About Ignatian Spirituality

The Vision of St Ignatius by Rubens

The key elements of Ignatian spirituality flow out of the understanding that:

  • God is to be found in all things, is continually active and at work in the world seeking to bring it to a place of wholeness and fulfilment and desires each of us to find peace and joy.
  • God personally calls us to participate in this work, communicating directly with us by moving our affections, imagination and desiring.
  • Through regular personal reflection and attentive discernment, this direct communication of God and God’s activity in our lives can be noticed, interpreted and responded to.
  • God invites us to give ourselves and our gifts for the help of others and care of the world around us always respecting and being responsive to the individual needs, unique circumstances and particular concerns of each person.
  • In order to wholeheartedly respond to and follow God’s personal call we must seek grace to move towards and act out of a place of interior freedom.
  • We do not make this journey of response alone, collaboration is at the heart of our relationship with God, Christ and others.

Ignatian practices

Some characteristic Ignatian practices include:

The prayer of Examen

This is an Ignatian tool that can help us to take time to notice and reflect on our experience at the end of each day. It develops awareness of how God has been present to us, where we have felt in or out of harmony with God’s life in us and gives opportunity to consider how to most fruitfully move forward. 

Please see the Daily Examen page on IgnatianSpirituality.com to find out more.

Imaginative contemplation

This is a way of praying that invites us to enter imaginatively into scripture, particularly the gospel passages, in order to see, hear and experience the content as if we were there.  It can often help open up new and surprising insights and responses.

Please see Pray with your imagination on IgnatianSpirituality.com for insights on imaginative contemplation.

Discernment

This is a practice centred on becoming attuned to the action of God in one’s life and seeking to making choices in harmony with God’s hopes and desires for our own lives and the life of the world around us.  It is grounded in the rules for discernment of spirits that Ignatius included in The Spiritual Exercises.

Please see the Discernment of Spirits page on IgnatianSpirituality.com to find out more.

Further information

For more information on Ignatian Spirituality you might want to look at some of the other Ignatian websites listed in our Resources section.