The Society of Jesus
in Belize
Our guide: St. Ignatius of Loyola
Ignatian Spirituality
An Overview
If you would like to understand Ignatian spirituality, it helps to understand the sort of man St. Ignatius of Loyola was.
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Born Iñigo de Loyola in the northern Basque region of Spain in 1490 to a family of minor nobility. From an early age, he was apprenticed as a courtier and taught courtly manners, the art of diplomacy, and the military arts. He grew up with a penchant for wine, women, and song, and seemed to enjoy the occasional scrape. Young Iñigo's soul was nourished by dreams of heroism, honor, fame, and great military achievements.
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In 1521, Ignatius led a military detachment to defend the border town of Pamplona from an incursion of French soldiers. Vastly outnumbered and overwhelmed by the superiority of the French firepower, most of the Spanish soldiers retreat, but Iñigo, who could not bear the thought of backing down, pressed forward, until he was felled by a French cannonball. Impressed by his courage, the French army carried Iñigo back to Loyola on a litter, where he spent the next year recovering from a massive leg injury.
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It was there, as he lay in bed, nursing his smashed leg and his smashed dreams, that his conversion began. With little else to occupy his time, he picked up whatever books were around. After reading through all the tales of chivalrous knights performing acts of great heroism, he was left with two books: A Life of Christ and A Life of the Saints. Given to daydreaming as he was, as he lay there Iñigo imagined himself as a great knight. His excitement would peak and then peter out. But then he would imagine himself as one of the great saints, such as St. Francis or St. Dominic. He noticed that his excitement would peak, but it would not peter out; rather, it would last for some time. (His observations about these movements in his heart formed the basis of what he would later term "consolation" and "desolation.") Gradually, Iñigo came to believe that God was leading him through these movements to a new path for his life, one which he had never before considered.
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Please click here to watch the video from Bishop Robert Barron's "Pivotal Players" series on the life of St. Ignatius to learn more about where Iñigo's journey went from there.
Ignatian Spirituality
"Spirituality" can be hard to define, despite the fact that we all have one! The term refers to the unique ways in which God reaches out to each of us and the unique ways in which we respond. There are many different spiritualities that can all be rightly called Catholic Spirituality. Spiritualities differ in terms of the operative image of God at their heart, the forms of prayer and worship that result from that image, as well as the implicit relationship of a person to the rest of creation suggested by that image.
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​Generally speaking, Ignatian spirituality refers to the spiritual path outlined by St. Ignatius in his Spiritual Exercises and the Constitutions of the Society of Jesus, as well as in his letters. It is important to note that Ignatian spirituality, per se, is also the product of the last 150 or so years of commentators and theologians and pilgrims like you and me praying with, and reflecting on, the spiritual legacy St. Ignatius left to us. What are some of the characteristics of Ignatian Spirituality?
1. Ignatian spirituality sees God at work in the world and in our lives.
St. Ignatius understood God to be at work in the world, every moment of every day, always trying to lead us to greater freedom. For Ignatius, God is not aloof, disinterestedly sitting in some distant heaven. God is actively engaged in all the ups and downs of our lives, always communicating God's love to us. On good and bad days, regardless of circumstances, God is there loving us and leading us to greater love. Persons familiar with Ignatian Spirituality often cite the principle "Finding God in all things" to describe this spiritual insight.
2. Ignatian spirituality pays close attention to our deepest desires.
In some spiritual traditions, we are taught not to trust the desires of our hearts for fear that they might lead us down the path of selfishness and sin. But in Ignatian Spirituality, our desires are the key to understanding exactly how God is trying to set us free. It is important to keep in mind that not every desire we have leads us to God - most of us are bundles of conflicting desires - rather, only our deepest desires will lead us closer to God. Discernment is the term we use to describe the process of sorting through our desires to discover which will lead us deeper into the mystery of God.
3. Ignatian spirituality leads to service.
In Ignatian spirituality, we believe that, if God is at work in the world laboring to bring all of creation to greater life, then we must do the same, as well. In the Spiritual Exercises, God sets us free from our sinful tendencies that help us bound, but we are set free for the purpose of greater love. For all human beings, this is our calling: to love God and one another - and all creation - with a love that expresses itself more in actions than in words.
Ignatian Prayer
When we speak of "Ignatian prayer," we do not do so in exclusive terms. In other words, we are not saying that these are the only forms of praying that a person should use. St. Ignatius was a pragmatist, and he believed that any form of prayer was a good form of prayer, so long as it brings us closer to God. If praying the rosary or going to mass helps you to feel closer to God, then by all means continue! But if it does not, then do not be afraid to set it aside and try some other way of praying. Remember that prayer is more about how God chooses to be with you in a given moment, than it is about the particularities of how you choose to pray.
