ONB

,<
ICNATIAN S pIRITUALITY

lp to the age of rwenty-six he was a man given to the follies of the

(
.

world; and what he enjoyed most was exercise with arms, having a great
and fbolish desire to win fame.'

5n lrcgins a largely unremarkable account of a most remarkable man, If,igo

lr'r1x'r dc [,oyola, more commonly known as St. Ignatius Loyola. The origi-
trsl rirlc of the narrative, Acta Patis lgnatii, has been variously translated
$ tlr,' tcstament, memoirs, or autobiography of Ignatius. He dictated its
trtrttrriri rcluctantly, only after his Jesuit lieutenants repeatedly pressed
hlnr l,,r it.'l'hey wanred a kind of life story that would inspire his follow-
1t wrtlr r model for them to emulate. After putting them offfor months,
fittnt,,,^ linally gave in to their appeals. He would pace back and forth
U*l r", *ll thc cvents thar shaped his life, referring ro himself in the third
tltlrrr rr "thc pilgrim"-an apt metaphor for a man who preferred forg-
kl; *lr,',r.1 ro looking back.
It w,u lmuit Fr. Luts Gongalves da CAmara who for more than two years
hl rhr urrcrrviable job of badgering Ignatius to talk about his past, while
h llrtert",l, t(x)k notes, and later wrote down what he had heard-some
 Ic rualr,rN S f r ulrL:a r. r.r.y
parrs in spanish, orhers in Italian. Da cimara confessed that, for
the sake
of fairhfulness to Ignatiust exact words, he sometimes had to sacrifice
clarity.'The same could be said for literary grace. Given the haphazard
merhod of its composition, it's no surprise that the finished product
was
deemed clumsy and so embarrassingiy inelegant that for cenruries
the text
lay all but ignored in the archives ofJesuit headquarters in Rome.
Toclay
it is generally recognized as a spiritual classic, not only because of its author
and subject ma*er, but precisely because of the unvarnished honesry
revealed in irs clumsiness.
Ignatius Loyola is a major figure not only of catholic but also of world
history. Even in an age of Renaissance genius and monumental achieve-
ments' he stands out for the impact he made on his own and subsequenr
centuries. He had a vision that continues ro change people and the
way
they see their lives. During his lifetime he aroused both suspicion
and
devotion, reflected in the contrasting, sometimes contradictory images his-
torians have painted of him (which is not to say that even today his par-
tisans or critics completely understand him).
Ignatius Loyola has never been easy to categorize.3 The stereorype of
an
ex-soldier founding a military order to fight protestantism is inaccurate
and misleading. The metaphor of the chrisrian as a "soldier of christ,,
was a commonplace in the sixteenth cenrulF, found in the
works of the
scholarly Erasmus as well as those of Ignatius. Indeed, the romantic
nov-
els Ignatius read as a reenager probably had a far grearer influence
on his
ideas about doing chivalrous deeds in Godt army than
did his brief exploit
in batrle. That's why his spiritual Exercise! and. rhe spirituality that it fos-
ters are more easily described than defined and why the genesis
of his spiri-
tualiry not only the specific exercises but also its entire worldview, needs
to be described in terms of his life experiences. Ignadan spiritualiry is
pro-
foundly biographical.
IGNA'T IAN SPI RITllAI.tl'Y
EaRrv Lrpr,
Ignatius was ailing and in his last years when he began dictating his mem-
oirs, and many of his Jesuit confreres were already regarding him as a saint,
but his memories took him back to a time in his life marked by anything
but sanctiry. He was born in the Basque region of northern Spain alrfiost
cerrainly in 1491, the year before Columbus set sail for new worlds, and
so at the war-ring of the Middle Ages.'His home was a fortresslike castle
situated among the pine-covered foothills of the Pyrenees, about a mile
from the rown of Azpeitia. There he was baptized Ii-rigo Ldpez, a name by
which he was known until he was in his late forties, when ir.rcreasingly he
began signing l-ris name lgnatius.
Documents going back to I 180 describe the Loyolas as one of the ten
o[their province, declaring the family\ unbroken lovalry and
sreat farnilies
service to rhe kings of Castile and their right on certain occasions to be
invited ro the king's court. Iiiigo's fother fbught with the king against the
,\4oors at Granada. Two of his brorhers fell in batt]es at Naples and in
Mexico; a third died fightingTurks in Hungary. For the men in their class,
.r sword and dagger were an essential part of the dress code, and knowing
Irorv to use them a requisite part of every young man's education.
But the l.oyolas were known for more than military prowess. Ifligo was
lris parents'eleventh child, and in addition he had a half-brother and a half-
,,ister fathered
out of wedlock. His mother's death, shortly after Ifrigo '.r'as
l,,rrn, could only have intensified the masculine ethos of rhe household.
N'l;rchismo, vendettas, and bloody family feuds were part of the Loyola heri-
r.rr',(r, amorous displays of viriliry no less so. As one biographer bluntly put
rr, f rrthering illegitimate children was a family pastirne.n This inch"rded
lrrigo'.s brother Pedro, who was a priest. In short, the Loyola pedigree was
lrlttcr suited to producing a swashbuckler or Don Juan than a saint.
As the youngest of several brothers, Inigo had no prospect of inherit-
,r1,,:ury part o[the family estate, all of which went to the eldest living son.
I lc rvorrlcl havc to shifi fbr himsell making a career in keeping with his
 4 : IcNarraN SprRrruALrry
IcNerr,rN Spr RrruALrTy

social rank by performing

arisrocratic service, preferably
ro rhe Spanish And yet, as he later related to his secretary Polanco, he was "atached to
crown, whether on rhe bartrefierd
or at court. That he
of a courtier, his father sent him -ighr rearn the skifls the faith." It would seem that young I6igo was a typical Spanish gentle-
at about age fifteen to Arivalo_and
household ofJuan yerinquezde the man of his day-fiercely Catholic without being terribly consistent abour
cuirar, chief treasurer to King Ferdinand
and Queen Isabeila. \fith that what that might mean. At fudvalo an elderly aunt, a nun, warned him,
the adorescent Ifiigo exchanged
the rerative "Iftigo, you will not learn nor become wise until someone breaks your leg."8
comforts of the rower nob,iry
for the splendid opurence of the
court. \7hile he was in his early t'renties, Ifiigot career prospecrs took an
under the tuterageo fyerizquez,Inigo
set about acquiring the poise
mannefs of a page'.He learned and abrupt turn for the worse. Velazquez fell out of favor with the royal family
to move.with e.se among spain,s
arisrocratic circles, incruding highest and lost his post. \tr7ith the old man's death, Ifiigo was advised to offer
visiting members of the royar
oped a taste for music and literature,
[-rr. He dever_ his services to the Duke of Ndjera, a distant relative who was also viceroy
especially tle romantic tales of
still.in vogue among Spanish chrvalry of Navarre. He took the advice and left for Navarre and its capital ciry
nobles. He teils us in his memoirs
head was "all fiJI of tales likeAmadis that his Pamplona, where his life would change.
de Gaur, and such books,,
tota oiulslts setting offin search tizl. m.y The duke welcomed Ifiigo into his company and set hirn.to work hon-
of adventures, sraying ogres, and
cuing fair ladies. Beneath the res- ing his diplomatic skills. Despite the common misconception, I6igo was
feudar trappings of rhese ,"rer,-ho*.r,..,
an idealized nodon of the rerationship IrF never a professional soldier, .ho"Sh he would, if the need arose, take parr
thatloined a knight to his riege lord.
military expeditions. The young man proved a proficient diplomat,
i:H "": th. otl.,, th e,a.sal-knighi prom isi,,f
the lord :::,:,0_'ir:.1 ,.*i.., though in one instance at least, impulsiveness got the better of good judg-
1o.
promising friendship, and both
of mutual allegiance and generosiry. "f
;";'ffi.;ffi'il:.; ment. For whatever reason, a group of ruffians insulted his honor and
But as one wourd expecr of a Loyola, I6igo pushed him against a wall; Ignatius drew his sword and chased them down
preferred living rear adven-
tures to reading about imaginary the street. Ifnot restraine{ he would likd have killed one of them, or they
ones. He worked d.r.roplg his sk,rs
in fencing and riding. For diversion "t would have killed him. Ignatius was clearly not someone to mifle with. But
he arso enjoyed gambling, incruding,
it seems, high-risk adventures treither could he claim to have inherited a temperarnenr for cool-headed
of the heart. Ar one point, we learn,
to hire mo bodyguards to he had tleliberation.
herp defend him against a rivar
intent on k,ring This brings us to the opening passage of Ignatius's memoirs, with rhe
him for what was most rikerlhis
part in a love rriangle.
Ignatiust secrerary in his later Juan de polanco, in his late twenties, given to worldly vanities and craving fame.
years, te,s us "he especiary 'rubject
indurged in gam- lfiigo had been serving the duke for some five years when Navarre, long
bling, dueling, and romances
with women.,,,
Young Iiigo must havc cut a dashing figure. 'r battleground benveen France and Spain, once again came under attack
By his own larer admis- lry French forces. \Vhen the naro armies arrived at Pamplona, the dispariry
sion' he was vain about his ,pp."rrrr..-I6"rtidious
about his nails and the l,rtween them was overwhelming-a little more than 1,000 Spanish
look of his shoulder-rens{
rrrir. app"r*,iy women found
and he found them compriant.
him attracdve, tr(,ops to 12,000 French. The townsfolk, seeing the hopelessness of the
The re.ord, ,rro indicate thar
Loyola in 1515, when he
on a visit to rituation and anxious to save their lives and homes, urged their defenders
was rwenry_four, he was arresred
for some mys_ to surrender. fu seasoned soldiers, the commandant of the Spanish ffoops
terious affair (a pranki a brawr?)
and praced for a rime in confinemenr.
,rrul his officers also wanted to give up. But the fiery Ifiigo had never been
 IcNeTtaN SPtr'trurrlrY ' 7
6. IcNrarrau SptnrtuaLrrv

