Just Ignatian

Ignatian spirituality is the spirituality of the Jesuits - it was Ignatius of Loyola and nine of his companions who founded the Jesuit order (The Society of Jesus) in 1540. Today, many people - not all in the Roman Catholic church and not all belonging to the Society of Jesus (well, you can't if you're a woman!) - use Ignatian spirituality to enhance their own walk with God.

If you're interesed and want to read more, you might try these:

The Way of St Ignatius - Margaret Hebblethwaite
The Ignatian Workout - Tim Muldoon
Jesuit.org.uk

Or simply read on...

One of the things I love about Ignatian spirituality is the encouragement to use our imagination in prayer.On a retreat at St Beuno's in Wales I was asked to read the passage below from Luke and, having read it through a few times in order to familiarise myself with the story, to then close my eyes and allow the scene to unfold in my imagination. As the story unfolds, I was to imagine myself in the scene as one of the people there.

You might like to try doing this. It is very informative - from the person you choose to be in the scene, to your interaction with Jesus (if any) and your response to Mary and/or Martha (of course, you might be one of them in your imaginative prayer).

Go on - give it a whirl - what have you to lose?

From Luke chapter 10

Now as they (Jesus and those following him) went on their way, he entered a certain village, where a woman named Martha welcomed him into her home. She had a sister named Mary, who sat at the Lord's feet and listened to what he was saying. But Martha was distracted by her many tasks; so she came to him and asked, 'Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me to do all the work by myself? Tell her then to help me.' But the Lord answered her, 'Martha, Martha, you are worried and distracted by many things; there is need of only one thing. Mary has chosen the better part, which will not be taken away from her.'

After spending some time on the meditation it is good to talk with God about your prayer time.

Later, if you keep a prayer journal, you might like to add your thoughts and insights in it. If not, why not start one now?

Words from Aelred of Rievaulx (who lived 1110-1167)

As long as we need to eat and drink we shall need to tame our flesh with watching, fasting and work. This is Martha's role. But in our souls there should also be Mary, that is, spiritual activity. For we should not always give ourselves to bodily efforts, but sometimes be still and see how lovely, how sweet the Lord is....You should in no wise neglect Mary for Martha; or again, Martha for Mary. For if you neglect Martha, who will feed Jesus? If we neglect Mary, what use is it for Jesus to come to your house, when you taste nothing of his sweetness?

The examen is a way of praying each day (usually towards the end of the day) to try to discern where the spirit of God has been moving throughout the day and to discern your response. St Ignatius of Loyola described this way of praying in the sixteenth century and it is a fundamental part of Ignatian (Jesuit) spirituality. There are a few different ways of describing how to do the examen but this is one method I find helpful. Why not try it for ten or fifteen minutes tonight?

1. Relax in God's presence - find a quiet spot, turn your thoughts and your feelings towards God.

2. Think back over all the good things of today - be specific - the lovely early morning cup of tea, the meeting with a friend, the sunshine, the kind word...
If it's been a lousy day, then remember your strengths that have helped you through it.
Say 'Thank you' to God with your mind and in your emotions.

3. Now ask for the Holy Spirit's enlightenment to reveal to you more deeply what the day has brought for you. Let yourself open to God - I like to imagine a flower opening its petals in the sunshine. You might want to express this physically by opening your arms.

4. This next step takes the most time. Review the day and examine, in the light of God's love, what you have felt through this day - your moods, your emotions, your ups and downs, and your responses. How has what has happened today impacted on you? How have you impacted on events and on others?

This is not a time for self-flaggelation. Simply run through the happenings of the day, recalling your responses and noting them. Then take some time to ask yourself for each thing you bring to mind:

- Did my response to this help me or hinder me in my spiritual life and growth?
- Did my response allow Christ to be seen in me or was I distracted by other things?

Do not beat yourself up. The idea of this is to become more self-aware and, in becoming more self-aware, to become more open to God and God's promptings. Allow God to challenge you but also to encourage you and lead you forward.

If you are short of time, then choose just one or two of the significant happenings of the day and concentrate on those during this review.

