Ignatian Spirituality

Ignatian Spirituality insists that God is everywhere—in work, relationships, culture, the arts, the intellectual life, creation itself. As St. Ignatius put it, all the things in the world are presented to us “so that we can know God more easily and make a return of love more readily.” Ignatian spirituality places great emphasis on discerning God’s presence in the everyday activities of ordinary life, often identifying God as more a verb than a noun.

Its basis in personal experience makes Ignatian spirituality an intensely practical spirituality, well adapted to people living active lives. It is an outlook, not a program; a set of attitudes and insights, not rules or a scheme. Ignatius’s first advice to spiritual directors was to adapt the Spiritual Exercises to the needs of the person entering the retreat.

Ignatius of Loyola’s transformation occurred as he learned how to understand the spiritual meaning of his emotions. The spirituality he developed places great emphasis on the affective life: the use of imagination in prayer, discernment and interpretation of feelings, and the cultivation of great desires. It holds that our choices and decisions are often beyond the merely rational. Its goal is an eager, generous, wholehearted offer of oneself to God and to God’s work.

One of Ignatius’ great contributions to Christian spirituality is the emphasis on the human imagination. Ignatius believed that the imagination could be trusted, particularly when applied to a story from the life of Jesus of Nazareth. Through what is called “Ignatian contemplation,” one is invited to use their imagination to enter into a story from the life of Jesus, fully participate in that story, and then discern what that story may be inviting them to in their daily life.

An Ignatian spiritual life focuses on God at work now. It fosters an active attentiveness to God joined with a prompt responsiveness to God. God calls; we respond. This call-response rhythm of the inner life makes discernment and decision making especially important. Ignatius’s rules for discernment and his astute approach to decision making are well-regarded for their psychological and spiritual wisdom.

Ignatian Spirituality emphasizes interior freedom. To make healthy decisions, we should strive to be free of personal preferences, disordered attachments, and pre-formed opinions. Ignatius counseled radical detachment: “We should not fix our desires on health or sickness, wealth or poverty, success or failure, a long life or a short one.” 

The Ignatian worldview is strongly inclined to reflection and self-scrutiny. The distinctive Ignatian prayer is the Daily Examen, a review of the day’s activities with an eye toward detecting and responding to the presence of God.

Those formed by Ignatian spirituality are often called “contemplatives in action.” They are reflective people with a deep inner life who are actively engaged in the work of justice. They unite themselves with God by joining God’s active labor to accompany and heal the world. It’s an active spiritual attitude—a way for everyone to seek and find God in their workplaces, homes, families, and communities.