died' The
next, The trauma of the second
surgerywas such that he almost
one to back off from a fight, no mafter how desperate the odds, and his
critical, and I6igo was given the
courage proved infectious. He was willing to resist to the death and filled doctors advised that his conditiorrwas
He was making good progress
the other defenders with the same fire. last rites, but he survived the operation.
that one leg was shorter than the
The battle for Pamplona lasted some six hours. The fortresst defend- toward health when it w" di"outred not
riding on another' And' if that were
ers acquitted themselves well. French losses were considerable. But the other; a bone below the knee was
fighting came to a quick end when Ignadus, sword in hand at the center bad enough, the bone Protruded' t r-
boots were the sryle of the,dal.Y::ff:l:
of the fray, fellwounded. A shot from a French cannon shattered one leg St ir,,iit , breeches fitted into

and seriously injured the other. At the time Ifiigo would surd have pre- ,,*";""?;.il.*u;,;iorked'::l'*itr'l'*"::5::1111::t::
doctors informed him that
ferred death to the humiliation of being a cripple, but death at Pamplona ;:;.: ,r,-*;;;io humitiated him. The
be even
away' but that the ordeal would
was not his destiny. the protruding bone could be cut
healed'
already endured' The bone had
Like the famed 'thot heard round the world" at Concord, this earlier more excruciating than what he had "tor-
to be
and cutting it would uke time'
Ignatius chose the surgery' Better
one at Pamplona reverberated down the centuries. It strains the imagina-
tion to think how history would be different if the French cannon had rured' than humiliated by deformiry [41'
when these began
missed him and Ifiigo had escaped rhe battle uninjured. He would likely The surgeon, the flesh and excess bone and'
",,, '** his shorter leg stretched so that
it would
have remained a cavalier, or perhaps become a conquisador in Spaint to heal, Ifiigo submi"tdio having
expanding colonial empire. At most he would have been a footnote in he even with the other' Despitt iht agonies' he continued to recover' He
had
any weight on the bad leg and
Spanish history. How would things have turned out, if he had died or cven felt fit, though he could not Put
had more consequence'
escaped untouched? Oc for that matter, if he had been made of lesser ru remain in bed. Rarely has a convalescence
stuff? He could just as well have become a bimer, self-pirying old man,
weeping for what might have been. As it was, Ignatius's metde was never
more tested than after his wounding.
CoNvsRSroN
Despite the losses they had suffered because of him, the French forces German
decree excommunicated a
treated Ifiigo kindly. They set his legs and, once he was well enough, had It was 1 521 , the same year that a papal
was bedridden on the uPPer
floor of
him transported home to Loyola. There he came under the care of his rrrnk named Martin Lt"ht'' Ifrigo
to. inaction
tlrc Loyola castle for nine months' Averse "ltllj"tt::;
older brother Martin, heir of the Loyola estates, and his wife, Magdalena
;;;;;;.r,J ;, his doctors to endure t
Y
"t,**:t
ti::::
de Araoz, who was as much a mother figure to Ifiigo as a sister-in-law. ; : ;,;J
ones he had?:j
Ifiigot shattered leg was not healing. Physicians :;il;;;;il; for some books-romances like the
Despite their best efforts, up
,'rrioyed reading at Ardvalo' But the
Loyolas were not given to building
and surgeons were brought in and determined that the leg needed to be brother
lrtrraries. The castle contained only
two books, both brought by his
broken and reset correctly. The "butchery," as Ignatius called it in his
M;trtin's wife, Magdalena, with her
dowry'
memoirs, had to be endured without anesthesia. He gave no sign of pain
()nc was a four-volume Spanish translatlon of a life of Christ by a
other than his clenched fists [2]. the
as Ludolph of Saxony' It.retold
It is safe to say that If,igo eamed his reputation for being a tough hom- rttctlieval Carthusian monk kno*p
bre honestly. Just how tough-and vain-is apparent by what happened (irrslrelstories,embellishedwithdescriptivedetailsdrawnfromtheauthort
 8 . IcNAi.tAN SplRIl,uAt y
t.l
IcNATTAN SprnrruaLrry . 9

imaginarion' The other

was Fros sancturum,a
spanish edition ofJacopb
de Voragine's The Golden.!WnA,. Ignatius would call the discernment (discretio) of spirits. He was sure that
The prologue
frfrl", collc*ion of lives of the saints. the deflating spirits came from rhe devil and the uplifting ones from God.
in that editiJn a.r*,u.a rhc
(knights of God), sai.rs as cabareros de Dios
a notion Ifrigo would.narurally Not surprisingly, If,igo thought in the categories of a sixrcenth-century
books were find appealing.e Borh Catholic, not a modern-day psychologist. He had no idea that, by culti-
devotionar-,,or *in, 1,. ira
for, bu, ii.r. was noth-
askea
ing else' The hours went
by'slowly, and Inigo passed
vating the practice of reflecring on his interior experiences and con-
dreaming' \.rren th"t much of the time day_
b..r*. ,i..ro,,,.,-t. read about sciousness, he was pioneering into a future science.
Ifrigo grew fond of the Jesus and the saints. In addition to his interior experiences, Ifiigo began conterirplating
rwo books. He tells u, h.
over' putring rhem aside ,.rd th.. _"ny ri_., his situation. He was thirty years old with little to show for it. He had
somerimes to rhink about
what h.i"d read. The his honor but litde else, at least for someone with ambition enough to
dme ro muse and wourd
;T::::,j,T.r,:,..oof d,yd,.,_ rbr three or daydream about princesses. He lived at a time when heroic achievements
:i:H"':'1,',':a';ff were almost commonplace. Spanish adventurers were charting new seas
;:*:;il;ffi "i:':il;:*:i*gl: and pushing deeper into new continents. Men showed what they were
so m eon e rro m,he,
rhe words he would address
#i ::;; il ili,T: ; ;ffi fJil:J: : fiffi j,j tnade of by deeds of courage and endurance in service ro some prince
or pursuit of some glorious cause. I6igo was confident of his mettle and
,o i.., ,lr. f., of arms he would perform
her service.,, ,orr" i* in ;rbility to endure hardship. But to what lord and cause should he devote
reminded
-o.. ,h""t
van tes's Do n ei"o
when rhe realiry of his
r".
te, fan tas izi n_ J."J# ffi ffi j# ?:;
himsel0 Vhat should he do with the rest of his life?
\Mhat is usually called Ignatius's conversion was the beginning of a lit-
situata, r*"in dawned on him, he became
depressed [6]' The word "r.. rral and spiritual journey. The former would rake him to foreign lands,
he would .o-.',o use was "desoration.,,
Less dispiriting were-his t lre latter to the uncharted seas of his deepest self. He had reason thirry
musings ,uou, ,t. rife
Francis and Dominic' of Jesus and sainm like
ifiigo .rrtiorr.i ,ie heroic years laterto look back at his life and think of himself as a pilgrim. His
had done for God ,rrd, deeds that the saints
with nine months of convalescence were the beginning of a lifelong habit of
lri, .,rr,o_rry bravado, thoughr,
that'The more difficurt I can do intense introspection, punctuated by experiences so extraordinary as to
the exproi,, *.]*.. he
was that he courd match
it' If St' Francis had tried ,o .onu.r, ,leserve being called mysticd.
Musrims, he could too. If
given up eating meat and saints had Ifiigo began thinking less abour a career ar courr and more about imi-
lived on u.*.JI.r, he
could too. No rigors were
beyond his capacities to withstana. mting saints. He wanted to do penance for his past sins and was especially
,ila when he daydreamed ,bo"r,
doing
he felt ,tonsoled.,, trken up with the idea of making a pilgrimage to Jerusalem, ro see for
grear feats for God,
Inigo had the time to himself the places about which he had daydreamed while reading Ludophs
become introspective
enough to norice something
li{b of Christ. One night these "holy desires," as he called them in his
f;;:|;]1lY:li:-1:*I,1.1,
the feats of arms-he
r,*'rd
uru rrre
rire 31 court_the banter,
at 96u11-6he
felt dispirited. ;il trremoirs, "were confirmed by a spiritual experience" [10]. He described
for God
",a J.,ur, ",,t . saints had, ;;ilt
tt in terms of a vision of Mary with the child Jesus, followed by a 'very
him "satisfied n?:t:;f.t'H"?::1[1fl great consolatiori' that lasted a considerable time. The connection berreen
and joyfur." H. ,.n..,.J-..
this difference between
he called 'tpirits" srirring wirhin him. Here whar rlesires and consoladon would remain pivotal in his thinking for the rest
ar Loyora was born whar
,rl his lifc.

