The Ateneo de Naga University

IGNATIAN FORMATION PROGRAM (IFP)

I. THE CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK OF THE IGNATIAN FORMATION

The university mission statement provides that the Ateneo de Naga seeks the integral
formation of men and women who will contribute to the total development of the family and
the human society. As a Jesuit University, it draws its inspiration and educational principles
from St. Ignatius of Loyola, the founder of the Society of Jesus.

Considering these tenets, the formation process that is desired for the members of its
community, namely: the students, administrators, faculty and staff members, is one that is
holistic, and one that is founded on Ignatian Spirituality. This kind of formation takes the
totality of the human person, including the social, political, cultural, moral, intellectual,
psychological and spiritual dimensions of his/her life as a human being. This kind of
formation encompasses the formation of the person in terms of values and in attitudes,
including the training of character and will.

Given this context, the framework of formation addresses four (4) major dimensions:

1) the personal dimension focuses on the individual person and family;

2) the community dimension particularizes the Ateneo de Naga University community
and its being a Jesuit and Catholic institution;
3) the work/profession refers to the present circumstances of the individual person
within the Ateneo community, whether as a teacher or staff member or student; and,
4) the social dimension pertains to the socio-cultural, economic and political situations
that affect the person wherever s/he may be.

This framework of formation is expressed and better illustrated below marked as Table
A and Table B. This framework is basically patterned after the model presented by Fr. Victor
R. Baltazar, S.J., former Director of Center for Ignatian Spirituality (CIS) during the Ignatian
Spirituality in Education Workshop (ISEW) in 1998 in the Ateneo de Naga, and enhanced by
some career development principles in Human Resource Management. Moreover, the
framework specific for the faculty members has been enriched by Ms. Patricia Licuanan’s
paper on Faculty Development.
Table A. IFP Framework for the College Faculty Members

PERSONAL COMMUNITY/ TEACHING SOCIAL

STAGES SPIRITUALITY INSTITUTIONAL SPIRITUALITY SPIRITUALITY
SPIRITUALITY
Goals
EARLY First Year:
CAREER Introduction Year
STAGE Second Year:
(Ages 20-30) Discernment Year
Third Year:
Commitment Year
Fourth to Tenth
Year: Regular Years
MID-CAREER 11th to 20th Years:
YEARS Regular Years
(Ages 31-50
Years)
ADVANCED 21st to Retirement
CAREER Year: Regular Years
STAGE
(Over 50 years
till retirement)

Table B. IFP Framework for the Non-Teaching Staff Members

PERSONAL COMMUNITY/ WORK SOCIAL

STAGES SPIRITUALITY INSTITUTIONAL SPIRITUALITY SPIRITUALITY
SPIRITUALITY
Goals
EARLY First 6 Months:
CAREER Probation Months
STAGE Second 6 Months:
(Ages 20-30) After Probation
2nd to 10th Year:
Regular Years
MID-CAREER 11th to 20th Years:
YEARS Regular Years
(Ages 31-50
Years)

ADVANCED 21st to Retirement

CAREER Year: Regular Years
STAGE
(Over 50 years
till retirement)
II. DESCRIPTION OF THE THREE (3) STAGES OF FORMATION UNDER THE
FRAMEWORK

A. Early Career Stage: (Ages 20-30)

The early career stage is an introductory/exploratory and formation stage for the young
faculty member, which would culminate into becoming a full-pledged member of the
institution. This election is facilitated through formation program appropriate for this stage.

In Ateneo, the first three years are probation years. It is in these first three years that the
needs of the probationary faculty member of learning the job, learning the culture of the
University, and acquiring the proper credentials are met and provided with appropriate
structures and support.

The First Year is ‘Introduction’ Year. This is the year of initiating the faculty member
into the life and culture of Jesuit Education where essentially teaching is viewed as a vocation.
S/he is considered to be an advanced model of the Ateneo graduate. S/he is expected to be both
a companion and guide to the students in their formation as men and women for others who
will contribute to the total development of the family and human society.

The Second Year is ‘Discernment’ Year. This is the year of inviting the faculty member
to discern whether s/he can embrace the ideals and values of Jesuit Education. As member of
the Ateneo pedagogue, s/he is expected to appropriate for himself/herself the mission of the
University. S/he is expected to manifest genuine concern and active involvement in the life of
his/her students, sowing in them enthusiasm to gain breadth and depth in knowledge, creating
the climate for learning, and nurturing in them joy in continuous learning.

The Third Year is ‘Commitment Year’. This is the year where the faculty member
decides to stay and embrace Jesuit Education as a way to build a future in the teaching
ministry. As a member of the Ateneo Pedagogue, s/he is invited to live a life of exemplary
integrity by cultivating an upright conscience that impresses on him/her the imperative to use
his/her exceptional gifts of education, knowledge, expertise and experience to positively
transform the world.