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Nonetheless, here are three forms of prayer that you might find useful as you journey through this Ignatian retreat. The first two methods, Ignatian Contemplation and Lectio Divina, are ways of praying with scripture. Scripture will be incredibly important on this retreat, but many times we Christians are not quite sure how to pray with scripture. These two prayer forms are very helpful.
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The third prayer form we would like to share is called the "examination of consciousness," or the "examen" for short. It is a prayer method that is characteristically Ignatian in which we review our day, with all of its ups and downs, in an attempt to recall the moments in which we encountered the Lord at work. The examen is the doorway to "finding God in all things."
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Check out the videos below for explanations of how to use these methods of prayer.
Three ways of praying
Ignatian Contemplation
Lectio Divina
Examen
Reviewing Your Prayer
Another thing we can say about Ignatian prayer is that it is very structured, as you will see from the prayer material each day on this retreat. A given prayer period often takes place in three parts. First, you take a minute or two to prepare yourself for prayer. Essentially, you take a moment to review the material you will be praying with. Second, you then set your prayer materials (readings, reflections, Bible, etc.) to engage the material silently. This is typically what we think of as "praying." Third, when you are finished praying, you take a few minutes to reflect on what happened in your prayer. This third part might involve some kind of journalling. Each of the three parts is itself a moment of prayer.
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We want to speak briefly about the third part: the review of your prayer. After you pray with the scripture or meditation provided, take a few minutes to reflect on what happened as you prayed. Specifically, you want to pay attention to the moments in prayer when you felt consolation or, if you did not experience any consolation, what you think might have been blocking or distracting you. A brief word about each.
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Consolation refers to an inner movement towards God, and it usually feels like an increase in love, joy, peace, goodness, gentleness, connectedness, etc. Very often in moments of consolation, you feel more alive. Some people talk about consolation as feeling like an inner expansiveness, as though your heart is opening wide. It is important to note that consolation does not always feel good. For example, sometimes, as when we are grieving the death of a loved one, we may feel horrible, yet at the root of the sadness/ loss/ anger is an abiding feeling of love.
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What should you do if you feel consolation? First, thank God! Consolation is a gift from God, so it is correct to respond with gratitude. Second, write it down or do whatever you can to remember this moment of consolation. When the difficult moments come (see below), you may begin to doubt that God is with you, so it often helps to go back to your journal to remind yourself of what it feels like to know that you are in God's presence. Third, in terms of your prayer, when you feel consolation, stay there! Resist the temptation to move on to the next day's prayer material. Just go back and repeat the prayer that led you to feel consoled. Stay there until you feel like it is time to move to the next topic.
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The opposite of consolation is desolation, which refers to a movement away from God, and we usually experience it as a pervasive sense of anxiety, discouragement, or self-loathing. In moments of desolation, we often feel stuck or deflated, lifeless or hopeless. Again, some people talk about desolation as feeling like your heart is closing and hardening. It is not a pleasant place to be!
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What should you do, if you are in desolation? First, and most importantly, it is helpful to recognize it for what it is: it is not the voice of God. Second, it is often helpful to talk about it with someone you trust. If no one is around, then write about it in your journal. Third, as yourself when the desolation began to take hold: was there something that you were thinking about that started you down the path of desolation? Fourth, the next time you sit down to pray, review your journal and go back to the last prayer period in which you felt consolation. Pray with that same material again.
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Finally, a word about distractions. We all experience distractions in prayer. Sometimes distractions are just that: intrusive thoughts that pull us away from our prayerful concentration. Other times, however, what we call "distractions" can be moments when God is trying to show us something. It is hard to know the difference, but the following might help. Often we find ourselves ruminating about something from the past or worrying about something in the future. Remember, if a thought pattern starts stirring up anxiety inside of you or if you start to feel your heart closing, then it is not helpful. Let it go, and gently bring your focus back to the prayer material in front of you. On the other hand, if your thoughts are leading you to feel more peaceful, alive, loving, etc. then you might want to pay attention to them.
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A final word on reviewing your prayer: we strongly advise that you write your reflection down in a journal. This will help you immensely with recall. Also, sometimes when you go back later on to read what you wrote, you begin to notice consolations that you had not noticed at the time. To give you a bit more focus as you review your prayer, each day we have given you some journalling prompts. Again, use them, if you find them helpful, but if you do not find them helpful, then set them aside!