l0 . l(;NAl-rAN SPrRr-TUALIIY
The experience of having his "holy desires" confirmed by consolation
left Ifligo a changed man. His family noticed the difference as he began
talking about God with members of the household. He continued read-
ing fiorn the lives of Jesus and the saints and in a copybook began writ-
ing down passages that he found especially significant, using red ink for
the words ofJesus and blue for those of his mother Mary.
\Xrith his leg gradually improving, Ifrigo began to move a bit around
the house. He gave considerable tirne to prayer, gazing out a window for
hours at the nightsky and stars. He became restless, anxious to be off and
on his way to Jerusalem. And when he thought about what he would do
afier that, the idea came to him of becoming a Carthusian monk like
Ludolph, spending the rest of his life in a monastery doing penance. Hs
tells us that recalling his past life filled him with loathing.
By February 1522,liigo was well enough and impatient to begin his
pilgrimage to Jerusalem. He told his brother Martin he was going to
Navarrete, where his patron, the Duke of Ndjera, was staying. Ifrigo had
kept his pilgrimage plans to himself, but Martin suspected he had more
in mind than returning to the duket service. Martin pleaded with him
rlot to throw his life away, but Iirigo was not to be deterred. \X/ith his sights
set eastward, toward the port city of Barcelona and eventually Jerusalem,
he left Loyola castle, properly armed and dressed as a gentleman, astride
a mule and accompanied by two servants. He traveled to Navarrete, where
he collected back pay frorn the duke's treasury aqd paid some debts. Then
he sent rhe servants back to Loyola so they could tell his brother that he
had indeed told the truth and gone to Navarrete. (He was becoming
scrupulous about matters like telling the exact truth.) But first he confided
in them that he was going on to the shrine of Our Lady of Montserrat,
which just happened to be on the 1e2d 66-xnd only a short distance
from-Barcelona.
"He set out alone on his mule from Navarrete for Montserrat," Ignatius
recalled and then went on to relate one of the most intriguing incidents
in all his memoirs [5-161. On that first leg of his iourney, he found
[rintst'lf'rtct:ornpanicd by a fi:llow rrltvclcr, also astl'itlc ,t rrrtrlc; tlrc tnltn wus
[(;NAIIA\ SI'IRIILAIiIY ' ] I
a Moor, one of rhe so-called "new christians" converted from lslam. (ln
1502, Spain's Muslims sufl-ered the same fare Jews had ten years earlier,
compelled ro converr ro Cathoiicism or leave.) lfiigo and the Mgor char-
ted amicabl,v as thev rode along together, untiI the conversation turned to
theologl,.'Ihe Moor said rhar he believed Marv did indeed conceive Jesus
virginally, without human inten'ention (a Muslim doctrine concained in
rhe Qur'an), but he did not see how she could have rerained her: phvsical
virginiry during chiidbirth. Inigo argued wirh the Moor and triecl to con-
"I'he discussion must have
vince him otherwise but lvithout success.
l.,ecome heated because, we are told, the Moor then went ahead so quickly
rhat Ifrigo lost sight of hirn" fhe N{oor was obviously no fool'
The argument had aroused such "indignation" and perplexiry in Inigo
rlrrrr he had to stop and ponder what he should do. He felr that the Moor
lr,rcl insulted rhe honor of the virgin Mary and rhat he rnas dury-bound
r,, tlefend ir. His inclination was ro catch up with rhe Moor and srab him
lilr what he had said. Old habits die hard, and If,igo was new :It imitat-
1r1,. sainrs. He could not m,ike his mind up, and after a u,hile he tired of
,1, liberating. There was a fork up ahead, wirh one road going to a village,
,, lrt.rc rhe Moor said he was stopping, and the other a highway going on
i,rrrher. Inigo decided to leave the reins slack and let the mule choose
,,lri,lr road to take. The village road would mean searching out the Moor
,,,,1 strrbbing him. Fortunately on many counts, the mule took rhe high-
., rr,. saving the Moor from death and Inigo from spending the rest of his
lrlr .rs a prisoner in the galleys.
l(t.l.tting his rnemoirs, Ignatius could loc-,k lrack at convcrsations with
l,!ll((,s and popes but said little about rhern. [1e rold the storv o{this
.
', 'lltcr with the Moclr, he said, so that we c,ould unr{ersland [rorv Gtid
,u
,1, ,lr rvirlt his sotrl. Despite his ecstasies irnd desires ro scrvc Goc{, iic was
,,ll ,,rprrlllc <,{'prc:rncclitared murder. IgnatiLrs calrre tci see his expcriettces,
,,,, lrr,lirrg this onc, ls ry;rical ol how God works in people's lives' Hr
rr r., not .lispose,cl to Sec convcrsion,ts:rn instantaneoLis, once-and-fbr-ali'
I rrr lrrrrrr rrgrrirr" cvcltt tllilt c:oLtl<l lrc,latcci. l-Ic- arrcl any nuntber rif sairrts
,,,,1 rrryriits lrkr.lrirtr lrrrv.'pt'tsruttlt'tl (.:rth.rli, tr-.r,litirrtr tlrltt (()l)\"( l',i()l) l\
 l2 . It;NAtrAN Sl,rtrrr;arrly
Ir;xllr.qN SPrRIfuALtrY . l3

