A Spirituality of Encounter

Lessons from the School of the Poor

Abstract

St. Ignatius of Loyola offers us a foundation to explore the encounter between the “least among us” and those with opportunity and privilege. Pope Francis extends this Ignatian insight by arguing that the “least among us” not only need us, but we are enriched through an encounter of mutuality with them. Encountering the poor allows us to listen to the will of God and discern our way in this world free of constraints to our will that are culturally reinforced and rewarded. While St. Ignatius and Pope Francis have different emphases in their interpretations of how the poor, voluntary poverty, and spiritual poverty are essential to our evangelization, there is enough similarity to see connections. Both emphasize that discerning God’s will for us requires interior freedom. For Pope Francis, the poor and marginalized of this world are a unique source of this freedom, first for what they teach us (similar to Ignatius) and second, for what they elicit from us (a share in divine compassion). If we encounter the poor in ways that are mutual and life-giving, such encounters can be transformative.