grateful for the experiences I have had in the Ignatian tradition in college at Saint Joe's and in grad school at BC.  Overall, the idea of a shared language and experience bound all of us together.  I was perhaps the youngest person there, but not by far.  There were lay men and women, as well as some Jesuits and even an SSJ!  Though we came from different towns, different work experiences and different life experiences we all had a shared language that enabled us to delve deep and share the state of our hearts after knowing each other for hours, or even just minutes.
That is the (or one of the many) gifts of Ignatian spirituality I think... being able to tap into the deepest core of your being comfortably (though not always with ease) and sharing it/having it received with grace and care.  I didn't have to explain myself to these people, rather I could share a couple of sentences or ask a question and immediately it resonated with the people in my group.  Being a part of the rich Ignatian tradition is something I often take for granted, but being in this setting reminded me how much of an impact it has had on who I am, and also made me realize how much I miss being immersed in the Ignatian world.  Phrases like 'cura personalis', 'magis' or 'amdg' just don't make sense to the average person on the street.  More than that though, approaching the world from an Ignatian mindset might not make sense to the average person on the street.  It is truly a blessing, and empowering, to be around people who 'get it' and are struggling to live it.
Part of the focus of the day looked at the future of the spirituality of Saint Ignatius (the spiritual exercises for you non-Ignatian folk), basically wondering how can it better be brought to the world.  Listening to some of the people share about their experiences in Jesuit high schools and colleges that are so deeply ingrained with Ignatian spirituality made me extremely jealous.  Faculty, staff and administration gather for service projects and faith sharing, students are engaged in the spiritual exercises, Ignatian leadership institutes (some for students, some for faculty/staff) are thriving...  I wish my school had that, I found myself regrettably thinking.  And then, the challenge.  One of the questions we were posed with focused on the blockages that prevent Ignatian spirituality from being pervasive in our places of ministry.  Well, I guess I could say that no one else has brought it in a formal manner (beyond me teaching the examen in my classes) to my ministry.  I honestly can't say no one supports it because, well... I haven't exactly tried.  That was a bit of an embarrassing and humbling moment when one of my groupmates decided to share this story with the larger group (ie, that I'd been at a school for six years and was consistently disillusioned and frustrated by the lack of faith-sharing, etc. among faculty... without ever making ANY effort to create it myself!) but also a moment of great challenge and excitement.  And as those Ignatian folks tend to be, everyone was supportive and encouraging, coming up to me at break offering copies of their faculty faith sharing models, volunteering to come speak or do anything in the role of spiritual directors, etc.  Right.  So, really, why isn't anyone doing this?!?  Oops...  I mean, why am I not doing this?  
In the way that only my husband can do, after an emotionally exhausting but also inspiring day, he captured my heart with a low-key Saturday night of dinner and a movie.  Movie choice?  The Mission.  His choice...  Obviously amazing, even the millionth time around.  At one point during the workshop when several of us were bemoaning that we weren't immersed in an Ignatian institution (at least I am at an SSJ school- there were folks there who worked in 100% secular settings), and someone made an interesting observation/connection to the days of missions and the beginnings of the Jesuits.  People were set out into the world, often on their own or in small groups, and worked to spread the message of Saint Ignatius to the world.  They gathered strength from one another, often in the forms of letters and prayers, but would not see each other for perhaps years at a time.  So, what if we are the missionaries (as was suggested)?  It was beautiful and humbling to ponder (as I obviously don't see myself on par with Francis Xavier) but did offer some practical connections to how I often feel.  And as such, presents a different way of perceiving our reality- instead of seeing what is wrong and trying to find a place where that 'wrong stuff' doesn't exist and instead go where everything seems to be 'right', we see ourselves as present in order to help transform and contribute to the solutions.  Is this too messianic sounding though?  I'm not sure how I feel about it...  But it does seem glaringly apparent that I am being challenged to consider doing something (about the lack of a 'faith community' in my place of work) instead of complaining about the lack of it.  Thanks God.  No really, thanks :)