a lorrg ancl .lic, .rccrrai. l)rocess, a spirituar pirgrimage filred with ini_ gentlemant fine clothes. The beggar claimed he had been given the
rial cxcitcr.crr antl c.rhusiasm trut open
well ,o *.orrg turns and side-
as
clothes.'Was this uue? Ifligo confirmed the beggar's story, we are told, with
rracks' lg,arius dicl not hide his lapses; he wanted
those making the tears streaming from his eyes "in compassion" for the beggar's plight.
journev afrer him ro Iearn from his
mistakes. The remark about Ifiigot tears merits reflection. A man who only a year
Heading sourh and east, Ifligo eventually viewed
the sprendid sawtooth before had merely clenched his fists when doctors sawed into his bones,
mounrain of Montserrat rising in the distance.
He stopped in a nearby now wept for the misfortune he inadvertently caused to befall a beggar.
town, where he commissioned a robe made
out of sackcloth and purchased Ifrigo Loyola was becoming a far more complex person than the tough
a staff and gourd, the raditional emblems
of a pilgrim. crimbing up the hombre who roused the Spanish troops at Pamplona.
steep incline, he came to the Benedictine
monasrery-shrine that housed
the venerared wood-carved Black virgin, our
Lady of Montserrat. The
statue had rnade rhe monasrery a popurar place
of pilgrimage for several MaxRESA
cenruries already.
The monks received Inigo kindry and agreed 'he
to his request to make a | onset of IRigo's pilgrimage coincided with the election of a new pope,
general devotional confession of his whole
rife. The monasrerys late abbot, \drian VI, the former Cardinal Adrian Boeyens of Utrecht. Although
carcia de Cisneros, required novices, before making )trtch, he was a Spanish subject, a former tutor of Emperor Charles V
their final vows, ro I
spend nvo weeks preparing for a general confession.,;tnigo
made a modi- ,,,,d for a time his regent.':'I'he election delighted the Spanish aristocracy
fied version in three days. To assisr him he was
given a copy of cisneros,s l,rrt left Ifiigo in a quandary. Barcelona would be teeming with nobles tak-
Book of Exercises
for the spirituar Ltfe. The ritle of Cisnerost book seems ,,,1i ships to Ronre for the papal coronation. Someone would certainly rec-
to have influenced Inigo in the choice for his own.,, ,
'l,r)izehim, and his pilgrimt garb was sure to cause a sensation among his
Ifligo was well acquainted with the centuries-ord ,,1,1 acquaintances From court. He decided to put off going directly to
custom thar a new
knight embark upon his chi'alrous service with
a vigil at arms. He decided ll.rrcelona and spend a few days in the viciniry of Montserrat. In any case,
to begin his own service by improvising on th.
.urto_rry protocols. He 1,,'qrln1sd to make some notes in his copybook. He would set out for
firsr donated his mule to the monasrery and
arrangea ro, i;, sword and ll.rrr elona later, when he wouldn't be noticed. So leaving the road that led
dagger to be hung as votive offerings to the
Madonna. He then took off r, , r lrc sea, he traveled around ro the other side of the mounrains, to a town
the splendid attire of a Spanish gentleman
and put on the pilgrimt tunic ,,rr tlre banks of the Cardoner River called Manresa.
he had purchased. He gave his fine clothes
to a beggar, ,..,r., io wear fin- I rr igo began living by the kindness of strangers. Not so much from his
ery again' He spent his last nighr at the monasrery
kneering and standing ,,r( rnoirs but From testimonies given after his death for his canonizarion,
at turns before the Madonna's altar, like a knighr ' , lt'.rrn of the "women of Manresa," especially Indz Pascual who, with
of old, a"pirgrimt staff
in hand instead of a sword. 1,, r lricnrl
Jer6nima Calver, met the limping Ifiigo on the road from
At daybreak Ifrigo quietly left the monastery, taking ' 1,,111s1'11'11 to Manresa. They directed him to a small hospice thatJer6n-
every precaution
to preserve his anonymiry. So he was dismayed when, ,,, r r.ur, wl'rcrc he slept and helped out occasionally for his keep. They
afrer only , ,ho.,
distance, he found someone hurrying to catch
up with hinr. He was tord rrlr.rlrcr wolr)cn of rhe town provided hirn with food and shelter, tak-
that rlrc arrrhorities wcrc rr.rcring a beggrrr urdcr.srrspicirn
.f stcarirrg a
,,,y,, lrirn irrto tlrcil lrorrrcs whcrn nccesslrry. Iniz. in particular, a widow of
I4 . lcNar-raN Sprnrlueliry
a Barcelona merchant with houses in both Manresa and Barcelona, proved
a life support to the new pilgrim. Out of her own means and with money
she collected from friends, she heiped to supporr Ifiigo in his later student
days in Paris.''1 Ignatiuss memoirs tell us also of an elderly woman known
for her holiness. Impressed by Iirigot fervor, she said to him, "Ohl May
my Lord Jesus Christ deign to appear to you someday." The remark srarrled
Inigo, who took the words literally as a prophecy 121).
The days and weeks at Manresa assumed a pattern. Mornings Ifiigo
attended Mass and evenings vespers and compline. Each Sunday he would
go to confession and receive Holy Communion. Frequent communion
was unusual for the sixteenth century, but Ifiigo had been recently intro-
duced to Thomas i Kempis's Imitation of Christ, which encouraged the
practice. Most of his time Inigo spent in a cave overlooking the river val-
ley, where he could see Montserrat in the distance, the play of sun and
clouds ;ainting soft gray and rose hues off its craggy heights. He could
look out at the splendid colors of creation or into a cave whose shadows
symbolized the forces with which he was about to struggle. He tells us only
about the latter, nothing of the former. The few days he intended to sray
at Manresa stretched into ten months, the most important of his life.
The regimen Ifiigo chose for himself consisted of seven hours of medi-
tative prayer a day. To this he added a program of penance for his past sins
calculated to ensure that no sirnilar transgressions would occur in the
future. The kind of resolve he showed against th: French at Pamplona, he
now turned against himsell. He denied himself allbut minimal food and
sleep. Onlv on Sundays would he eat mear or drink wine. He scrutinized
not only his actions but his thoughts and motivations, determined to dis-
cipline anyrhing in himself that appeared unruly.
triiigo set about "punishing every aspect of himsellrand his behavior that
had once been a source of satisfaction to hirn," uprooring all attachments
hy acting exactll, contrary to them.la Having already given away all his
n)()ney anr.l hclongings, the once proud nobleman now humbled hinrself
i v('n ru()r('lly iniirlting St. Francis and begging ftrl alrls so he coukl eat.
iri lris rl,rt,:, irr ({}lrr, tlrt'yorrrrg lirigo h:rd hcr:n vuirr llrout lris flowilrg hair
IGNA-rrAN SPIRIT'uAt.trY . l5
and carefully manicured nails; now he let them grow dirw and unkempt
[19]. Vaniw had no place in his image of a poor and hurnble Christ, and
he was determined to crush any appearance of it in hrmself.
The exterior calm and regularity of his life at Manresa belied the tur-
buience within him. At first Ifrigo experienced what he described as an
''interior stare of very steady joy." But then came serious questions about
the new identity and iife he had chosen. \X/ould he be able to endure such
lrardships and privations for the rest of his lifb? Inigo had no doubt that
rhc devil was tempting him, and he exorcised his doubts "with great vehe-
,,rcnce," he tells us. But then came mood swings. He would sufler peri-
,,,[s of depression, feeiing out of sorts and finding no peace in saying his
"sadness and desolation" would leave
l)r:ryers or attending Mass. Then this
lrirn, and he would feel euphoric. Ifligo found this new emotional agita-
, ,,,n profoundly disturbing [21].
'l'hen
came the obsessive concerns about his past sins geneially known
,,.,,-:ruples. Had he heen as clear and complete as possible in confessing
r,, rlie priest? Had he omitted any necessary details? l)espite the care with
.l,ich he had been making his conf'essions, If,igo began having doubts
1,, rrrr rherr. He felt compelled to repeat his fbrmer confessions, ro be evcn
,)rL'r'neticulous in descrilring his f]iiings. But rehearsing his old trans-
,,',siorrs brought him no rcliel, and his sharper focus on rninurra ortlv
,,,rr rrsifled his anxie ties [221.
\,' rr child of his rirrre, Ifrigo kneu'nothing about the destructive powcr
,l Irsvchic irnpulses. Even so, he realized that rhese obsessions abor.tt sin
,,,,1 llrrilt were doing him no good. A psychoanalvst rnight say he was deel-
,r,rrirlr thc irrationaldrives of an,rggressive supercgo. Inigo knew ottly
l,rr lrt wrls strflering severe emotional disrress atrd rhar he was heipless to
,1, ,.r'tlrins abour it. He began learning a diffrcult lcs.son in htrrr-riliry.-l ht:
l1 ,r,,,,rrnrrrcc..rf rhc knight and rvould-be saint had been fiitering firr s.rnt.'
' ,,r, ,rlr,',r,lv ltttrl n()w \ /lrs shattered.
-l
l )(.,1)il{ l)r:i\/('rs Ior rlclivcrllr]cc, n(]ile catne. Irc scruples ctilrttr'trtcr]
, Ll,.rrr'rl lrt't orrrirrl,, r, rt'lt'rrllt'ss tlr:r( lr,'lrcg:trr ro lrt'gripPr'.1 [-tv rir,luglrtt
I rr, rrl,' ( )rrlr l,t,.rrrst rrl rls srtrlrtlllss tii,l lr, trrisl lir, r,i,,r '\lt,'r
 17
IGn-,cTteN SPlRll'uALlTY'
I6 . IGNATIAN SPIRITUALITY

sure that he would

of his being' And he was
several months of this kind of agony, he decided in desperation to subject him in the innermost center
to doubt it'
himself to even more extreme penances. He began denying himself food b. off.nding God if he were extraordinary
extraordinary certainry without
and drink altogether, still persisting, however in his regimen of seven I6igo did not claim such
experiences,thekind*eassociatewiththatselectcircleofpeoplecalled
hours of prayer a day, including vigil at midnight.
a
mystics who try describe what they invariably
After a week of these extremes, I6igo told a priest in confession about mystics. And like other ^to

his new penitential regimen, and the priest commanded him to break his insistisindescribable'Ignatiusspokeofvisions"'interioreyes"'raysof like
"gr.".,pi'itt"ii;;;FI-*:tt olt*Pttiencing God as being
fast immediately. I6igo obeyed, and for a few days at least he felt relief. light, and use his own
harmony of 'tt"* *i"it"l kty'"' And this experience' to
But then once again the obsessive memories of his sins, and the compul- the he could not
so much sobbing thar
sion to repeat them in confession, returned. Once again he felt self- words, "brought o" 'o *"'"t"" "nd the world'
himself.,, Anorher ,i*.
h" experienced God as creating
loathing and the urge to give up. This time, however, came deliverance. control
As he later related in his memoirs, he had an experience in which he awoke AndonedayatMassheexperiencedasneverbeforethepresenceofChrist
in the Blessed Sacrament [28]'
encounters' so much did
"as if from sleep." He realized that these scruples and compulsions could they
So powerful were tht'e *y'tical
not possibly be from God. They were evil and had to come from some
that Ifiigo was confident
that' if need be' he
strengthen his convictions'
other source. Once again he examined 'the diversity of spi.rits" at conflict was sure he could do
so
lay down his;;;"t his Christian faith' He
within him and "decided with great lucidity not to confess anything from could even if there were
on the U"i' *n"t had occurred within him'
the past anymore." From that day on the scruples left him 122-251. simply "i
us that faith' he added
without any aPParent sense
Ifiigo continued his daily routine of prayers, freed now from recurrent no Scriptures to teach extraordinary expe-
the consoladon of these
anxieties about sin. He found himself interrupted occasionally by visitors of audacity t29l' Al;;;with his conversations
satisfaction of seeing that
whom he would help by conversing with them about "spiritual mafters." riences came the p'oflt"'d using him
fruit in people's lives' Godwas
Once again he experienced serenity in his prayers and "great spiricual con- rbout God were bearing spiritual of his former ways
And it' he gave up the extremes
solations." But often these came to him just as he was about to go to sleep. to help them' "ti"g
,,nd b.g"t cutting his
hair and nails again'
So Ignatius did something that was becoming a habit'with him. He "exam-
Butonet*p"'it"ttatManresastoodoutfromalltherest'Ignatiustells
ined" this phenomenon. He had allotted himself little dme for sleep as it litt" tf he gathered up all the various helps he may
was, and now he was losing sleep because of these apparenr "consolations." trs in his .t*o"l known' even adding
things he has
have had from God and all the various
He began to question whether these distractions from sleep were indeed as at that one
not think he had got as much
from God. He decided that it would be better to ignore them and to sleep thcm all .ogt'ht"L does from Manresa' At a
a chapel a short distance
instead. titne"' He was on his way to "sat down for a little
the Cardoner River' he
sPot where tht
Gradually If,igo came to what can only be considered an astonishing '";"g;;bytht river' which ran down below'" There' with-
conviction. fu he expressed it years later in his memoirs, "God treated him while with hi' f';;;"d to be opened;
of his understanding began
(,(lt any aPParent t*"' "tht eyes
at this time just schoolmaster treats a child whom he is teachin€' [27). many things'
he understood and learned
as a
he saw but
He could not say why he thought God was doing this.'W'as it his lack of trttt that "'O 't"""'
education or wit? Or his strong desire to serve God?'Whatever the divine lxlthspirituar."...,,andmattersoffaithandofscholarshipandthiswith
to him" [30]'
everything seemed new
reasons or design, Ifiigo became convinced God was indeed instrucring r* great n" tnfigittn*"nt'h"
 l8 . lt,\i\t t.{r.{ 5l,rql.r rili I t.r
lc.*.lri,,ts Strnrttre.rrry . I9

