Cautions on the IVE Spiritual Exercises

The preaching of the spiritual exercises of St Ignatius have long been a staple of the IVE under Fr. Buela.  While  the exercises in and of themselves are certainly a great spiritual gift, we have been concerned for some time that their traditional purpose as an opportunity for discernment was being deformed by the IVE practitioners.  

Specifically, we have increasingly heard stories where the conscience of those attending the exercises has been influenced both directly and indirectly by the IVE priest with regards to discernment of a vocation.  This is contrary to the explicit instructions of St Ignatius:

He who is giving the Exercises ought not to influence him who is receiving them more to poverty or to a promise, than to their opposites, nor more to one state or way of life than to another.

Unfortunately, many IVE priests do influence those attending, especially during one on one direction or confession.  This was the experience of our friend Laura Monica.  It was also the experience of another reader who remarked that during the exercises "it was funny how the only answer seemed to be 'join the order'."  These stories have us concerned that the IVE have warped the spiritual exercises into a tool for recruiting vocations.  

Thankfully, Ines Pascaul, a previous attendee of the IVE exercises in their weekend form, had the same concerns and asked to share them with the readers of this site.  This paragraph from the latter portion of her letter captures perfectly our the concerns regarding discernment:

"With timing, with the emphasis, and with many other subtle methods, the IVE way of conducting the Spiritual Exercises does not conform with Ignatius’ view of the role of the person giving the exercises... the retreat becomes about the teachings of the particular priest rather than allowing the individual to hear whatever it is that God wants to communicate at that time… When individuals viscerally experience their intense brokenness and sinfulness without also simultaneously experiencing God’s love for them… they enter an extremely vulnerable and frightening place…  In this tumult, entering the IVE/SSVM can seem like the obvious solution. They are able to run from their selves and their pain and towards the certainty that a life with the IVE/SSVM would seem to provide. This is simply not the freedom to serve God with generosity that Ignatius sought to let others experience.  It is positively dangerous especially because individuals who chose to take the risk to go on retreats are often already in a vulnerable place…"

Before going forward, we want to repeat here as we have done many times before that there are many very, very good men among the IVE priests. (The writer strongly agrees with this and is grateful for the hospitality and kindness received.)  They were raised in this method of the exercises and of discernment.  The individual priests are not to be faulted for any issues outlined below.  They are made to preach the exercises regardless of their level of training, time for preparation, or conflict with additional responsibilities.  Many are equally uncomfortable with it - albeit for different reasons.

What follows is Ines' heartfelt letter reproduced in its entirety.  While each retreat is unique and even individual experiences within the same retreat may vary, anyone who considers attending these exercises should be be attentive.  Be sure to read all the way to the end where discernment is dealt with in even more detail.  

~:~

Today, with a Jesuit Pope, there is an increasing interest in Ignatian Spirituality, and, particularly, The Spiritual Exercises. Ignatius of Loyola intended for them to be accessible to all—not just the province of the Jesuits. This spirituality, almost 500 years on, continues to profoundly impact men and women throughout the world, bringing them into a deeper relationship with God. I am very familiar with Ignatian Spirituality through participation in several forms of retreats in both English and Spanish—including weekend retreats, 8-day retreats, and the 19^th Annotation Spiritual Exercises in Daily Life. I have also done significant study of the Exercises from a more academic perspective, and helped to lead retreats myself.

Recently, I was looking for a weekend Spiritual Exercises retreat and happened upon one lead by the IVE/SSVM. The IVE/SSVM claim to model much of their spirituality on the Spiritual Exercises. They frequently offer weekend Spiritual Exercises retreats for laypeople and for people who may be in the first steps of discerning a vocation.

However, this retreat had very little to do with the spirituality of St. Ignatius, but it badly distorted it. This version of the Exercises should be avoided. Far from just being a variant on the Exercises, it presents a spirituality that is self-centered, closed off from the world, and consistently misrepresents St. Ignatius.

As I have previously experienced the Exercises, the point is really to get to know God as made known in love and serve him more. It is not a servile fear, but a questioning of how I can have an ever-deepening relationship with God. In Ignatius' words: “Conocimiento interno de Cristo, para más amarle y seguirle”: “An internal knowledge of God in order to love him more deeply and follow him more closely.”

Ignatius is singularly effective at bringing us to an honest evaluation of ourselves. He makes us focus on ourselves in all of our imperfection and brokenness, preventing us from sugarcoating anything.  He wants us to understand ourselves as sinners, with all the depth that this means. Pope Francis’ first response in his recent interview with Antonio Spadaro, SJ, published simultaneously in America and Jesuit magazines around the world, speaks to this:

I ask Pope Francis point-blank: “Who is Jorge Mario Bergoglio?” He stares at me in silence. I ask him if I may ask him this question. He nods and replies: “I do not know what might be the most fitting description.... I am a sinner. This is the most accurate definition. It is not a figure of speech, a literary genre. I am a sinner.”

Ignatius’ spirituality certainly has purgative elements. But it is within the context of the all-encompassing love of a God who, when looking at how his creation was messing up, decided to act with mercy, to not withdraw but to become incarnate with us, to pitch his tent among us. I've often heard this described as “the beloved sinner grace.” That is, only in this experience of the ocean of God's love can we start to understand the depths of our brokenness. And the solution is to accept this but then accept all of the gifts we've also been given and the joy of being able to serve others. To move out of ourselves, and not to dwell upon our brokenness, but to accept God’s mercy and to use our gifts to their fullest in service to him. Ignatius sums this up in the Principle and Foundation [23]:

Man is created to praise, reverence, and serve God our Lord, and by this means to save his soul. And the other things on the face of the earth are created for man and that they may help him in prosecuting the end for which he is created. From this it follows that man is to use them as much as they help him on to his end, and ought to rid himself of them so far as they hinder him as to it. For this it is necessary to make ourselves indifferent to all created things in all that is allowed to the choice of our free will and is not prohibited to it; so that, on our part, we want not health rather than sickness, riches rather than poverty, honor rather than dishonor, long rather than short life, and so in all the rest; desiring and choosing only what is most conducive for us to the end for which we are created.

