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Textify pirate6/17/2023 ![]() ![]() ![]() Both men felt that these pages testified to the greatest gifts they had received from God, and as such should not be hidden. The same question applies to the “diary” of Ignatius. Ramos asks if Nadal wanted his Chronicon published, and if not, why he wrote the text. Each had to wait till the twentieth century for their full publication and a recognition of their importance. There is a curious parallel between the text published here and the “spiritual diary” of Ignatius himself. However, Nadal disagreed with Ignatius on two key points: Ignatius consistently refused the title of “sole founder” of the Society, and also consistently refused to be called a “saint.” Clearly, the fact that all Jesuits inherit something of the Ignatian “spirit” owes much to the tireless work of Nadal. There can be no question that in general Nadal was faithful in interpreting Ignatius’s mind, and in chapter three the recurring refrain is that Nadal is following pointers suggested by Ignatius (95–96, 99, 117, 119, 124, 126–27). The problem raised concerns Nadal’s reliability. He argues at great length that it was definitive, and that after Nadal’s work all Jesuits pass through a sort of Ignatian mold. Ramos argues for Nadal’s key role in spreading knowledge of, and devotion to, Ignatius, especially through written texts. But that process helps one to see that Nadal’s attitude to Ignatius was not absolute-he lets slip that Ignatius was aware of the problems his own melancholia could cause the Society (§72) and may have appreciated how Ignatius could have recourse to diplomatic means (§88). Ramos never deals in detail with the process of Nadal’s vocation, and as his work is not a biography of Nadal he may be justified. Ignatius saw this and respected Nadal for it to the point of trusting him unconditionally. Clearly, the devotion Nadal felt for Ignatius was subordinate to what he felt for God, and he was convinced that God was revealing his will to him. But Nadal says to himself: “To whom are you taking these vows, Ignatius or God?” (§69). He repeats this later when he waits before taking his vows of devotion “until a time when it would be hard for me” (§69)-and then does so even if Ignatius had said to him, “I want you to obtain the additional merit of not taking these vows because I do not think you should” (§69, my italics). Although many attempts have been made to uncover its meaning, notably the study by Alfredo Sampaio Costa ( Studies in Spirituality 18 : 261–87), Nadal emphasizes strongly “repugnance which is a great and convincing sign that this is God’s will” (§48). My problem with the book of Ramos is that the fascinating Chronicon raises more problems than it solves. Palmer in the Studies in the Spirituality of Jesuits, 24, no. A good English translation was published by Martin E. ![]() 183, where the Spanish translator admits his puzzlement). The text seems to have been written near the end of Nadal’s life, at great speed, in a very difficult hand, and in a sort of pidgin Latin, which at times is far from clear (a good example, §29, p. Although clearly “autobiographical,” it can hardly be called an autobiography as the main subject treated is that of Nadal’s vocation. The title chosen by Nadal, “Chronicon,” refers to the division of the text chronologically, starting in 1535 and finishing between 15. plus 15 photos of the original manuscript). He touches on the vexed question of grades in the Society-how far Nadal promoted this-but in his long discussion (127–38) he honestly admits that the evidence is indecisive.Ĭhapter 4 offers Nadal’s text in the original Latin with a facing Spanish translation (75 pp. In his third chapter, Ramos specifies the ways in which Nadal influenced the development of the Jesuits as they became involved in education (Nadal effectively set up the first colleges in Messina and Rome), and in work with lay people and the Exercises. The first two chapters deal with the construction of a spirituality and specifically with the Exercises as the written actualization of a person’s spirit-a theory so successfully promoted by Nadal that it came to dominate thinking in the Society. This link may explain the abstract and difficult style of the book (not helped by the use of words rarely found in Spanish, avinir (67, 131) negligir (23, 147). The book is the work of a Spanish Jesuit and is a spin-off from the author’s doctoral thesis written in German: Jerónimo Nadal (1507–1580) und der “verschriftliche” Ignatius (Leiden: Brill, 2016), viz. The title of this book refers to a text, the Chronicon, written by Jerónimo Nadal (1507–80), a very close collaborator of Ignatius of Loyola ( c.1491–1556), and adds the words, A lens to enter into the rise of Ignatian spirituality. ![]()
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