Isnatius's
memoirs do not giye Lls any further details about this experi_
them "on spiritual matrers" t341. fu soon as he sufficiently recovered, Ifrigo
ence ar the Carcloner, excepr rhat he now had "a grear clariry
in his under- began his newfound mission in life to talk to people about God. And the
standing." As he looked down dr the rushing warers below him,
things first people he found were women.
suddenly seemed to fit together. For more than a vear, ever since
his con- After ten months at Manresa, Iiiigo became restless to resume his pil-
valescence ar Lovola, he had been wresrling with the
question of whar he grimage. He headed once more for Barce[ona, from where he would first
should do with the rest of his life. Now he knew that he wanted
ro serve sail to Italy and then proceed to Rome to receive the pope's permission to
God by teaching people what cod harr taughr him. He wanted to help
make the,journey. His intentions were to place his trust solely in'God by
them better their lives, to distinguish between good and evil spirits,
to rnaking the pilgrimage without money or provisions. In Barcelopa he found
choose bbnveen God and rhe devil, whom he would come
ro describe sim- .r ship's captain whom he convinced to give him free passage. The captain
prlv as "rl-re enenry
of the human race. ,rsreed only on the condition that Inigo bring his own fbod. Inigo gave in
The carclo.er experience was o,e that Is,.ratius described .or only
in ro this request and begged for his provisions in the city. But just before
his nremoirs bur also later in life in his conversarions with orhers,
such as l,oarding ship, he discovered he had five or six coins left from what he had
his secrerarr." Juan de P'lanco. In his own reteiling of Ignatius's
rife, rcceived begging from door to door. Ignatius tells us that he left the coins
Polanco rvrore ollgnarir-r.s being "illuminated by a flood of light,,at
the ,,rr a bench by the shore [36]. He made his entire pilgrimage that way, beg-
cardoner. "'fhereupon he ser himself ro devise a plan or method for
puri- liirrg in imitation oFSt. Francis and rrusting God in imitation of Jesus.
fuing the soul fionr its sins . . . for meditating on the life of christ . . . and
Having received the pope's blessing to make the pilgrimage, Ifrigo
for progressi.g i, evervthing which rended to inflame the soul more
and 1,,'gged his way to Venice. There he met a wealthy Spaniard who was raken
n.rore rvith love of God. In this wav- he creared a little
book of very grear
'r'rrh him and his plan and introduced him to no less rhan the cirys high-
profir [or rhe salvation of his neighbor.,,,. , ',r rnagistrate, the doge of Venice. The doee in rurn arranged for his pas-
Ever'thing came r.gether ar rhe Cardoner. Inigo called it an iliumina- ..rlic to Cyprus. From there he boarded a pilgrim ship to Jaffa, on which,
tion, nor a vision, bur ir gave him a vision. Manresa rnade him a changed
1,,'rclls us, "he broughr no more fbr his nraintenance than his hope in
nrani ar rhc Cardoner he rva_s given a purpose. r,.tl, as he had done on the orher" [44]. Iirigo's enrire pilgrimage to
l, nrsalem, symboiic of rhe spirirual journev that wirs rhe rest of his life,
'.rs lrased complerely on trust that God wcruld provide his daily bread. It
CorvvERSATroNS '.r., ,r fhith rhat was rrrore than intellectual.
llirratius is laconic in describing his sray in.ferusalern, saying Iittle in his
His cxccssi'c fasrinc arrd slcep depri'arion lefi rheir nrarks on rnigo's
once ,r'nr()irs abour his visir ro the hol1, sires. He rells us insread about his
r.busr health. At onc p.i.t a fe'er put l-rirn inttl a srare where he thoughr
,'r( nrions to remain in the Holy Ciry and "help souls" [45]. Bv this he
he rv,uld die IJ2]. He began ro suf]er srornach pains thar wourd vex him
l,',',un)u[)ly meant to engage in conversation wirh Muslims with an eye to
peric-rdicallv rhe resr olhis lif'e.'l-he winrer cold broughr him, in
his weak- ,,,.r1.rr11 rhcnr ( lhrisrian converrs, an acrivirv expressly forbidden by Islamic
c,ed condirior, an ill,ess thar causcd alarr, t. worr)en i, rhe r,wn who
l,,i lrrigo rrrrrrclunced his firsr intenrion, to rcrnain in Jerusalem, brrt not
hlltl corrlc ttt hrlltl hirrr in "clctp lcgarci." l hcl,firrced lrinr ro clrcss wlrrrrrly,
,1,, l,rttt',', urrtl rrlrparcrrrlv he did n<lt nccci tci.'l'he resiclcnt []ralrciscrrrr fi'iars
r.vt'lrr slr0t's, lrrrrl rovcr lris lrr.rrrl. r\s lrt.rrrrprov...l, lr,,wotrltl
t,lri,r.rst,witlr lr,,',11111'1vist'rl ( l:rtlrolit lrillilirrrs rrrrrsl Irrrvt'scr'rr lrinr rrs sorrtctlrirrli ol :r
 20 . IcNarreN Sprnrruarrry
loose cannon. rvhen he declared *rat he wx
going ro remain in Jerusalem
and no physical force could change his mind, the Franciscan leadership
ordered him to rerurn home with the other pilgrims. They had the pope's
authorization to excommunicate any Catholic who disobeyed their orders,
and they would use it. Did he want to see the papal documents for him-
selP He declined, knowing he was bested t46-47).
Ifiigo was forced to conclude that remaining in Jerusalem, ar least for
the time being, was not God's will for him. He returned to Italy and rhen
Barcelona, trusdng in God and begging for alms, the same way he had left.
He had come ro realize that, if anything he said was to be taken seriously,
he would need further education. so once again l6igo did violence to what
shreds were left of his old vaniry. In Barcelona the former swordsman, now
thirry-three, sat in a classroom and studied Latin verbs with preadolescenc
schoolboys. He found concenrraring difficult, however, when his mind
wandered to spiritual marrers that moved his heart. He decided they were
distractions, not inspirations, and proceeded to dismiss them. Finally, after
two years, his teacher assured him rhat he had enough Lacin to understand
the lectures at the universiry of Alca16. He could now study the "liberal
arts," which is to say, the humanities [56].
At A]cal{ he began his sudies of logic and physics, depending as before
on hospitality and alms. But he did not limit his activities to lectures and
books. Over the year and a half he stayed therJ, "he was engaged in giv-
ing spiritual exercises and teaching Christian doctrine, and this bore fruits
for the glory of God" l57l.Ifiigot conversations began drawing crowds,
and he was joined by three companions who dressed in the same coarse
garb that he wore. 'word of their activities spread through the region and
eventually reached the inquisitors at Toledo. Did Iftigo and his compan-
ions belong n the alumbrados, those heretical "enlightened" mystics who
had no need of the church or church authorities because of their direct
revelations from God? An examination of the four young men found no
error in their teaching, but they were told to dress like the other students
and stop wearing rhe same uniform, since they were nor religious. Ifiigo
dutifully complied wirh rhe order.
IGNATIAN SPTRITUALITY . 21
Some months later rhere was anorher investigation, followed by Ifiigo
being put under arrest. Two noblewomen, a widow and her daughter, to
whom he had been giving spiritual advice, were missing. They had left
unaccompanied and on foot. ifiigo admitted to the authorities that he
advised the women. They wanted to go about the world serving the poor
in one hospital and then ariother; he had tried to dissuade them from that
course and to convinc'e them to serve the Poor at home in Alcald'
Ifligo was blamed for persuading them ro afiempr something foolish
and dangerous, and was pur into jail, where he eventually spent forry-two
ilays. "He did the same things as when he was free, teaching and giving
cxercises," he tells us.'W'hen Ifiigo was finally released, it was with the pro-
viso that he study for four more years before speaking publicly about mat-
ters of faith [60-63].
I6igo decided to try his luck elsewhere and to study at the universiry
of: Salamanca. There, after only a few days with his companions, the local
l)ominican friars invited him to Sunday dinner. After the meal one of the
f riars began to question him about his preaching.'we don't
preach, Ifiigo
rplied, we simply talk to people about the things of God. But the friar
tir'hat things of God
wl$ nor about to be put off by subtle distinctions.
rLr you speak about? About some virtue or other, praising it; or some vice
lr other, condemning it, Ifligo answered. At that point he realized that
tlris was not a friendiy conversation but an interrogation, and by some-
trlr more skilled in logic than he was. "'You are not learned men;' said the
Iriar, 'and you speak about virtues and vices; but no one can speak about
*lrrsc except in one of two ways; either through learning or through the
I lrrly Spirit"' 164-65).
Itligo decided to erid the exchange, but it was too late. Once again he
lrrrrrtrl himself arrested and imprisoned under suspicion of being en alum-
*n*lo, hfrer several days he was summoned before four judges, all of whom
ha,l rlready seen his book of spiritual exercises. They asked about one of
tlre *rrly points in the book where he distinguishes between mortal and
verrirl sin. From where was he getting his ideas, if he had not studied?
Wlr,rr rlicl he know about sin or grace?
 22 . Ir; xArr,cN Sptntt'trartty
This time his imprisonmenr lasred rwenry-rwo days. His judges found
no error in his life or reaching but demanded that he spend four years in
ftrrther srudies before he rried to define the difference between mortal and
venial sin. Ifrigo was dismayed. The verdict meanr he would have to stop
giving people spiritual exercises. To thar he could nor agree. He resolved
ro find someplace new ro study, outside salamanca where the verdict had
.o fbrcc and where he could continue engaging in spiritual conversations.
o. his release Ifligo decided to leave Spain and conrinue his studies ar
the Universirv of Paris. Ir would mean coming under the authoriry of his
former enemies, and there were still hosrilities between the French and
Spanish. But Ifiigo felt safer dealing with French soldiers than with the
Spanish Inquisition.
He arranged fbr his three companions ro wait in Spain and see if
he could find some means for all of them to study. In Paris he hoped to
find a few more like-minded men willing to share his mission. He set out
alone, his memoirs rell us, raking some books, among them his own early
Spiritual Exercises.
THr, SprnlruAl ExEncISES
'fhe
spirirual Exercises are predicated on a number of logically unverifiable
assumptions, bur for Inigo rhey were based on experiences so real and pro-
fbund rhey were unassailable. For one, at Manresa he became convinced
that cod was nor o,ly speaking ro him in his hearr but also reaching him
like . schoolmasrer,'fhat led him to see his entire life as full of lessons.
some' like learni'g ro discern spirits, would serve as guidelines; ogh615-
iike his excessive penances and struggie wirh scruple5-s5 ls2lning from his
misrakes. Anorher assumprion is the conviction that Gods will for us can
be found in our deepesr authentic desires. one of Ifiigot earliesr desires
was to make rhe pilgrirnage toJerusalem, larer ro help people find Gods
will for rhem in rheir own dcepest desires.
IcNATTAN SprRrruALrrY . 23
Ifiigo became convinced that experiencing God in a direct and im-me-
cliate way was not a special favor reserved for a few select mystics. If God
was willing to speak directly to a sinner like him, God would speak to any-
one-anyone, at least, who was willing to take the time to be still, listen,
.rnd pray. If people were willing to spend an extended period of time in
and prayer, daydreaming about Jesus the way he had at Loyola
',rlitude
.,trd Manresa, then he, Ifiigo, could help them experience God and learn
t iod's will for them. This, he became convinced, was his mission from
t,od: to help people experience God's presence and learn God's will by
,lirecting them in making the Spiritual Exercises.
The sr.rbstance of the Spiritual Exercises existed, at least in outline, by
rlre time Ifiigo left Manresa, but he continued to gain insight from his suc-
,r'sseS r.rd failures at directing others in prayer. His memoirs tell us that
lr. was already giving people spiritual exercises in Alcald, and in Salamanca
lrrs judges were already familiar with his initial manuscript. It started
',rrt simply as notes for himsele to aid him in his own efforts at helping
;,r'o1>le to pray and discern spirits. But his notes eventually evolved into a
,,'.,rrual for people who had made the exercises under him, so they could
,',w in turn give the exercises to others. By Alcall he came to see rhe task
',rrusted to him as requiring more than his individual labor. His was a
, rvice to be shared.
lirigo continued to refine his text for the next twenty years, making such
,, r rsions and addirions as he saw fit based on his further theological edu-
,rrrrn and reflection. Finally in l54B he was satisfied that it could be put
,,rr(, i)rint. Since that first publ;ration, Spiritual Exercises has come to con-
,rur('c)ne of the most read and utilized books ever written. It has been
1,,,l,lislred some 4,500 times, an average of once a month for 400 years.
llr, number of copies printed has been estimated at some 4.5 million-
,1,',1ritc the fact that the book is about as dull as a teachert manual of les-
,,,, lrlans. And that is exactly what Spiritual Exercises is-a teacher's
l,,rr,ll>ook with detailed directions on how to help people look at their lives,
t,, ,r'. t,rkc r.rotc of what'.s going on in themselves and their lives, and make
 24 . Ir;r-,trtAN SptRt.t LrAt_tl,y
IcNa'ttaN Sltr.rruar-rry . 25

