Ignatian spirituality has emerged from the work of St Ignatius of Loyola who founded the Society of Jesus (Jesuits) in the 16th century and wrote the “Spiritual Exercises”. Ignatius saw these exercises as a way of keeping the soul healthy and strengthened to engage in whatever the day has in store, just as physical exercises strengthen the body for physical tasks.

Today, as people seek ways to pray and discern God in everyday life, Ignatius’ teaching inspires people from every denomination and walk of life. Ways of prayer based on the spiritual exercises can bring an awareness of God’s presence through good and bad times. They can also help in making the choices that form the detail of our lives and determine how we engage with family, society and the world.

What is the secret of this small treatise on prayer written 450 years ago?

The answer lies partly in that Ignatius invites us to explore our experience of God rather than tells us what to believe. In every situation he asks an underlying question – “What do you want in life, that is, what is your heart’s desire?”

This question of desire is fundamental. In an age when the gospel of consumption (based on desire) substitutes sustaining relationships with triviality, disposability and exploitation on a global scale, the question of what we really desire helps us to reach more deeply into ourselves to look for what truly brings life and meaning.

Ignatius saw life in Christ as graced. There was the real attraction for him. Meditating on the life, death and resurrection of Christ transformed him. Pondering the divine mystery at the heart of life, at the heart of creation, allowed him to see the way to live. He saw the God of creation, dwelling in and blessing existence in plants and creatures, continually sustaining life through its cycles. He saw the God of love’s self-giving to humanity, dwelling in and sustaining us daily, graced with such openness and thankfulness that we can enter into a relationship with the giver of all.

As he dwelt on the Gospels, allowing the way of Christ to touch his deepest desires and shape him daily, he discovered how to live. The life, death and resurrection of Christ touched his heart, imagination and soul, energising him with meaning and hope. Perhaps this was because he discovered that the desires that were in Christ were also in his deepest yearnings. Recognition of God’s presence within himself and the world began to grow as the Christ story touched his story. It grew as he began to know the source of life within him, healing, nurturing and encouraging him to love. It grew as he learned to know the suffering love of God in Christ, stronger than death and destructiveness.

This led him to invite his followers to contemplate the Gospels with their imaginations, to enter the Gospel passages and allow them to come alive, by asking themselves: “What is my heart’s desire? When have I experienced God’s love? How do I respond? When do I notice that the life of the Spirit is flowing in me, and when is it blocked? When am I alive to life’s joys and pains, and when am I not? Where do I find God in the experiences that make up my life? What does it mean for me to follow Christ? What are the values, loves and priorities of Jesus, and how do I learn to embody them? Who is Christ for me and my community today?” Prayer and life were woven together. God was to be found in the everyday things of life.

Ignatius listened to the diverse voices within him as he sought to live out the Gospel and discovered different directions of energy within his heart and spirit. He began to discern his underlying desires – was he wanting to open up to Christ’s way, to let Christ be compassionate to him and through him to others, or was he wanting to feed his own need for security, power, status? It was always an experience of having a stronger love for God that freed him from his ego or his disordered attachments. He noticed a whole range of inner voices, feelings and desires and felt God’s unconditional love speak to him, drawing him into life and love.

On this basis, he encouraged his followers to make a daily examen or review of the day as a way of seeing where they had missed or met God. Through this experience they would become more aware of the Spirit’s action in their lives. The following exercises are in the tradition of Ignatian spirituality and may help to lead you to a deepening experience of God.

The review of the day

Imaginative contemplation

Imaginative contemplation (an alternative version)

Stillness exercise

Lectio divina

© Ali Newell

Ali Newell is a team member of the Ignatian Spirituality Centre in Glasgow. She is also a Church of Scotland minister and has previously worked as Warden of Iona Abbey and as Director of the Ecumenical Spirituality Programme for Scottish Churches Open College.