From the initial purgative aspects—of the consideration of how sin works in us—the Spiritual Exercises go on to allow us to develop our relationship with God, approaching an understanding of the complex mysteries of the incarnation, resurrection, and redemption, and experiencing with our senses and imagination the earthly ministry of Jesus from his birth to his crucifixion, and further, witnessing his resurrection, all the while engaging in prayerful conversation (colloquies) with Jesus, Mary, and God the Father. We don’t get stuck in our degradation and shame and guilt. We recognize that the last word really is the resurrection.

But in the IVE/SSVM weekend version of the “Exercises”—the focus remained nearly entirely on MY degradation, MY shame, and MY guilt. This is problematic for a number of reasons, but a few reasons in particular stand out. First, Christian spirituality should be about decentering us. It should not be about my goodness or my badness, but about God’s goodness. By having us focus so intensely on our own individual sin, we remained self-centered. The first sin, pride (superbia in Latin or soberbia in Latin) is about being self-centered, autonomous, keeping our eyes fixed on ourselves and not God and others.

Second, the IVE priests try to motivate people by fear to avoid eternal damnation. However, Ignatius thinks that people who are motivated by this are not ready for the Exercises. The Exercises are for those who are seeking to continually live their lives ad majorem Dei glorium [to the greater glory of God]. Ignatius talks about some people “who are going from mortal sin to mortal sin.” [314]. These aren’t the people who are ready to undertake the Exercises. At one point, the priest even said, “If you do not follow the Principle and Foundation, your soul is at risk of eternal damnation!” This is the extreme antithesis of the Principle and Foundation, which has nothing to do with fear and coercion and is entirely about generous response to grace.

Rather than just being a poorly done retreat, or a retreat where the text of Ignatius is just read, and then individuals are left to experience the weekend with very little guidance, a specific ideology of a judgmental and punitive God removed from everyday human life was consistently developed. The reduction of the Exercises into a weekend retreat is always difficult, in even the best circumstances. However, the focus was disproportionately on sin/damnation. 

The following were the chosen exercises according to my notes:

1.     Principle and Foundation I (focus on man’s primacy and superior role over everything else in creation)

2.     Principle and Foundation II (focus on how to use other things in this role of domination)

3.     Discernment of Spirits (misrepresentation of feelings—explaining how they are not to be trusted and the intellect is what should be trusted)

4.     Three Sins

5.     Rules for Election

6.     2 Standards (focus on imagining the sights and sounds and smells of hell)

7.     3 Classes of Men

8.     Hell

9.     Passion

There were no meditations or contemplations on the positive things of creation or a single contemplation of Jesus’ life and ministry and Passion. In Ignatian Spirituality, contemplation generally refers to putting oneself into the scene. Through the application of the senses—sight, sound, taste, smell, and touch—the person making the Exercises finds oneself experiencing the events of the Gospels with the heart. However, outside of a cursory 5-minute lecture on what this might look like in the situation of the Nativity [121-126], this method of prayer was essentially ignored. In the actual Spiritual Exercises, a great deal of time is spent on this style of contemplation. The idea is that in the so-called Second Week you get to really know Jesus by accompanying him through his 33 years of life so that you are able to be present to him, to the best of your abilities, during the Passion, the Third Week. This isn’t the suffering of a stranger you are hearing about, but you are actually witnessing the suffering of a beloved leader and friend. After the desperation of the Third Week, in the Fourth Week, you are given the opportunity now to become a witness to the Resurrection through Jesus’ post-paschal appearances.

While, in the closing Mass, there was a passing reference made to the Contemplation to Attain Divine Love and to the Resurrection, this was rushed and did not bring focus on how God was still active in the world. The way in which this type of prayer was nearly absent deprived retreatants of much of the heart of the Spiritual Exercises.

The time for each of the exercises was significantly less than one hour for silent prayer. Ignatius is very, very clear that each exercise should take at least an hour [12]:

As he who is receiving the Exercises is to give an hour to each of the five Exercises or Contemplations which will be made every day, he who is giving the Exercises has to warn him carefully to always see that his soul remains content in the consciousness of having been a full hour in the Exercise, and rather more than less. For the enemy is not a little used to try and make one cut short the hour of such contemplation, meditation or prayer.

I thought that this might be just to do with the concentrated weekend experience, but, in the online program that the IVE runs, www.ejerciciosive.org, only 27 minutes are suggested for each exercise.

Generally the priest spoke for 35 minutes or so and then we were instructed to leave to go to another area to pray on the subject for half an hour our so. This is directly contrary to the role that Ignatius envisions for the person giving the Exercises:

The person who gives to another the way and order in which to meditate or contemplate, ought to relate faithfully the events of such Contemplation or Meditation, going over the Points with only a short or summary development. For, if the person who is making the Contemplation, takes the true groundwork of the narrative, and, discussing and considering for himself, finds something which makes the events a little clearer or brings them a little more home to him -- whether this comes through his own reasoning, or because his intellect is enlightened by the Divine power -- he will get more spiritual relish and fruit, than if he who is giving the Exercises had much explained and amplified the meaning of the events. For it is not knowing much, but realising and relishing things interiorly, that contents and satisfies the soul. [2]

This deviation impedes the direct prayer experience between the individual and God. Far from being insignificant, anything that impedes this direct experience between the individual and God can harm the discernment process. Ignatius warns:

He who is giving the Exercises ought not to influence him who is receiving them more to poverty or to a promise, than to their opposites, nor more to one state or way of life than to another. For though, outside the Exercises, we can lawfully and with merit influence every one who is probably fit to choose continence, virginity, the religious life and all manner of evangelical perfection, still in the Spiritual Exercises, when seeking the Divine Will, it is more fitting and much better, that the Creator and Lord Himself should communicate Himself to His devout soul, inflaming it with His love and praise, and disposing it for the way in which it will be better able to serve Him in future. So, he who is giving the Exercises should not turn or incline to one side or the other, but standing in the centre like a balance, leave the Creator to act immediately with the creature, and the creature with its Creator and Lord. [15]

With timing, with the emphasis, and with many other subtle methods, the IVE way of conducting the Spiritual Exercises does not conform with Ignatius’ view of the role of the person giving the exercises. The point of the Spiritual Exercises are to get a person into a position in which all sorts of desolations and consolations are working actively, stirring him or her up, and giving him/her the chance to work directly with God to become more directed to God’s will. It is the time, more than almost any time, when outside influence or pressure should be avoided.

However, the way that the IVE priests are trained to lead the retreat ends up doing the opposite. By reducing the time that individuals have to actually become acquainted with God, and focusing on intellectual meditations on judgment, the retreat becomes about the teachings of the particular priest rather than allowing the individual to hear whatever it is that God wants to communicate at that time. They take a very powerful experience, but do not give men and women the freedom and space they need to figure out how God is calling them in the silence of their hearts.

Rather, when individuals viscerally experience their intense brokenness and sinfulness without also simultaneously experiencing God’s love for them—particularly developed in the contemplations of the 2nd and 4th weeks—they enter an extremely vulnerable and frightening place. They are anxious to find a way out of this guilt and shame. In this tumult, entering the IVE/SSVM can seem like the obvious solution. They are able to run from their selves and their pain and towards the certainty that a life with the IVE/SSVM would seem to provide. This is simply not the freedom to serve God with generosity that Ignatius sought to let others experience.

It is positively dangerous especially because individuals who chose to take the risk to go on retreats are often already in a vulnerable place: I found myself at the retreat because I was seeking solace in the context of being a caretaker for an ill family member; others may be seeking to heal from trauma or addiction; and others may be struggling with what it might mean to enter religious life.

I think of the anonymous poem, occasionally attributed to St. Ignatius, that explains how our spirituality can’t be based on fear of our own damnation:

Soneto al Cristo Crucificado

No me mueve, mi Dios, para quererte 

el cielo que me tienes prometido, 

ni me mueve el infierno tan temido

para dejar por eso de ofenderte.

Tú me mueves, Señor, muéveme el verte 

clavado en una cruz y escarnecido, 

muéveme ver tu cuerpo tan herido, 

muévenme tus afrentas y tu muerte.

Muéveme, en fin, tu amor, y en tal manera, 

que aunque no hubiera cielo, yo te amara, 

y aunque no hubiera infierno, te temiera.

No me tienes que dar porque te quiera, 

pues aunque lo que espero no esperara,

lo mismo que te quiero te quisiera.

To Christ Crucified

Heaven that you have promised me, my God,

Does not move me to love you.

Nor does hell so dreadful move me

To leave all that offends you.

You move me, Lord. It moves me to see you

Mocked, nailed to that cross.

It moves me to see your body so wounded.

Your dishonour moves me, and your death.

You move me to your love in such a way

That —even if there were no heaven— I would love you;

And —even if there were no hell— I would fear you.

You do not have to give to gain my love;

For —even if what I hope for becomes hopeless—

In the same way I love you, I would love you still.

               

—Translated by Stacy Shoop, 1996

I am saddened by the experience I had, particularly because the members of the community were exceptionally kind and hospitable, and so I want to be clear that this is not a judgment of them. Their good will was abundantly evident, and I hope that they can find a healthy and life-giving way to live out what I believe is a sincere commitment to serving God and the world.

Anyone who is curious about the Spiritual Exercises should very much be encouraged to learn more and undertake them because they are not just something that belongs to the Jesuits, but to the entire Church. However, the IVE simply presents them in a spiritually dangerous manner.

Some resources for learning more include:

·       http://www.ignatianspirituality.com/ (wide range of resources, including foundational texts, explanatory articles, and information on where to find a retreat)

·       http://www.jesuit.org/ (U.S. Society of Jesus website)

·       http://www.sacredspace.ie/ (daily Ignatian prayer)

Watch Out Ireland!

Almost 6 years ago an Irish blogger celebrated the arrival of the IVE to a local parish with a post titled "Watch Out, Ireland!": 

The unintended foresight in these words is outdone further down the page by a comment that is even more prescient:

Despite the usual, follow-up comments calling into question Mr Garcia's identity and virtue (which seem to be par for the course with IVE apologists), he was eventually proven to be absolutely, 100% correct for less than five years later the bishop had to ask the IVE to leave the parish and diocese.   

This is a good reminder that when we tell you about the IVE drop-out rate, the pain and the scandal they cause, and when we tell you about how poorly they treat others, there it is in a nutshell with the IVE experience in Ireland.  (Email us if you want more details on the Irish situation - we can't publish everything here.)

It's also a good reminder that, while you can ignore the messages on this blog, you'll eventually learn we are telling you the truth - even if it takes five years like it did in Ireland. 

Our simple message is this:  we've given you the tools to verify everything we have told you on this site.  If you choose to ignore these warnings, you do so at your own risk.  Unlike those who came before you and who did not have access to this information, you won't have ignorance as an excuse.