a decision. Amid conflicting inclinarions, how can one hear the

voice of a living tradition, an unbroken chain of recipients-become-directors engaged
God who speaks in the stilrness of rhe heart? Amid
our many options, how in a praxis extending back more than four and a half centuries, ultimately
can we discover our deepedr, authentic desires,
God's way of calring usl back to Ignatius himself.
Like its author, the spirituar Exercises is often misunderstood.
IRigo The Spiritual Exercises openswith Nvenry so-called "annotations," intro-
never inrended the Exercises to be given only by
Jesuits to other Jesuits. ductory explanations meant to assist the retreat director with practical
He was a layman when he began directing peopre
through the Exercises, guidelines [-20].'6 Several of them grew out of I6igot personal pxperi-
and he gave rhem ro anyone he thought woulcl
p.ofit from the experience. cnces at Loyola and Manresa and the lessons he drew from directing oth-
He direcred women and men, Iay people and priests,
srudents and doc_ ,'rs. As such the annotations encapsulate a number of distinctive
tors of theology in Paris, high eccresiastics and reformed
prosritutes in ,lraracteristics of Ignatian spirituality. One of the first and most rypical, for
Rome' He gave the Exercises ro anyone he thought *orld
profit from , xample, advises the director on how to help retreatants "relish" making
them: people with seriously sinfur pasts desirous of
mrki,g a .h"nge in rlre Exercises so that they get more out of the experience than information.
their lives and already-devout christians sincerery int...rt.d
in a deeper "
Iiot what fills and satisfies the soul consists, not in knowing rnuch, but in
experience of God.
,,rrr understanding the realities profoundly and in savoring them interi-
Anyone who picks up spirituar Exerciseslooking for inspiration
is sure ,,rily" f2]. The Exercises are meant to speak ro the whole person-not just
to be disappointed' The text is wooden. with its examens
and poinrs, it rlr,r intellect but also the imagination, affbctions, and will-so that God's
reads Iike a book on counting calories to lose
weight or, betrer yet, a hand-
I'r('sence might be relished by all the senses. W.e are not angels. Ignatian
book for personal rrainers at a health club. For that,s
what it is_an ,l,rrituality is decidedly incarnational in its engagement not of disem-
insrrucror's manual-but instead of directions
on the proper way to do l,,,,lied spirits but flesh-and-blood human beings.
sit-ups and leg exercises, there are directions on how
to meditate, con- Another hallmark of Ignatian spirituality is summed up in the direc-
template, rid yourself of "disordered affections,,,
and listen for the voice r\'(' to "allow the Creator to deal immediately with the creature and the
of God.
, r,,rrure with its Creator and Lord" [15]. Inigo instructs directors not to
However, spiritual Exercises is nor a self-improvement,
do-it-yourself g,l.rrrt any ideas into the head of an exercitant.'' They are not, for example,
book. IRigo believed rhat ro avoid the mistakes he
had made and profit r,, r r y persuading retreatants into a vocational decision, like religious life.
from the Exercises, a retreatant needed direction from
a seasoned vereran. lr,ry,.'.s own personal experience became a touchstone for those who would
He wrote his book for people who had already made
the Exercises them- t,,ll,rw in his path. So profound was Ifrigo's respect for his own religious
selves and aspired to help others do so. Ignatius
Loyola invented the so- ,.1,, ricrrce (such thit he was sure he could die for his faith even if there
called directed rhirty-day rerrear, indeed the retreat
altogether, though he '. r( r)o Scriptures), that he wanted to impart a similar reverence for the
would never claim he was the inventor. All the credir
would go to the ,, l r1'rotrs experiences of others.
divine "schoolmaster." 'what he himserf had grasped
only srJwry and t )rrt' of rhe most striking features of these introductory notes is
painfully, he simply passed on to others.
lt il,triltss (tncolrragement, indeed insistence, that the Exercises be adapted
Some of these orhers, like pierre Favre, an early
companion and friend,
gave the Exercises ro orhers, and rhey ',, r lr. pt'rsorrs making them. The Exercises are not "one size fits all." The
in rurn to still more. Not unlike Zen , lrr , , r,r nt'r'rls to consider the retrcatant's age, education, physical health,
mastcr.s a,d thcir di.sciplcs, Ifrigos profitable "little book,, rcprcscrr.s
a ,,,,1 ,,vlrt'llrt'r'or rrot lhc t'xcrcitltttt is:tt :r t:rossroads in life and needs to
 26 . IcNATTAN SprRrT.uALrry
Ir;Na.rrau Sptnt.ru,qt.t.t \ . 27

