gained forgiveness and the true freedom for us

NSTP 1 through His death and resurrection. It aims to animate

the spiritual growth of everyone and offers a
PURPOSE OF EDUCATION progressive initiation to prayer and worship. Xavier
University facilitates retreats, recollections and prayer
Education in general has two dimensions:
sessions. There are also religious organizations that
1. The Personal Dimension - education must teach students can be members of.
and prepare the students how to attain their personal
3. Commitment to a Life of Service
ambitions or objectives in life.
It assists in the formation of men and women who will
2. The Social Dimension - education is a vital
put their beliefs and attitudes into practice through
component of the society. It must teach and prepare
lives. It encourages Faith and expresses itself in works
the students how to interact in the society and how to
of justice and peace in building a more humane world
fulfill his/her social self.
and a community of love. It helps students to realize
Education is not value-free. It teaches students not that their God-given talents are also for the benefit of
only skills but impart values through the methods of the larger society. There are community outreach,
teaching and curriculum. advocacies on issues and concerns and service
learning projects.
Education not only forms the person intellectually and
physically. It also forms the person’s heart, values Given the actual situation of today’s world and in
and attitudes especially in relating to oneself, to imitation of Jesus Christ, it shows a particular concern
others and to the material things. for the poor and marginalized
Education is also an opportunity to develop and Xavier university developmental
deepen one’s faith in God. Students can learn some
basic and fundamental knowledge about their faith. formation program
They will be able to experience living and expressing
their faith.
Education must prepare the students for the
future. It must teach them how to persevere in the
present society and how to help improve the situation.
Education then must expose the students to realities in
the society.

three-fold thrust of Xavier

University Student Formation
Xavier University aims to provide a holistic
development of her students through its three-fold
thrust:
1. Academic Excellence
Xavier engages in the authentic search for the truth
through teaching, formation, research and social
outreach — dedicated to the renewal, discovery,
safeguarding and communication of knowledge and
human values.
2. Growth in Spiritual Life
It stresses growth in Spiritual Life and for Christians it
represents Jesus Christ as a personal friend who

vision
To be a leading ASEAN university forming leaders of
character by 2033.
Mission
Xavier University (Ateneo de Cagayan) is a Filipino,
Catholic, and Jesuit educational community dedicated
to the integral development of the person for the needs
of Mindanao, the Philippines and Asia Pacific.
As a University, Xavier engages in the authentic
search for the truth through teaching, formation,
research and social outreach; it is dedicated to the
renewal, discovery, safeguarding and communication
of knowledge and human values; and it trains men and
women to think rigorously, so as to act rightly and
serve human justly.
As a Filipino university, Xavier is devoted to the
appreciation, preservation and enrichment of the
Filipino culture and heritage; to the sustainable
development of the nation; and to the pursuit of the
common good.
As a Catholic university, Xavier is committed to the
proclamation of the joy of the Gospel; its commitment
is rooted in a deep personal friendship with Jesus
Christ manifested by loyalty to the Church
characterized by a preferential option for the poor; it
shares in the privileged task of fostering the
interdisciplinary and integrated encounter between
faith, reason and the sciences.
As a Jesuit university, Xavier participates in the Jesuit
mission of reconciliation with God, with others and
with creation; it seeks to serve the faith, promote
justice, dialogue with culture and religions, and
protect the environment; it upholds the Ignatian values
of magis, cura personalis and finding-God-in-all-
things.
In sum, Xavier University forms men and women of
competence, conscience and commitment in service of
the Church, the global community and the Filipino
people.
UNIVERSITY DEVELOPMENT GOALS
1. Academic Excellence
To develop the knowledge, skills, and attitudes
required for a solid and interdisciplinary foundation in
the arts, sciences, and humanities; and apply these to
solve problems, consider new discoveries, verify and
expand existing knowledge, and be effective and
responsible professionals.
2. Holistic Formation
To educate the heads, hearts, and hands of men and
women who will serve the faith, promote justice,
dialogue with cultures and religions, care for creation,
our common home; while upholding the Ignatian
values of magis, cura personalis and finding God-in-
all-things.
3. Global Competitiveness
To educate lifelong learners who will continue to
equip themselves with competencies that will enable
them to work and compete in other knowledge-based
economies and societies; live in different countries
with people of diverse cultures; allow them to
successfully transition into global citizens and avail of
opportunities to actively shape a just and peaceful
world.
4. Social Engagement
To form men and women for others, who possess a
deep sense of leadership and service characterized by
discerning and concrete engagement in social issues
and by direct service to communities, especially for
the poor and those in the peripheries; working towards
peace and justice for the inclusive and sustainable
development of Mindanao, the Philippines and the
global community.
profile OF THE IDEAL XAVIER
UNIVERSITY GRADUATE
Academically Excellent
A Xavier Ateneo graduate possesses a high level of
competence in his/her field of specialization allowing
him/her to think and act critically and creatively, and
conduct research for the advancement of knowledge in
his/her discipline.
Holistically Formed
A Xavier Ateneo graduate does what is right in the
context of his/her religious faith and convictions,
respects diversity among peoples, serves as good
stewards of creation, while upholding the Ignatian
values of magis, cura personalis and finding-God-in-
all-things.
Socially Engaged
A Xavier Ateneo graduate possesses a deep sense of
leadership and service allowing him/her to engage
actively as an agent of change to achieve sustainable
development of the people in Mindanao, the
Philippines and the global community.
Globally Competitive
A Xavier Ateneo graduate is a life-long learner
equipped with the competencies that enable him/her to
operate professionally, confidently and comfortably
across borders, cultures and languages, thereby
transforming him/her into a global citizen committed
to shaping a just and peaceful world.

