Tertianship is the final period of

formation Formation may refer to: Linguistics * Back-formation, the process of creating a new lexeme by removing or affixes * Word formation, the creation of a new word by adding affixes Mathematics and science * Cave formation or speleothem, a secondar ...

for members of the

Society of Jesus , image = Ihs-logo.svg , image_size = 175px , caption = ChristogramOfficial seal of the Jesuits , abbreviation = SJ , nickname = Jesuits , formation = , founders ...

. Upon invitation of the Provincial, it usually begins three to five years after completion of graduate studies. It is a time when the candidate for final vows steps back to assess his experience of living and working in the Society of Jesus and to discern whether this is the life to which he is being called by

Christ Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label= Hebrew/ Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other names and titles), was a first-century Jewish preacher and relig ...

. The ''Constitutions'' of the Society indicate that

after completing his studies (which were concerned with the cultivation of the intellect), the scholastic should apply himself to the ''schola affectus'' (which deals with matters of the heart), by turning now to "spiritual and corporal" works, which will help him to make progress in humility and in the denial of selfishness and self-will or self-opinionatedness.

Tertianship characteristically takes place either through the course of an academic year or through two consecutive summers. During this time, the Jesuit in formation, called a "tertian", will undertake an apostolic placement of teaching or service. The tertian will also return to study the history and foundational documents of the Society, study of ascetical theology, and undergo a thirty-day silent retreat based on the

Spiritual Exercises of Ignatius of Loyola The ''Spiritual Exercises'' ( la, Exercitia spiritualia), composed 1522–1524, are a set of Christian meditations, contemplations, and prayers written by Ignatius of Loyola, a 16th-century Spanish priest, theologian, and founder of the Societ ...

References

Society of Jesus {{RC-society-stub