make an important decision. Ifiigo divided

the Exercises into four groups, that is a generous self-giving, not a mask for self-interest. The opening
which he calls weeks; he thought that for some
people the first week was exercise consists of reflecting and praying over what is calied the "prin-
sufficient. Retrearants were ro be'given only
the Exercises that would herp ciple and foundation," at first glance simpli, a list of statements about God
them in their spiritual lifb, and no more
IlBJ. creating humankind and our purpose in life in the context of creation.
Ignatius conceived the Exercises ideaily as a
thirry-day rerrear, during ['he purpose of the "principle and foundation," though, is to confront
which a person withdraws from ordina ry dairy life
tobe arone with God, rctreatants with the big picture, so that they can more easily attain a "right-
living in silence excepr for conversations with the
rerrear director. But he ,,rdered" freedom and make a "right-ordered" decision to give their lives
took into accounr rhat the occupations or family
responsibilities of some rn self-giving love. lfligo's early life was not consistentwith his faith. He
people dont allow them to take offfor that
length of time. For such peopre tvould have retreatants look at how consistent their lives are with their
he recommended making the Exercises for
an hour and a half of prayer a l.rith, going from the big picture to big questions.
day' extended over a longer time span
[r9]. Thanks to If,igo's insistence Afier his experience at the Cardoner, Ifligo saw creation not as an event
on flexibiliry, retrearanrs
today can take a week or a weekenJ ro
of the Exercises, individually directed or preached.
-"k p"rt ,,, r he distant past but as something going on right now, like the river flow-
to a group. They can ,rri below him. God is at work, I6igo perceived, creating us, cherishing
also make all the Exercises in thirry days
or extended wirhin rhe context rr',, rrnd desirous of using Lrs as part of a "project."''"Ihat project holds that
of normal daily life over rhe course of nine monrhs, ,nineteenrh
a so-cailed ,r r' ,rnd everyone and everything come from God and are meant to return
annotation retreat."
r,, ( ,od. Ignatius asks if we are making God and God's plan for us the cen-
Another prefatory commenr I6igo inserts into
his te,. is a piece of advice r, r ,l-our lives or if we are putting something else there instead-health,
he calls a 'presupposition." Its intent was '$?'hat
ro herp improve the quariry of rr, lrt's, or honor. do you love? Or, as Martin Luther put it, what do
conversarion between the director and recipient,
though it can prove use- ,, ,rr lrang your heart on?
ful for any relationship: "Be more eager to pur a
good interpretation on a I lrrnging your heart wrongly, loving unwisely is the theme that runs
neighbor's statement than to condemn ir."
one cant help brrt r..all her. ,l,r,,1rgh the firstweekt meditations. One thinks here of the openingwords
Ifligos encounrers with the spanish Inquisition,
particurarly his experi- ,,1 lnigo's memoirs wirh their references to vanity, warlike sport, and the
ence ar salamanca with the Dominicans, who fretted his orthodory '1,'.rrt' lirr fame. Against the backdrop of God's generosiry in creating us,
regarding mortal and venial sin. To flultfinders "bour
and heresy-hunrers of any ! r*rl,, us all we are and have,.Ifiigo asks exercitants to take a long look at
stripe, he gives the humane advice to judge
people and their words in a ,1,, rr lives. One author has described it as a journey through rhe hell of
way that presumes the best, not the worsr, 'We
and gives them the benefit of ' ll l,nowledge. are to look at the history of sin and the ravages of evil
any doubt' Aqd if correction is needed, he
says, do it with rove [22]. ,,, rlr. world and realize how we have contributed to it, Inigo then has
Nfith all preliminaries duly nored, Ignatius states that
the purpose of ,, r',rt.urrs imagine themselves in the situation of a knight who stands
the Exercises is to help retreatants bring order
into their lives and over- 1,, 1,,r. Iris l<ing and his whole court, aware he has "grievously offended
come any obstacles to spirituar growth. This
is particurarry the objective l,rrrr. lrrrn whom he had received numerous gifts and favors" [74].The
of the first week, to become free of disorderly attachments
so as to be able l,,,rrr r\ t)()( r() Iool< at oneselfand wallow in self-recrimination or shame
to give oneself more generously in service.,o Although
the Exercises focus l, rr rrr Lroli ;rt ( iorl rrrrcl realiz-c rhat olre is lovecl and graced despite all fail-
extensively on sin, lovc is rhe underrying
thems-learning to rove in a way ,rr, , -urtl olictrst's.
 I(;N.A l tAN SPlntr-tlarl-rv ' 29
28 . IGNATIAN SPrRrruAl-rrY

voragine's
The first week culminates, if it is called for, with contrition, conversion conversion at Loyola, while reading Ludoph's life of christ and
lives of the saints. The Spanish edition of the latter, which If,igo
would
of heart, and perhaps a general confession. One thinks here of the general
hirve read, featured on the title page a picture of christ crucified.
An intro-
confession I6igo made at Montserrat. At the abbey If,igo looked back at
the
his entire life and set it in a new direction. At the end of the first week, .luction by the rranslator read, "\Thoever reads this book should grasp
he invites retreatants to do the same. t r.r.rcifix with his right hand and hold it aloft as a royal
standard . . ' as an

The metaphor of the knight and his king suggests that Jesus, though ,.rnblem which armed rhe chivalrous hearts of the saints for a courageous
hardly mentioned in the first week's Exercises, is very much at the heart r t)r)QUeSt of the world, the flesh, and the devil ' ' ' '"''
Here too one reads
"treats
of the first week, just as Jesus is incorporated more explicitly in the rest of Augustine and his classic ciry of God, in which Augustine
.rlrcrut St.

the Exercises.'o Ifligo invites retreatants to reflect and ask themselves: ,,l rhe rwo cities, Jerusalem and Babylon, and their kings, for christ is the
"\7hat have I done for Christ?'i7hat am I doing for Christ? \Vhat ought Lrng ofJerusalem and the devilof Babylon."" I6igo's images ofJesus
obvi-

I to do for Christ" [53]? Implicit in that "what ought I to do for Christ" ,,,,rly ,.fl..t his own late medieval times more than our own' but they are
is the word "more," in Latin, magis.The word is emblematic of Ignatian il uc ro the Jesus of hisrory at leasr insofar as they presellt him as someone
a mission, inviting friends to share his way of life in exchange
for
spiritualitv, an obvious cognate of majorem, "greater," as in the Jesuit ,,,rr[.r

motto, ad majorem Dei gloriam ("For the grearer glory of God"). , ,,rrrpanionship.t'
These words or their equivalent appear time and again in the writings So they could better know what means to share Jesus' way of life,
it
of Ignatius. Behind them lie Ifrigos education as a courtier, where the ideal lrrrgo has rerrearanrs do the same thing he did convalescing at Loyola'
I lrt,y read about evenrs taken from the Gospel stories and daydream.
He
was to distinguish oneself in greater service to onet lord. IRigo was a crea-
ture of his era and upbringing, but was now serving someone greater than I them imagine themselves at Mary's home in Nazareth' at Jesus' birth
r',

the Spanish king or his treasurer.
The dynamic of the second week of Exercises proceeds around two focal
meditations. The first, "The Call of the King," presenrs Jesus as a royal
crusader calling his people to join him-sharing his food, drink, and
labors-and "conquer the whole land of the infidels" [93]. The second, a
meditation on "The Two Standards," presents Jesus as the "supreme com-
mander of the good people," calling them to rally around his banner on
plain "in the region ofJerusdem." On another plain "in the region
a great
of Babylon" is Lucifer, "leader of all the enemy," calling the forces of evil
to his flag, to tempt people to sin with riches, vain honor, and pride. Jesus
calls those around his standard to share his life and lot, which for Ifiigo,
in opposition to the enemy, meant poverty instead of riches, criticism and
rejection instead of honor, humiliry instead of pride [136-148).
,,, rlre srable at Bethlehem, ar the shores of the sea of Galilee when Jesus
, ,llr lris first disciples. Ifligo instructs the exercitants to "see the place," to
,, ,,. :rll their senses in placing rhemselves into the Gospel stories.
He has
rlrr'il1 eot€t into conversation with God, Jesus, or Mary' and even instructs
,lr, rrr on what favors to ask for.
Not only the second week, but also the Spiritual Exercises as a whole
,,rlrrrinate in a consideration of what it takes to make a "soLlnd and good
, l, , rion,,, which is to say, a decision about what to do with the rest of
one's
l,l, ll()9-89]. Everything else leads up to or away from it' For people at
I Ifiigo at Loyola, the election may entail choosing a state
r()ssroads, like
,l lrlc -like marrying, remaining single, or entering religious life' For
,t,,,.,r.wirh no such decision to make, the choice entails how to become a
t,, rr,,r (lhristian, to bring one's life more into line with the gospel values

