Ignatian spirituality and meditation

Having experienced God's presence in his life, St. Ignatius of Loyola developed habits to lead his soul to God. In the Spiritual Exercises, the Jesuit's practical advice is recorded for anyone wishing to let themselves be transformed by the word of God. In Ignatian spirituality, meditation and contemplation are an essential foundation for a Christian prayer life.

"The Exercises are a privileged opportunity offered by God for people to listen to the Holy Spirit and find the right answers to the questions specific to each person's situation" (St. John Paul II).

Introduction to Ignatian spirituality

In his Spiritual Exercises, the founder of the Society of Jesus describes a series of prayers and meditations based on the Holy Gospels. Just as the body needs physical exercise to maintain good health, we need to exercise our souls in the practice of meditation to develop our inner freedom and unite us with God through a personal encounter with him. The aim of these exercises is to bring our soul to eternal life, to find salvation, by allowing ourselves to be transformed by death and resurrection, in the image of Christ's passion.

The exercises are a spiritual experience made up of a succession of contemplations from the Holy Gospels and meditations written by Saint Ignatius himself. The aim is to enable the faithful to welcome God's love into their lives, to develop an intimate relationship with Christ, and to order their lives by following the example of Jesus Christ. Here's how St. Ignatius talks about it:

"By this word "Spiritual Exercises" is meant every way of examining one's conscience, meditating, contemplating, praying vocally and mentally, and other spiritual operations, as will be said later. Just as walking, strolling and running are bodily exercises, so we call "spiritual exercises" any way of preparing and disposing the soul to rid itself of all attachments to the world. Cast from itself all disordered attachments and, having put them aside, to seek and find the divine will in the disposition of its life with a view to the salvation of its soul."(Spiritual Exercises §1)

Discover examples of Ignatian exercises for purifying the soul, humility, love and discernment.

Meditation and contemplation, a path to God

Contemplation and meditation are the founding pillars of Saint Ignatius' spirituality. By meditating on the Bible, we can observe God at work in our hearts and listen to what he has to say. In Ignatian meditation, we read a passage from the Gospel and then observe what is going on in our hearts, in our affections. In this way, we can immerse ourselves entirely in the life of Christ, mobilizing all our senses and all our being. Unlike other meditative practices, such as mindfulness meditation, this method of introspection doesn't suggest looking inward to stay within oneself - quite the contrary. Through Ignatian meditation, and Christian meditation in general, we are called to silence in order to give maximum space to the first person in our lives: God.

By meditating in this way, we gradually become inhabited by his presence and his Holy Spirit, which in turn leads to many fruits in our lives. These fruits can manifest themselves in various ways: joy, patience, chastity and so on.

By meditating on the life of Jesus, we are enabled to have a deeply moving, transfiguring encounter with the face of the Risen Christ.

An excellent way to initiate yourself into the spirituality of St. Ignatius of Loyola is to devote some time each day to meditation, in particular through guided meditations.

Discover Ignatian spirituality

Every day, pray and meditate the daily Gospel through commentaries from great spiritual leaders.