The Fourth to Tenth Years are Regular Years. As an Ateneo Pedagogue, the
faculty/staff member is expected to live the apostolic mission of the Church of seeking Primum
Regnum Dei.

From fourth year up to tenth year, the needs of finding an academic mentor, making
one’s contribution in some special area, establishing a clear identity in the institution and
becoming visible in one’s discipline, and deciding about marriage and family are special
concerns which are given attention and consideration in the faculty formation and
development program of the University.

B. Mid-Career Stage: (Ages 31-50)

Mid-Career is the longest stretch usually 20 years between ages of 31-50 with some
variability. This is characterized by high level of activity, as the faculty member enters into the
best career years beginning as a fully established professional with a recognizable area of
competence, actively contributing to the institution through teaching and hopefully, research
or writing. This continues through many active and productive years, building one’s
eminence in his/her field of specialization. It is during these years that the faculty reach the
peak of their careers, and usually s/he is called to leadership position in the institution and in
professional organizations. This is also the stage where the faculty member experiences
heightened conflict between demand of work and family.

The needs of the faculty member at this stage are:

1) remaining technically competent and continuing to learn in one’s chosen field;
2) accepting higher levels of responsibility/administrative assignments;
3) becoming a mentor to key (younger) faculty;
4) dealing with mid-career crisis; burnout, loss of challenge, falling into a “rut”; and,
5) creative management of conflict between work and family demands.

C. Advanced Career Stage: (Over 50 years till retirement)

This stage takes place after 50 years of age or older and generally involves the last 10-15
years of one’s professional life. This is the stage where the faculty member is called upon to
use one’s wisdom and accumulated experiences for mentorship to the academic and
organizational leaders of the institution. This stage sees to the shift into senior mentor status
as well as decline and disengagement, leading to retirement.

The needs of the faculty in this stage are:

1) using one’s accumulated experience and wisdom on behalf of others in various senior
mentor roles;
2) learning to accept reduced levels of power, responsibility and centrality;
3) learning to accept and develop new roles based on declining competence, energy,
and motivation;
4) learning to manage a life that is dominated by work; and,
5) maintaining a sense of identity and self-worth.
III. DESCRIPTION OF THE FOUR (4) PROGRAM DIMENSIONS:

A. PERSONAL DIMENSION

The personal dimension in the framework is described as Personal Spirituality

Program. Personal Spirituality focuses primarily on the formation of the individual person, as
an embodied spirit; created in the image and likeness of God, and his/her relationship with
God. Spiritual Exercise 23 lays down the basic tenet that man is called “to praise, reverence and
serve God”, and to constantly choose that which would help him/her better fulfill this end.
Ignatian Formation gives primacy to one’s personal spiritual experience through which s/he
would attain the grace of inner freedom to authentically respond to the love of God. This
personal spiritual experience is so important that the formation programs in Ateneo ensure
that such opportunities, at appropriate times, are available to the individual persons or
members of the community. As St. Ignatius puts it (in SpEx #15), “the Creator will deal directly
with the creature, and the creature directly with His Creator and Lord. The Creator and Lord in person
communicate Himself to the devout soul in quest of the divine will, that He inflame it with His love and
praise, and dispose it for the way in which it could better serve God in the future”. In the same
dimension, opportunities for knowing oneself and appreciating his/her context, including
his/her vocation—whether in marriage, religious or priestly life, or a single life, or other forms
of consecrated life, are given a special attention with the belief that the awareness and
understanding of one’s person is essential to the growth in one’s faith life or spirituality.

The goals or agenda under the Personal Spirituality Program are as follows:

i. To attain personal growth and integration;

ii. To gain a stable sense of self and a sense of God within and about, and in so gaining,
have a sense of order in one’s life, experience remorse for one’s sins and conversion,
and grow in awareness of the love of God and one’s call to respond in love;
iii. To attain such an intimate knowledge of Jesus Christ that impels a deeper
commitment to the Kingdom of God and his mission; and
iv. To deepen understanding and appreciation of the value of family life and marriage,
and foster vocations to the priesthood and religious and other consecrated life.

B. COMMUNITY/INSTITUTIONAL DIMENSION

The community dimension in the framework is described as Community and

Institutional Spirituality. Community Spirituality focuses on the formation of the person, as
a social being, and his/her relationship with others as a member and educator of the Ateneo de
Naga University community whose inspiration and educational principles are drawn from St.
Ignatius of Loyola, founder of the Society of Jesus. S/he is not created as a solitary being. S/he
needs others and grows to full maturity as a person only in relating with and through others.
S/he is called to love and live his/her life with others, and respond to the Kingdom as a
Christian in community as a Church. As the Second Plenary Council of the Philippines (PCP II)
provides it, “We are called as individuals, and each one must give a personal response. But Christ
calls us to form a Christian community. He wants the Church to be ‘a communion of life, love and
truth, a community of faith, hope and charity’ (PCP II, 89, p.36). The Ignatian world-view purports
this inspiring theme that “the strength of a community working in the service of the Kingdom is
greater than that of any individual or group of individuals”. As a member of the Ateneo de Naga
University community, it is imperative that s/he not only manifest competence in his/her
academic discipline but s/he must also exhibit deep familiarity with the charism and core
values of Jesuit education and share the same passion in the vision and mission of the
University. These would enable him/her to continue the ‘Jesuit tradition’ of education and on
the part of the institution a way to achieve its ultimate goal of forming ‘men and women for
others’ who will find God in all things and seek to serve first God’s Kingdom.