Oh, and Christophe, if you are out there, drop up us a mail.  

IVE Formation Problems Part II - The Spiritual

This is part two of a four part series.  Part 1 is here.  Parts three and four will follow in the coming months.  

We have warned you that it is probably not a good idea to enter the IVE - at least not until its institutional problems are resolved - assuming they can be.  

At the center of these problems is the process of formation cultivated by Fr Buela and now institutionalized into the IVE culture and all its houses of formation.   It's from this dysfunction in formation that we see the two main fruits of the IVE - the recruitment without proper discernment or concern for the candidate and the diaspora of young IVE priests leaving soon after ordination.

This is the second in a series of posts where we'll highlight the many issues you'll encounter during formation with the IVE (issues, that of course, the IVE doesn't tell you about.)  We are focusing one post each on the 4 pillars of formation laid out by John Paul II in his exhortation Pastores Dabo Vobis:  the Intellectual, Spiritual, Pastoral, and Human pillars of formation.

In the first post we covered deficiencies in Intellectual pillar of formation at IVE seminaries - a formation which, judging by their website, the IVE are very proud of.  In this subsequent post we'll cover the second pillar of formation, that of the Spiritual - an area they are equally boastful of:

Self-sacrifice?  Yes, in more ways than you probably can imagine.  Intense prayer life?  Well, as we covered in part I of this series - and in many other posts on this site - the IVE like to say one thing and do another.  Whether this is purposeful or out of ignorance is not our place to say, but it is our place to make you aware of it so you can make an informed decision and give informed consent when entering the IVE and submitting to its superiors. 

No Spiritual Charism

There are several problems in this area. The first and most apparent is that this is a religious community without any true charism.  If one looks at the Orders who have stood the test of time, the Jesuits, Dominicans, Franciscans, Carmelites, Salesians etc., they all had a charism given to them by God.  They each had a clear mission.  Jesuits are to be educators.  Dominicans are to be Preachers.  Franciscans are to preach the cross of Christ through poverty, penance, and preaching.  Carmelites are to live lives of penance and be contemplatives.  Salesians evangelize the poor and abandoned - especially the youth.  The success of all of these religious orders, and the struggles and failures many have had as of late, are relative to how faithful they are to their charism.

When an order strays from the mission it was given by God, one shouldn't be surprised when problems begin to arise. This is why these Orders were strongest while their founders were still alive or after a reformer came along.  The founder would have kept them true to their mission and the reformer working to return them to it.  One has only to look at the history of Religious Orders to see the importance of a charism and the necessity of sticking to it.

In practice, the IVE does not have a defined charism.  They do not have a particular mission.  They did not start with a charism.  Their current "Evangelization of the Culture" is so broad it's effectively meaningless in word and deed.  If they are asked what their charism is they'll give various answers ranging from, “We are orthodox and joyful,” to “We are about the New Evangelization,” or “We embrace love of the Cross.”  None of these are true charisms.  They are only broad generalizations without any true path for accomplishment.  "Orthodox and Joyful" is not distinct to a group.  The New Evangelization - what does that mean to them?  Everyone claims to be about the new evangelization.  Love of the Cross - that is not particular to them either.

A Grab-Bag Spirituality

Because they have no charism they have no guiding principle or direction.  They simply take what they like from many other Saints and Orders.  This can be a good idea when done prudently and it is what diocesan priests do.  Unfortunately, the IVE do not do this prudently.  Their founder pieced together many disparate, often conflicting practices with no framework to make sense of them and no way to integrate them.  

Some practices do not work with others and certain practices isolated from their original structure are not efficacious.  Practices of certain saints and religious orders often work very well in their system, but if removed from that environment and placed in another - in combination with things they were not intended for - they are ineffective at best and potentially harmful.  To use an example from nature, a shark is the one of the top predators in the ocean.  It moves quickly and has little to fear.  Yet if you put that same shark in a lake or on land it will die.  Not all things can be isolated from their intended environments without problems.

For example, in the IVE, during their Spiritual Exercises, which they consider a staple of  their spiritual formation and discernment, they have people following Ignatian Rules while simultaneously reading St. John of the Cross.  Each of these is great on its own but they are not intended to be mixed.  They teach contrary approaches to prayer.  The exercises are based on imaginative prayer, using your sensory imagination, while St. John of the Cross states one should never do this.  They both have spiritualities that work but they are based on different forms of prayer.

Using one form of prayer with another spirituality will not allow one to accomplish what  the saint originally intended.  The Institute is trying to build a spirituality by isolating practices and combining them with others they weren't intended for and do not work with.  Imagine if someone tried to build a car using an engine from a jet ski, a tractor tire, a tire from a bicycle and the steering mechanism from an airplane.  All of these things are good if used in the way there were intended in the environment intended.  Yet trying to use each of them without their supporting structures - and then combining them with equally isolated practices - leads to disaster.

A Search For Justifications?

In some cases this mish-mash appears the result of innocent, if misplaced zeal - yet in other cases the Institute seems to have searched quite extensively, often relying on obscure texts from (sometimes very obscure) religious figures to justify some of their practices.  

Take their approach to obedience, for example.  Like the Legion of Christ before them, the IVE claim that their religious vow of obedience is modeled after obedience as St Ignatius prescribed it for the Jesuits - especially their "obedience of judgment", also referred to as "obedience of the intellect."  They would tell you as much if the subject was brought up in conversation.  

Yet they don't quote St Ignatius in the relevant section of their constitution at all - probably because he would not support their view.  Instead they string together various quotes with zero context.  Quotes from religious figures - sometimes very obscure religious figures - all from different orders, with different charisms, thus with different intentions in their words.  Then from this they preach and practice what is essentially a blind obedience to superiors - much like the Legion of Christ did.  This is but one example.  There are many others.