5. Now take a few minutes to have a conversation with God about your understanding of the day. Put it into words.
I like to imagine, at this point, that Jesus is sitting beside me and that we have a talk together about the day. This might be the time to say sorry for those mistakes!
Then turn your conversation to tomorrow and ask for God's help and for an awareness of God's perception of the events of the next day.

Finish by saying the prayer that Jesus taught us to say:
Our Father...

If done regularly, the examen can be a way of growing in understanding of ourselves and of God's actions both in the world and in/through us. It can enable us to become more open to the Spirit's promptings and to point us in the way of becoming more Christ-like.

Other methods for the examen:

A less structured examen from Contemplative Christian blog

The meditation on Martha and Mary was specifically a type of Christian spritiuality referred to as Ignatian - after Ignatius of Loyola, who wrote about the method of contemplating/meditating on the scriptures by using our imagination.

But now let's explore another method of praying. Ignatian spirituality is the spirituality of the Jesuits. The Society of Jesus (the Jesuits) grew from an older monastic tradition that was Benedictine - after St. Benedict.

One of the classic methods of prayer that Benedictines use is called Lectio Divina - pronounced - lekt-see-o di-vee-na. It means Holy or Spiritual reading and is a way of 'praying the scriptures'. It is a key part of both the Benedictine and Ignatian spiritualities.

Sometimes, I think that in our busy 21st century world we have a tendency to live in our heads - thinking. We're busy. There's lots going on and we have lots to think about. So sometimes it's good to try and move away from living in our heads - and to deepen our awareness and our sensing of the world around us and of God's presence in that world.

The blocked passage below comes from the Bible. This is how you might approach it using the method of Lectio Divina:

Read it through once slowly. Then read it again - slowly. And perhaps, even a third time. S...l...o...w...l...y!

Maybe part of the passage - a word or a phrase - seems to be more significant to you than another. Choose the word or phrase that speaks to you the most. Or, perhaps, it's the whole passage!

Whatever it is, now repeat this word/phrase - s-l-o-w-l-y - several times.

As you repeat it, try not to analyse it - don't do a mental Bible study on it. This is a time for savouring, not studying. Think of a piece of rich chocolate that you have popped into your mouth (I hope you like chocolate!). It is slowly melting and filling your senses with that delightful - m-m-m-m... well, chocolatey sensation.

So, just continue to repeat the word or phrase over and over - slowly savouring it in your spirit. Just let the sense of it fill you, feed you, delight you.
Here's the passage - from Isaiah chapter 56.

Thus says the Lord:
Maintain justice, and do what is right,
for soon my salvation will come,
and my deliverance be revealed.
And the foreigners who join themselves to the Lord,
to minister to him, to love the name of the Lord,
and to be his servants -
these I will bring to my holy mountain,
and make them joyful in my house of prayer;
for my house shall be called a house of prayer
for all peoples.
Thus says the Lord God,
who gathers the outcasts of Israel,
I will gather others to them
besides those already gathered.

Now, how was that for you? Tell God in a short conversation.

When Ignatius was developing his way of Christian living and Christian prayer, he devised a series of spiritual prayer exercises designed to draw those who use them more closely to God and to increase understanding of how to serve God and follow God's guiding. As part of this, he established what he called the First Principle and Foundation of the Spiritual Exercises.

This is how it was described to me by my spiritual director at that time - with a few modifications(!):

~~~~~~~~

We are created to praise, reverence and serve God.
All other things on the face of the earth are created to help us to fulfil this purpose.
It follows that we are to use all other things in as much as they help us fulfil our purpose and we ought to refrain from using these things insofar as they are a hindrance.

Therefore, with respect to all things in which we have some influence or control, it is necessary to become indifferent (not the 21st century definition of indifferent but meaning - free, detached). Consequently, for our part, we should not prefer health to sickness, riches to poverty, a long life to a short one, status to rejection; and so for all other things.

Our constant desire and our consequent choices should always be harmonious with the goal for which we are created.

~~~~~~~~

Easier said than done, of course, but a good principle for leading a life which is God-centred and Spirit-motivated.

My own preference would be to have the word 'love' in the first line. For me, wanting to reverence and serve God spring from my love for God.