Characteristics of Jesuit education


Ignatian VALUES AND
PRINCIPLES
1. CREATION - A dynamic, moment-by-moment
activity shaped by a free, loving, self-giving God and
by grateful, loving human beings who share the divine
freedom. Evil arises from a human beings free
decision to turn in oneself and refuse God’s loving
desire.
2. INDIFFERENCE - a distance from things that
allows a person to freely choose “without prejudice”.
It is a distance from things that makes true vision
possible. Ignatius is asking everyone to love
themselves and all things as coming from God. Yet
each is to “stand apart” from all created things in an
inner freedom, which awaits God’s desire and
invitation.
3. MAGIS - the yardstick of St. Ignatius was always
to undertake that which was the “better choice”, the
more effective enterprise”, ”the more widely
influential”, ”meeting the greater need”, not simply
because such a course was harder, but because it
would yield the greater good or be more loving. This
is the essence of Magis.
4. LOVE IS EXPRESSED IN DEEDS NOT IN
WORDS - a phrase of Ignatius taken from the fourth
week of His spiritual exercise, which reinforces the
importance of action in His spirituality.
5. CURA PERSONALIS - (concern for the
individual) remains basic characteristics of Jesuit
education. Growth in the responsible use of freedom is
facilitated by the personal relationship between
student and teacher.
6. TANTUM QUANTUM - (AS…SO MUCH)
“other things one the face of the earth” --- materials
things, physical and intellectual abilities, passions and
feelings, hopes and desires, social status and friends,
time, etc.- important as they are, do not compare in
importance with that of cooperating with the creating
God. “As much as things help this cooperation, “so
much does one use them; insofar as things hider this
cooperation, they are avoided.
7. NON MULTA SED MULTUM - meaning “not
many things, but one thing deeply”. This phrase was
barrowed by Ignatius from the humanist Quintilian.
“For it is not much knowledge that fills and satisfies
the soul, but the intimate understanding and relish the
truth” [Spiritual; exercise, #2]. Applied to the school
curriculum, it suggests mastery of fewer things at real
depth rather than of many matters treated
superficially.
8. CONTEMPLATIVE IN ACTION - At the end of
his autobiography, which He dictated in the last years
of His life, Ignatius admitted that since He began to
serve God, He had always grown in devotion, that is,
ease in finding God; and now more than ever in His
whole life. Every time, any hour, that He wished to
find God, He found Him. Nadal points out the
characteristics of Ignatius prayer : “… in all things,
actions and conversations he perceived and
contemplated the presence of God and had affection
for spiritual things, being contemplative even while in
action- a matter which he customarily explain by
saying “God must be found in all things.”
9. AD MAJOREM DEI GLORIAM - It means “For
the greater glory of God”. It is the motto of the
Society of Jesus.
10. DISCERNMENT - is an Ignatian spiritual
decision-making process, when the option is not
between good and evil but between several possible
courses of action, all of which are potentially good. It
involves prayer, reflection and consultation with
others, where an individual considers not only the
rational reasons but also the emotional pulls.
three ATTITUDES OF A PERSON
FOR OTHERS
1. Live more simply
Fist, a firm determination to live more simply – a
individuals, as families, as social groups – and in this
way to stop short, or at least to slow down, the