We cannot know their motives for creating such a chaotic, disorganized spirituality, but we can think of a few explanations that make sense.  Either it is born out of ignorance and misplaced zeal or it comes from attempting to justify pre-determined courses of action - though we imagine it could also be a combination of the two.

These aspects of the IVE call to mind the words of Pope Francis when he said:

They tell young people: “Do this, do that.” So a seventeen- or eighteen-year-old boy or girl gets excited and they push them forward with rigid directives [...]  This type of rigid religiosity is disguised with doctrines that claim to give justifications, but in reality deprive people of their freedom and do not allow them to grow as persons.

Problems from Formators to Forums

There are other practical problems with their spiritual formation.  One is that they do not teach correct priestly spirituality.  For instance, there is a clericalism there which, prior to our experience with them, we could not have believed.  They act and demand that they are to be served rather than to serve.  They quite literally treat men in formation and all the sisters as servants, waiters, gophers, personal drivers, etc. - to the extent that even special food and drink is reserved exclusively for the priests at every meal.  

Division of labor and fostering a spirit of humility and service is one thing - instead they foster the idea that with ordination comes graduation into a realm of entitlement.  They  hypocritically, yet openly flaunt their vow of poverty which states they should "choose the worst."  Rather than provide an example to those in their care, the IVE priests lord it over those in formation.  This is a huge problem.

From the clericalism it's a logical extension to their blurring and disappearing of the line between internal & external forum - so much so that - even though it's a basic tenant of formation and is covered by canon law - the concept of "internal & external forum" is never even discussed by the IVE with those in formation.  You'll only learn about it if you have experience with another order or seminary.  We've written in detail on how the IVE disregard internal/external forum and the relevant sections of canon law under "Sign #13" here. 

Danger in Spiritual Direction

These violations of canon law and internal/external forum are just the beginning of the problems you face with IVE spiritual direction.  By being limited to IVE spiritual directors, you are effectively limited to deficient directors.  The saints saw great danger in this.  To quote Garrigou-Lagrange, one of the greatest Catholic Thomists of the 20th Century and academic advisor to a Karol Wojtyl:  

St. Francis de Sales says on the subject of a director: "He must be a man of charity, learning, and prudence; if any one of these three qualities be wanting in him, there is danger." St. Teresa expresses the same opinion.

The clericalism, the lack of concern for candidates, and your own eventual experience will make it clear the IVE is institutionally deficient in charity and prudence.  We've also clearly outlined in the first part of this series how anyone formed by the IVE will be deficient in learning.  Spiritual direction from an IVE priest - as we could personally testify - is dangerous. 

Further, while St Francis de Sales could only imagine one out of ten thousand as a capable spiritual director, nearly every IVE priest is saddled by his superiors with this grave responsibility.  The number of older, learned, and qualified spiritual directors in the area is quite plentiful given the many orders and seminaries in the DC / Catholic University area.  Yet you won't have the option of choosing one of these experienced directors.  IVE seminarians are stuck choosing from the few local IVE priests, many who are less than a few years removed from ordination and - lacking in all three key characteristics outlined as necessary by Garrigou-Lagrange, St Francis de Sales and St Teresa of Avila above - this is dangerous. 

To make matters worse, your IVE director will likely only be interested in you in so far as your vocation to the Institute.  Even if you leave on good terms (which is not always easy to do) and want to continue with your spiritual direction you'll find your spiritual director will quickly be too busy for you - cutting you off from spiritual direction in a time of great spiritual need.  

A Check the Box Off Approach to Prayer

Like their "spirituality" and "charism", even prayer follows a check the box off approach at the institute.  On an individual level, there is very little time available for personal prayer because of the crowded, arbitrary schedule.  In fact, even the most liberal seminaries give more time for quiet, personal prayer than one will receive with the IVE. 

Scheduled prayer is offered with no time for preparation before and no peace after.  Interior silence is further made difficult since you don't have ANY time alone.  Carving out time for individual prayer is impacted since each day is fully scheduled (and though schedules aren't followed, you are subject to the whim of the superior and need to ask permission for any exception - "keep the schedule and the schedule will keep you" is not the rule with the IVE.)  

They often boast that they are so quiet in prayer and so loud elsewhere - well, that's true:

For about 45 minutes of the adoration there will be silence and usually that's the only silence you'll get all day.  

In the US seminary your Holy Hour is crammed between the excessive business of the day on one side and the noisiness of the dinner table on the other.  This is contrary to the instruction of the Spiritual Doctors of the Church.  St Francis de Sales explicitly cautions about going from Holy Hour to a lot of noise - yet the IVE brag about this very practice on their website.

At the seminary in Segni, Italy it's even worse.  Adoration is frequently reduced in duration or cut altogether in favor of work or travel - even though the constitutions and spirituality clearly call for a minimum of one hour mental prayer a day (Though we really shouldn't be surprised when the IVE violate their constitutions.)

For many, the time in adoration is little more than a chance to catch up on sleep or to cry in silence (crying will be a daily occurrence among the sisters and quite frequent among the men as well - tears of joy or contrition we are sure.)  Only one priest will show up for adoration at the seminary.  All of the others are off relaxing or doing work.  The Novice master and parish priests where the novitiate adoration is held almost never show up either.  The same could be said for evening and night prayer.

