The “third way of humility” in the spiritual exercises of St. Ignatius

Abstract

It is clear that the “third way of humility,” as formulated by St. Ignatius, presents, even at first glance, a difficulty that strikes us and even frightens us. The author analyzes the reflection on this subject by the Jesuit theologian Francisco Suárez in his commentary on the Institute of the Society of Jesus, De Religione Societatis Jesu. Suárez studies St. Ignatius' book on the basis of its theological justification in a series of fundamental points. Among the conclusions of the article, it is said that the “third way of humility” is not about the individual “choosing” what is humiliating, negative, or a failure, but rather ‘ascertaining’ whether, when he has to choose something in life, the idea and criterion he has in mind guides him or not to “do what Jesus did.”