The goals or agenda under the Community Spirituality/Institutional Building Program are
as follows:

i. To build a community substantially based on shared Ignatian spirituality where its

members build solidarity in an ever-deeper discovery and appropriation of the
Ignatian charism;
ii. To promote dialogue and collaboration where students, teachers, administrators and
staff members freely communicate on personal, professional and religious levels,
and exchange experiences of hopes and disappointments, aspirations and
frustrations, successes and failures;
iii. To recognize that Christ personally calls each to his service, and realize that Christ is
actively present in the community he calls together, missions and sustains for
university service;
iv. To clarify and instill a growing appreciation of the vision, mission and goals of the
University as a Catholic, Jesuit and Filipino institution functioning in the world;
v. To guide its members to reflect on convergences and divergences of personal vision
and mission with those of the institution.

C. WORK/PROFESSION DIMENSION

The work/profession dimension in the framework is described as Teaching/Work

Spirituality for faculty and staff members. These are focused primarily on the formation of the
individual person as a teacher or as a staff member or in whatever occupation or status the
person may presently be, insofar as s/he is engaged with the university. This formation
enables them to develop the qualities of mind and heart to, as St. Ignatius puts it (in SpEx 23),
“desire and choose what is more conducive to the end for which [they] are created,” or in secular term
to aspire to excel at each stage of life, i.e., as a student, dedicates himself/herself to fulfill
his/her duties to study and gain the necessary knowledge, experience and competence of
his/her academic discipline; as a teacher/staff member, commit himself/herself to remain an
effective educator who is appropriately equipped with the necessary pedagogical methods and
techniques, and responsible for his/her continuing formation and development. Ultimately,
this area of formation enables the individual members of the academic community to work
with others for the good of all in the “praise, reverence and service” of the Kingdom of God.

The goals or agenda under the Work/Profession (Teaching/Work) Spirituality Program are
as follows:

a) For Faculty Members:

i. To attain a deeper appreciation of and commitment to the profession of teaching as a
ministry;
ii. To continuously realize the need to take advantage of opportunities for continuing
education and personal development especially in matters of professional
competence and pedagogical methods and techniques;
iii. To be open to calls of positions of responsibility or leadership roles and service or to
take a share in the responsibilities involved in the formation of students; and,
iv. To manifest genuine commitment to use one’s knowledge, experience, & expertise in
the field of instruction, research, or community service to search for and proclaim
the truth and become effective instrument of cultural progress for individuals and
the human society as a whole.

b.) For the Non-Teaching Staff Members: In addition to goal #ii, #iii and #iv above,

i. To attain a deeper understanding and appreciation of the supportive roles and

functions of the non-teaching staff to realize the goals of the Ateneo de Naga as an
educational institution.

D. SOCIAL DIMENSION

The social dimension in the framework is described as Social Spirituality. This focuses
on the formation of the person and his/her relationship with the society and the world. As a
human person, s/he not only relates with other people or groups but also with the structures
and systems of society in the world. S/he affects structures and structures affect him/her,
his/her life today and in the future. S/he is called to take active part in the shaping and
building of his/her world in such a manner that the Kingdom of God reigns. The Ignatian
world-view presents the challenging call for the “total commitment of men and women who, to
imitate and be more like Christ, will put their ideals into practice in the real world of ideas, social
movements, the family, business, political and legal structures, and religious activities”. As St.
Ignatius puts it (in SpEx #230), “love ought to manifest itself in deeds rather than in words”, and (in
SpEx #231) that “love consists in a mutual sharing of goods”. The formation programs in Ateneo
provide such opportunities for the individual person to share his/her gifts not just to his/her
immediate family but to the bigger world as well, especially the poor.

The goals or agenda under the Social Spirituality Program are as follows:

i. To gain a broader and deeper context and appreciation of one’s own role, and in a
compelling way, the need to take part in realizing the Church’s mission especially
towards the poor and the disadvantaged;
ii. To gain a deeper understanding of the call for and active participation in the life of
the society and the global community, and the Christian imperative to use one’s gifts
in the service of others, out of love for God; and,
iii. To explore, establish and strengthen networking and collaborative works with the
other Jesuit missions and institutions.