Busy-Work Trumps Prayer-Life

When in conflict, work takes priority over one's spiritual life.  Your prayer life can therefore be severely restricted based on your "office" or work responsibilities.  If you are on cooking or service duty this greatly affects your prayer life on that day.  If you are cooking you have to leave Mass right after receiving Holy Communion to go and get everyone's breakfast ready and in the evening, while everyone else is in adoration, you are stuck in the kitchen preparing dinner.  (To make it worse, you have to prepare two meals, one for priests and another for seminarians.)  In theory you could get one hour before the Blessed Sacrament at some other time during the day, but in practice this is very difficult to manage due to the overloaded schedule, the lack of personal freedom, and the general disorganization (one could say an almost institutional distaste for applying organization or prudence to any undertaking.)  And there are many offices worse than being a cook.

Regardless of your individual responsibilities, you'll still find yourself working quite often on Sundays and Holy Days - we are not talking about pastoral work, but unnecessary manual labor which could be done any other day.  This is a direct violation of the 3rd Commandment.  If that seems harsh, imagine washing floors or scrubbing toilets on Christmas or Easter Sunday - your superiors telling you it's not really work if you remain joyful while doing it.  

They do this because they want to keep those in formation busy at all times - can't give you too much time to think, after all - even going so far as to order their seminarians to violate God's law.  This sense of busy-ness and activism is harmful to the spiritual life and is warned against by all Spiritual Doctors.

And Much More

Even though a 4th vow of slavery to Our Lady is taken there is no clear sign of extra devotion to Our Lady.  Daily rosary is on the schedule in the USA, but in Italy it's left up to the seminarian's discretion and prior to making the total act of consecration to Our Lady there is no structured preparation.

Though the Institute claims to be orthodox it is frowned on for anyone to receive Holy Communion keeling or for anyone to wear a roman collar. 

And if you entered you'd find many more examples where prayer and spiritual life take a back-seat to the arbitrary practices at the Institute.  

Just So You Know

We don't write this to question the spiritual devotion of the Institute's current seminarians or priests.  We write this so you can be sufficiently forewarned and informed where they were not.  

If you already have a solid foundation for your spiritual and prayer life and are hoping for it to grow then you may be best served looking elsewhere.

Give me Your Heart - The Institute Lying Again?

A big topic on this site is the IVE's approach to discernment, recruitment, and admissions to their houses of formation.  We don't think the Institute is completely honest or open with you on this subject and will even take advantage of your ignorance.  Our aim in this post is to give you the information the Institute won't so you can protect yourself.  

Revisiting "Give Me Your Heart"

It's sad that you can't take a religious order on their word, but as we have documented, that's unfortunately too often the case with the IVE.  That's why, after re-reading an earlier post, we again feel compelled to comment on the IVE's book "Give Me Your Heart", a book on religious vocations that's part of their "Youth Series".

It's worth noting that, while some of the IVE catechisms and pamphlets have Imprimaturs, "Give Me Your Heart" does not.  No Bishop has approved this book as being consistent with Church teaching.  It's purely the work of Fr. Buela, with no support from the Church.  Of course, that doesn't stop the IVE from handing it out to children. 

What struck us on re-reading the book this time was that the 2nd chapter actually made sense.  Ironically, it made sense because it is the one section of the book the IVE doesn't actually ascribe to.  

You can read the chapter yourself, but the relevant passages from Chapter 2 follow. 

Desire for the Vocation is Necessary

We don't want to focus on discernment or vocational calling too much in this post as it has been dealt with best elsewhere, but we will say that this is one of the few quotations from the IVE on the subject that seems in the proper context (emphasis in all following quotes is ours):

"6 St. John Bosco says, "Those who in their heart feel the desire to embrace this state of perfection and holiness may believe, without any doubt, that such desire comes from heaven because it is too generous and is well above natural sentiments."

That's right.  If you feel a desire to that state.  Not if you've just thought about it.  Not, if in your pursuit of God's will in your life, you recognize this state as a potential option.  Not if you feel a calling to loftier things, but aren't sure what that means.  Not if someone suggested it to you.  No.  If you feel a desire to embrace that state, then it comes from God. 

In a footnote on the same page they quote Pope Paul VI who echoes St John Bosco:

The Most characteristic sign - indispensable to a priestly vocation - is undoubtedly a righteous intention, that is, a clear and decisive desire to be totally consecrated to the Lord's Service (Editor: ie. to that priestly vocation.)

Again.  A clear and decisive desire to the priestly vocation is indispensable.  Yet if you read our previous post you'll know that in the eyes of the Institute even thinking about a vocation, even if that thought is planted by an IVE priest, is pretext to enter formation.  Then, after entering, any doubts about your new 'vocation' are "temptations" from the devil - in IVE-logic these doubts, rather than a sign you are not called to that vocation, are instead a confirmation of the calling!  

(See the trick?  "No doubts?  Great!  You have a vocation here!" and "You have doubts?  Great!  That's the devil, he doesn't want you to be here and that means you have a vocation here!")

An Obligation to Gauge Candidates Suitability? 

Later the chapter outlines the Church's responsibility in judging and gauging a candidate's suitability.  It's all very prudent and sensible.  The only problem is the IVE doesn't practice any of it.  

"8 The threefold suitability of the candidate must be: Physical (and psychological), intellectual and moral (which implies having the right intention.)  If the suitability is lacking, it is a sign that God is not calling and thus, that the Church should not call. "

It's shocking that the IVE would even admit that psychological suitability should be a pre-requisite, since that certainly isn't what they practice.  We know they don't have any psychological exams in Italy and we doubt they have any in Argentina either.  In the US, unlike every other religious order who give psych exams (and background checks for that matter) prior to entering, the Institute doesn't give psych exams until the 2nd half of the Novitiate in the Spring.  Even then these tests have no bearing on the candidate moving on to the seminary and temporary vows, even when problems unearthed by these exams would preclude someone from entering any other seminary in the US.