expanding spiral of luxurious living and social
competition. Let us have men and women who will
resolutely set themselves against the tide of our
consumer society. Men and women who, instead of
feeling compelled to acquire everything that their
friends have will do away with many of the luxuries
which in their social set have become necessities, but
which the majority of mankind must do without. And
if this produces surplus income, well and good; let it
be given to those for whom the necessities of life are
still luxuries beyond their reach.
2. No unjust profits
Second, a firm determination to draw no profit
whatever from clearly unjust sources. Not only that,
but going further, to diminish progressively our share
in the benefits of an economic and social system in
which the rewards of production accrue to those
already rich, while the cost of production lies heavily
on the poor. Let there be men and women who will
bend their energies not to strengthen positions of
privilege, but, to the extent possible, reduce privilege
in favor of the underprivileged. Please do not conclude
too hastily that this does not pertain to you – that you
do not belong to the privileged few in your society. It
touches everyone of certain social position, even
though only in certain respects, and even if we
ourselves may be victims of unjust discrimination by
those who are even better off than ourselves. In this
matter, our basic point of reference must be the truly
poor, the truly marginalized, in our own countries and
in the Third World.
3. Agents of Change
Third, and most difficult: a firm resolve to be agents
of change in society; not merely resisting unjust
structures and arrangements, but actively undertaking
to reform them. For, if we set out to reduce income in
so far as it is derived from participation in unjust
structures, we will find out soon enough that we are
faced with an impossible task unless those very
structures are changed.
Thus, stepping down from our own posts of power
would be too simple a course of action. In certain
circumstances it may be the proper thing to do; but
ordinarily it merely serves to hand over the entire
social structure to the exploitation of the egotistical.
Here precisely is where we begin to feel how difficult
is the struggle for justice; how necessary it is to have
recourse to technical and ideological tools. Here is
where cooperation among alumni and alumni
associations becomes not only useful but necessary.
Let us not forget, especially, to bring into our counsel
our alumni who belong to the working class. For in the
last analysis, it is the oppressed who must be the
principal agents of change. The role of the privileged
is to assist them; to reinforce with pressure from above
the pressure exerted from below on the structures that
need to be changed.
CHRIST THE MAN FOR OTHERS
Men and women for others: the paramount objective
of Jesuit education – basic, advanced, and continuing
– must now be to form such men/women. For if there
is any substance in our reflections, then this is the
prolongation into the modern world of our humanist
tradition as derived from the Spiritual Exercises of
Saint Ignatius. Only by being a man/woman-for-others
does one become fully human, not only in the merely
natural sense, but in the sense of being the “spiritual”
man of Saint Paul. He is the man filled with the Spirit;
and we know whose Spirit that is; the Spirit of Christ,
who gave his life for the salvation of the world; the
God who, by becoming Man, became, beyond all
other, a Man-for-others