With hearts ready and spirits high, the Xavier University Junior High School community,
donned in white, gathers in joyful anticipation to open ISEW 2025. The grace-filled journey
begins. (Photo supplied by Dr S Macagba)

The Xavier University Junior High School community gathered once again for its annual Ignatian Spirituality in Education Workshop (ISEW) on 24 to 25 June 2025, carrying the theme “IGNITE: Living, Leading, and Thriving with Ignatian Spirit.” The two-day encounter, organized by the Formation Council, proved to be more than a workshop—it was a soul-refreshing, grace-filled experience that deepened personal reflection, strengthened community bonds, and reignited a shared sense of purpose among faculty and staff.

The journey began with a simple invitation: to live from the inside out. With a focus on personal spiritual growth, emotional maturity, and discovering one’s deeper “why,” the community was led into meaningful conversations and moments of prayerful silence. Fr Robbie Paraan, SJ, in his opening session, “In All Things, Love and Serve: Ignatian Spirituality for Daily Life,” grounded participants in the very heart of Ignatian spirituality—finding God in all things. He emphasized the importance of the Examen as a daily discipline to notice God’s movement in ordinary life and encouraged everyone to align themselves with the mission by asking: “Is it really for you? Does it energize you? Does it keep you whole and integrated?”

In group sharing that followed, educators reflected on how they encounter God in the classroom, at home, and in life’s smallest tasks. What emerged was a renewed awareness that grace often hides in plain sight.

Later that morning, Fr Robbie returned with a session titled “To Be Sent: Finding My Call in the Mission,” reminding the community that vocation is not confined to one’s profession but is deeply rooted in identity. “Our vocation,” he shared, “is a call from God, and it begins by remembering that we are children of God.” His words invited a more intentional embrace of one’s roles—as teacher, parent, colleague—not merely as duties, but as sacred responses to a divine invitation.

Fr Ro Atilano, SJ engages the Xavier University Junior High School community with a heartfelt
session on emotional wisdom and spiritual freedom during ISEW 2025. (Photo by Mr Ebuna)

The afternoon delved deeper into the emotional and psychological dimensions of spirituality. Fr Ro Atilano, SJ led a compelling talk entitled “Rooted and Responsive: The Gift of Emotional Wisdom,” in which he affirmed that “feelings are amoral—but what you do with your feelings is a moral act.” He guided participants through stages of interior growth: self-awareness, acceptance, mastery, and transcendence, helping the community recognize that spiritual maturity often involves navigating emotions with gentleness and courage.

He reminded everyone that interior freedom comes not from reacting to every struggle but from choosing which battles are worth engaging. One of the most powerful moments came during the “Heart Map” activity, where members created visual reflections of their own spiritual journey—marking moments of desolation and consolation, and allowing grace to reframe their personal narratives.

The second day focused on sustaining the interior fire and bringing it outward—into relationships, leadership, and service. Fr Ro opened with a tender and relatable session called “From Burnout to Beloved: Thriving in Grace.” Speaking candidly about exhaustion, overcommitment, and the longing to feel whole again, he reminded everyone: “The more you accept your feelings, the more you can tame them. Name your dragon, tame it, and fly with it.” It was a gentle yet powerful invitation to create space for rest, self-compassion, and intentional rhythm in a world that often glorifies burnout.

Fr Ro then led the community through a session on spiritual self-care, “Pause, Pray, Practice: Sacred Rhythms for Wholeness.” He reframed self-care not as indulgence, but as mission: “You need to be okay so you can serve better,” he said. “Don’t expect others to do self-care for you. It’s your responsibility.” By the end of his session, each participant had drafted a personal self-care management plan that included breath prayer, journaling, silence, and Sabbath-like pauses.

In the final session, Fr Robbie returned to speak on servant leadership in “With and For Others: Ignatian Leadership for Community.” He stressed that authentic communities are built when mission and relationships go together: “There is no mission without community, and no community without mission,” he said, anchoring his point in the very nature of God as a model of unity and shared purpose. The group reflected deeply on what each person brings into community—whether it builds or breaks trust—and how empathy and presence are indispensable marks of Ignatian leadership.

Batchmates in mission, Fr Arman Samonte and Fr Robbie Paraan, SJ share a light moment
after presiding over the closing Mass of ISEW 2025—bringing the grace-filled workshop to a
meaningful close. (Photo supplied by Dr S Macagba)

On the third day, the XUJHS Community Club animated a dynamic community-building session called Pakiglambigit, an experience of connection, laughter, and joy. In his opening remarks, Mr Samuel Macagba III, Assistant Principal for Formation, reminded the community: “The past two days have invited us to listen deeply—to God, to our emotions, and to each other. But this morning is a reminder that spirituality is not just inward; it extends outward, in connection, in celebration, and in joy. Pakiglambigit is our way of saying: I see you. I walk with you.” The morning was a celebration of belonging, a joyful proof that formation includes play, creativity, and shared humanity.

The Magis and Cura Personalis groups joyfully and competitively celebrate their achievements,
embodying the Ignatian spirit of excellence and care for the whole person during ISEW 2025.
(Photo supplied by Ms Villaranda)

The Ignatian Spirituality in Education Workshop 2025 ended not with fireworks, but with quiet fire—a renewed flame in the hearts of educators called to love, serve, and lead. It was a space of deep prayer, honest sharing, tears and laughter, rest and resolve.

With happy hearts and lifted spirits, the XUJHS community in blue comes together in unity and
joy—capping off the grace-filled ISEW 2025. (Photo supplied by Dr S Macagba)

Thanks to the tireless efforts of the Formation Council, who designed every moment with thoughtfulness and purpose, the XUJHS community experienced two days of genuine encounter—with self, with others, and with the God who continues to labor with and through them. Truly, ISEW 2025 was a grace-filled space that reminded all: to teach is to touch lives with fire—and that fire, when Ignited by the Spirit, will continue to burn in love and service.