As for intellectual suitability, they make no attempt to gauge this prior to entering in any way.  In fact, they regularly admit students without high school diplomas that barely speak the language of instruction.   Even then, the intellectual formation at the seminary would be lacking for even the most proficient candidate. 

The same applies to moral suitability.  There is no effort made to gauge this prior to entering.  If questioned the IVE will usually say that they live so closely with you they will be able to make those judgements over time - though other seminaries and orders could say the same thing, yet they still try to gauge suitability beforehand.  

While it's swell for the IVE that they have a way to gauge suitability of the seminarian years after he enters, where is the concern for the candidate?  If a candidate isn't fit, shouldn't they make at least some attempt to gauge that before he enters?  Wouldn't that be the charitable thing to do?  Their own book says they have an obligation to do so, yet they make zero effort: 

"9 the ecclesiastical authority not only has the right but also the obligation to use all necessary means to know the candidates suitability and thus to be able to make a strict selection."

Of course, the book also says: 

"11 We customarily make selections prior to entering the novitiate… Before admission to holy orders (or temporary profession), a rigorous selection must be made."

Actually, this is not what they do at all.  It's their custom, rather, to never make any selections prior to the novitiate.  If you want to fill out an application they won't stop you, but it's certainly not required.  Most enter the novitiate with nothing more than a phone call and maybe a conversation with their local IVE parish priest.  All the IVE really want to know is A) do you have a lot of debt and B) are you an active homosexual.  If the answers are "no" and "no" then they'll tell you to show up.  

As a result of this lack of screening, candidates enter with all sorts of psychological issues and various histories of issues.  Further, since none of the canonical questions are ever asked prior to entrance, people will even be allowed to enter without having received any or all the sacraments of initiation.  As strange as it sounds, it's quite common to see someone during the first month or two of the IVE novitiate receive baptism and/or confirmation.  So these candidates weren't even part of the Church, yet the IVE already has them lined up for holy orders.  

The reality is that the psychologically fit candidate who has attempted discernment and had spiritual direction prior to entering (which would make up the majority entering most other US seminaries today) is the rare, rare exception with the IVE.

Is It All For Show?

We can't help but think that, like their constitution, this chapter of the book is simply for show.  As with many of their practices, we feel this is deceptive and untruthful.  They are playing with people's vocations (and souls) with no regard for what is best for the candidates.

Please, for your own sake, be very skeptical when taking any advice from the Institute.  You are better off steering clear of any group that has such large problems with telling you the truth.  

Aquinas Warns Against Deceivers

In fact, St Thomas Aquinas warns against one who: 

...entices another (to enter religious life) by lies: for it is to be feared that the person thus enticed may turn back on finding himself deceived, and thus "the last state of that man" may become "worse than the first" (Luke 11:26).

Does the Institute lie?  It certainly doesn't tell the truth.  True to St Thomas' warning, many who enter leave so wounded they not only leave the Institute, but the Church altogether - their last state worse than their first. 

IVE Formation Problems Part 1 - The Intellectual

This is part one of a four part series.  Part 2 is here.  Parts three and four will follow in the coming months.  

There are many of issues with Catholic seminaries in the USA post Vatican-II.  They've gotten better of late, but there is still a long way to go.  Americans sometimes think they can avoid these issues by joining the IVE.  Unfortunately, formation at the Institute has its own set of problems.   

In this series of posts we'll highlight issues you'll encounter during formation with the IVE.  It is necessary to publish them here because the IVE won't tell you about them beforehand and you wouldn't otherwise know about them until after you've already joined.  

We'll focus one post on each of the 4 pillars of formation laid out by John Paul II in his exhortation Pastores Dabo Vobis:  the Intellectual, Spiritual, Pastoral, and Human pillars of formation.

Because the IVE like to think of and advertise themselves as an intellectual - even academic - congregation, we thought we'd address that pillar first. 

Intellectuals?  Academics?

We are a bit flummoxed that this is actually part of their FAQ because this in no way describes the Institute.  Despite trumpeting their size and growth, only one or two of their priests have ever published anything at all and only with their own IVE Press.  Some priests get 2 year licentiates in philosophy or theology (the bare minimum required to teach at a normal seminary) but we aren't aware of any IVE priest that has a doctorate.  We aren't even sure that half of the US seminarians enter with high-school diplomas.  This doesn't make them bad priests or bad people, but it does make this FAQ a bit haughty and disingenuous... though that is certainly not out of character for the IVE.  

We can see from Jack Toller's account of the IVE in Argentina that there has never been a strong academic foundation or intellectual bent - and that this characteristic goes back to the founder, Fr. Carlos Buela:

He did not, however, put much emphasis on the quality of his professors, and most of the better endowed ones soon left the Institute for one reason or another (I’m thinking here of Fathers Carlos Biestro and Ramiro Sáenz, but there were many more that left as well.).  I had visited their premises in 1992 and had seen things for myself.  To begin with, there was no proper library, no proper classrooms, no proper teachers - the whole system of studies amounted to not much more than a hodge-podge of a bit of philosophy here, and a bit of theology there.  This was explained away, of course, with reference to the difficulties that go with all new institutions when at the early stage of their foundation, etc.  Anyway, this never changed much, for Father Buela never had a high regard for scholarly studies - that is, an appetite and quest for truth. Quite different was his approach - as with everything else - if high grades and scholarly distinctions were considered only as a means to other ends

As you will see below, this account is consistent with the current state of IVE academic formation in both the USA and Europe (we can't speak to the current state in Argentina.)  The very idea that you will be in an academic program that is in any way rigorous or an environment that could be described as studious is just bizarre.   

The Thomism is really just Advertising

Thomism is another aspect of their formation that the IVE have become very vocal about  and it attracts more than a few Americans seeking to avoid strains of modernism.  Unfortunately, like so many aspects of their congregation, this is more an instrument for self-promotion than an actual guiding principle.  Their claim to be faithful to St Thomas  lacks any academic foundation.  

A Lord of the Flies Approach to Teaching

While some philosophy classes are taught by the local IVE parish priests who will at best have the equivalent of a Master's degree in philosophy or theology, the majority of non-theology classes are taught by fellow seminarians.  These seminarians are obviously not credentialed.  Most have no degrees in the subjects they are teaching nor any real degree at all.  They are just favored seminarians who took the class a year or two earlier, then with no teaching experience, turn around and conduct class from pre-assembled hand-me-down class notes.

Classes are short and, given the IVE's chaotic schedule-keeping, frequently cancelled.  There are no papers assigned.  Your "study time" outside of class is generally silent so you are not able to discuss or ask questions from fellow classmates as you would at a normal institution.  When you do ask questions from your "professor" you aren't likely to get any depth past what's on the notes he was given. 

So their much-trumpeted intellectual foundation in Thomist philosophy will have faux-professors, rushed classes, limited discussion, no papers...  It's all rote memorization and regurgitation - a surface level understanding of philosophical terms from a perspective that the Institute controls.

That's why, as much as they belittle other seminaries, when they get a seminarian who has actually studied at a diocesan seminary or with a different order he is immediately given teaching responsibilities - because his academic background and rigor will be so much deeper than those that have only studied with the IVE.  If you enter with even a secular undergrad degree you'll probably end up teaching something very early on, simply because you'll be that much further ahead than your classmates.  

No Foundation in Theology Either

Dogmatic theology courses at any other seminary would be taught over the course of a semester by a real professor, with time for reading, discussing, and digesting these important concepts.  Yet at the IVE the majority of these courses are taught over the course of only 1 or 2 weeks.  Why?  Because they don't have real professors.  They have a few priests at the seminary, but they don't have the background or the time to teach all the classes - especially since they are given many other responsibilities (eg. their seminary rector was also the pastor at the seminary's parish.)  So their solution is to fly in IVE priests from US parishes who are able to travel in for only a week or two at a time.  

Usually these are IVE priests who have spent their whole adult life with the IVE, going to the IVE minor-seminary for high-school, then the IVE seminary in Argentina for their philosophy and theology.  At best they will have 2 years at real academic institutions getting licentiates in theology or philosophy.  None of them have published.  None of them have real experience teaching.  None of them will teach full semester classes. 

And when you think it couldn't get worse they will even have some of the more senior, educated seminarians (who fit that description because they had time at non-IVE seminaries) teaching theology classes.

Their Italian seminary in Montefiascone is apparently even worse.  Many seminarians don't even have teachers, but study modules on their own.  English speakers have self-study classes using class notes from the U.S. seminary and non-English, non-Italian speakers spend all their study time translating Italian notes into their own native language.

None of it is Accredited

Not only are the teachers not actual professors, but neither are any of the IVE courses accredited.  What's that mean?  It means if you study with the IVE and then (like most) decide to leave, none of the classes you have taken with the IVE will count for anything.  You'll have to take all the courses over.  There's no real college credit and no real degree.  Nobody else inside or outside of the Church recognizes their coursework.  It also means that if you discern that you don't have a vocation, you leave the IVE with nothing, regardless of how long you studied with them.  They are only able to ordain priests because of their relationships with Cardinals McCarrick and Sodano.

A few seminarians in the US that qualify (ie. are here legally & have  legitimate undergrad degree prior to joining the IVE) will have the opportunity to attend philosophy courses at a real academic institution.  They will study in the 2-year Licentiate in Philosophy Program at the Catholic University of America (CUA.)  The irony is that other orders with local seminarians shy away from CUA (which has some heterodox professors), instead encouraging their seminarians to take as many classes as possible at the more rigorous and more orthodox Dominican House of Studies (DHS) right across the street.  (The likely reason the IVE don't do this is that DHS requirements are too stringent for any IVE candidates to be admitted and, without Cardinal McCarrick to pull strings like he does at CUA, they can't get in.)  

The IVE has Trouble Telling the Truth (Again) about This Too

If you look at the DHS requirements, they include Latin and Greek, which brings us to this:

Notice that they claim three years of both Greek and Latin.  We honestly can't fathom how they put this on their site. While you will get at least some Latin "classes" (often taught by other seminarians) there is not even the pretense of studying that much Greek.  Maybe you'll get a semester of Greek at best in the US and maybe a few candidates in Rome will get it in individual study, but this just isn't true.  Unfortunately, this doesn't surprise us.  As we've mentioned before the IVE doesn't let the truth interfere with their marketing.

What about time to study?

Bright candidates might overlook the lack of structured classes and qualified teachers with the hope of being able to study on their own.  Unfortunately, the schedule is filled with so many mandatory activities that this isn't realistic.  

Even during finals week, instead of having more time to study, more unrelated activities are just added to the schedule.  "Sports" will be scheduled every day during exam week and, as you'll learn when you join, this isn't optional.  Work also continues as normal during the exam period and is, in fact, often increased to fill in the schedule since there are only exams and no regular classes.  Eutrapaelia will also be added to the schedule every single night during the exam week - keeping you up even later than usual.  So even though you'll be mentally exhausted from studying and be physically exhausted from having sports every day, you'll have to attend Eutrapaelia and play games late into the night.  This is very unlike any other seminary - or any normal academic institute for that matter - where students are given additional time pior to and during exams to study and adequately prepare. 

This is the truth

Our purpose here isn't to pick on the IVE, their priests, or their seminarians.  Our purpose is to give prospective seminarians access to the truth.  If the IVE were more humble and more honest in how they portray their formation, this wouldn't be necessary.