Experts on Ignatius widely regard these rwo meditations as the heart of ,,,, ,'rl)cri(:nccs in rcflecting on the life ofJesus' Experts on Ignatian spiri-
,,,rlrr1, scc. tlrc "clccriorl" or clccisiott, itt otte or the other
form'
the Spiriturtl Exercises in its earliest form. Both have their genesis in Irrigo'.s 11t,lrcr':rlly
30 . l(;NA rt^N .SPil{r r LrALlr'\
irs the essential purpose of the Exercises.r'' It amounts to a second conver-
sion, this time not fromsinbut to a more focused discipleship.
Ignatius expects retreatantsJo make their decision by discovering God's
will for rhem. This they do by probing their deepest, authentic desires and
discerning-which is to say distingr-rishing-between the spirits that move
rvithin them. In his rules for discernment of spirits, Ignatius identifies
God's willwith rvhat brir-rgs "genuine happiness and spiritual ioy," in con-
trast to "the enemy" who induces "saclness and turmoil" l32gl. tWhatever
"weakens, disquiets, or distr.rrlrs the soul" comes Fron-r the evil spirit. What-
ever brings "happiness and spiritual consolation" comes fi-om God, par-
ticularly if it is a "consolarion wirhout previous cause." The ambiguity of
the latter phrirse has been a cause cdlEbre for lgnatian interpreters but
seerns to suggest that making the Exercises entails not onlv onet conscious
imagination, intellect, and will, but unconscious dynamics as well."
In the view of many lenatian experts, the third and fourth weeks are
lneant to serve as a confirnration o[one's decision. Exercitants in the third
week contemplate the last days of Jesus so that they might intensifi, their
identificatron rvith him. Ib remedy what could be an overly romantic
-I-hey
vision of discipleship, Ignatius gives the nr a healthy dose of realism.
are to imagine how Jesus fblt entering Jerusalem for what he knew would
be his iast supper, the agony in the garden, the minute details ofJesus' pas-
sion and death. Retrearants are asked to foster an attitude of heartbreak,
banishing any joyful thoughts even if they are good and holy [206]. Affec-
tivity here is the key to strengthening resolve and identifring oneself with
the trusting surrender of the rejected and crucified Christ.'n
Just as identilyingwith Chrrst's sultfering is the focal point of the third
week, identifying with his Easter.ioy is the focus of the fourth. Ifiigo has
retreatants reflect on the various resurrection stories in the Gospels and
instructs them to ask for a share in the gladness ofJesus' exaltation to glory.
He tells them to recall and reflect on "things which bring pleasure, happi-
ness, and spiritual joy." He suggests they go outdoors and seek pleasant
cxperiences in nature accorcling to the scasons, er-rjoyirtg "r'efi'cshitrg cotll-
trt'ss irr \un)rncr ol rltc srn) ()r Ircrrt irr wintt'r" ll2()l
'l'lre ltrlvitr'.\('lv('s;rs
IGNATTAN Sprnrrualttv . 3l
an apt segue to the contemplation on love that follows, with its celebrated
Ignatian principle of "finding God in all things.""
Serving as the climax and conclusion of the four weeks, the "contem-
plation to attain love" aims at helping retreatants learn to love the way
God does. It mirrors in manyways the'principle and foundation'with
which Ignatius began the first weekt Exercises, by placing the retreatant
lrefore all creation. But now everything is seen as grace, as the gift o{ a gra-
.ious God.
The contemplation opens with the oft-quoted Ignatian dictum, "Love
,,ught to manifest itself more by deeds than by words." Ignatius, as noted
.rlrove, had nothing against feelings, but he was more interested in culti-
r,.rting a love that serves and gives, even when we dont much feel like it.
I lc saw this kind of love as rising out of gratitude. He has the retreatants
r.llect on all that they have received, not only all that they are and have
l,rrr, indeed, Godt very Self. And in gratitude for God's self-gift, Ifiigo has
,,', respond in kind with our own self-gift, expressed in his oft-quoted
1r.ryer, known by its first word in Latin, Suscipe: "Thke, Lord, and receive
,ll rrry liberry my memory, my understanding, and all my will-all that
I l,,rve and possess. You, Lord, have given all that to me. I now give it back
r, \/()u1 O Lord. All of it is yours. Dispose of it according to your will.
| .r\,('me your love and your grace, for that is enough for me" 1234).
I lrc prayer is almost a summary of Ignatian spiritualiry. Unusual for
l,r'. rirnes, the first thing Ignatius has us offer, before any of our intellec-
,, ,l l;rculties, is our liberry viewed by many modern thinkers as that which
'
, rrrst basic to us as human beings."
llrt'contemplation has us look at the world through the eyes of the
1,,,,r.r1,onist in George Bernanos's Diary of a Counny Priestwho whispers
, l,, rlics, 'llout est grace ("Everything is grace"). Everything is "from
rl,, ,,, r'" cach day of life, each person in our lives, each kind word, smile,
1 1, , ,. , r , r rcc--all of it
gift. Like a composer-conductor reaching the coda
is
I r ',l,rrrphony, [gnatius lrrings all the instruments into a final three-note
" , , r,,1,, l)"\5 237).liirsr rcalize that all creation--tverything we are and
r,1 , ,rr(l s('(' is
1,,ivt'n ,rs r,rl<t'tt o{:(iotl's selF-gift. Second, realize thar Cocl
 It;N,l t talt St'tnt'i tlat.t'lr'' 33
l( t..t AIIin 5t,il|IlrAlII\

continents but all humankind'

is present in all creation-dwelling in the elemenrs, plants, animals, and lclrrsalem, making claims not to mere
I
t )pposed to this enterprise is Lucifer, "seated on a throne
of fire ind
us. Finally, realize that God is not only presenr but "laboring" in all rhat
,,,rroke,, situated on "the gredt plain of Babylon." \fith both combatants
I
sxl515-6ss2ting, conserving, concurring. I
In each of the concluding three points of the contemplation, Ignatius I
r.rllyingtheirforcesaroundtheirraisedstandards'Ifiigoinvitesallwho
under which they
writes, "I willreflect on myself." God is presenr in us, working in us, relf- rvill give him the time to reflect and choose the banner
|
giving in us. The Exercises end, and we return ro our routines filled with t"rll stand.
I ,I.here that, from a
a sense of divine lrnm2nsn6s-in the world, in our lives, and in our labors, are images and categories in the Spiritual Exercises
I The "land of
no matter how busy or mundane. The Ignatian ideal is that now we ."n rw(.trry-firsr-cenrury perspective, are foreign and problematic.
I of Jesus belonged
recall and relive an experience of "union and familiariry'with God that rl,c infidels" that Ifiigo wanted to conquer in the name
I
r,, (lod-fearing Muslims, who, more often than
not' behaved much more
us no matter the distractions of our work or banaliry
:i:I ilj.f*t* I .lr'tt^trtl/toth.peoplestheyconqueredthandidcross.bearingChristians.
I lrc crusader metaphor poses difficulties in our
pluralistic global culture,
Here is the basis for finding God not only in all things but also in th.
I The cosmic dual-
flurry of everyday life. Nothing human is merely human. No common ,,,.n if spiritualized and mounted against the forces of evil.
I place in Ifiigo's
labor is merely common. Classrooms, hospitals, and artists' srudios are ,.rrr rhat pitsJesus against the devil has a more prominent
I than it has in the Gospels'or our own' And when
If,igo has us
sacred spaces. No secular pursuit of science is merely secular. The hand of
I ",,rltlview
with sinners' the
the creator can be detected by looking at galaxies through t.l.r.op., o, ,,,,.r1qine the Tiiune God gazing down at a world overrun
I than do our o'vr/n'
examining cellular life in laborarories. Retrearants rerurn to their ruppor- I l,,.1vgn5 as he saw them hung much closer to earth
of warer flow under
edly dull, humdrum lives with a new vision and appreciation of Cod's l he bridges over the Cardoner River have seen a lot
t in the last 450 years.our
lrr rrr universe is vastly larger' Evolution is part
operative presence. Like Ignatius after his experience ar the Cardoner r

I ,,t orrr scientific and cultural worldview. Evil is still mysterious

but less
fuver, we see things differently. 'We get a new sense of whar Jesuit po.t
I lrl,,'ly to be pro.fected outside ourselves onto a fallen angel'
Catholic church
Gerard Manley Hopkins meanr when he wrote, "The world is charged
I lr .rtlt.rs today speak ofJews and Muslims not
as infidels but as children of
with the grandeur of God.""'
I \l,r,tham related to christians by a "spiritual bond." we
read the Bible,
is history and
Gospel stories, with greater awareness of what
,,,, lrrding the

TnaNsLArrNG rHE sprRrruA,, ExERcrsES I ,, Ifligo or our forebears could the role
lr.rr is not, appreciating better than
faith'
,1,,t symbols and symbolic stories play in expressing
Even from this brief description, it ,*rrrrrrrl
is evident that the Spirituat l\llofwhichistosaythatweneedtoreadthespiritualExercisesagainst
,1,, l,rckdrop of its origins. Such a reading requires that
we first situate it
shows its age, or, more precisely the age in which it originated. n, .n.n-
|
tioned already, Ifligo de Loyola has reminded more than one.o*-.n,r- t .,rlrin its own histori.d.on,.r, and then translate its meaning for our
ior of Cervantes's Don Quixote. Born in the last days of chivalry, Ignatius I ,,',rr rime and culture. As noted above, Ignatius gathered companions
irrrrrnd himself so they could help him help others
make spiritual exer-
conceived of himself and the retreatants he directed as knights-er."nr, ,.*-
! in that task' he
, , ,,. v/hen he wrote the Spiritual Exercisesto help them
il: [i[ :II, :1 T:;::.:*':, t.,,.il: i:X:r#'],5 fl ::T ,,,,,,,rcled them to accommodate themselves to circumstances' Early
on

I
 34 . I(;N,{tlax SprRrrLrrlrrv
IcNlr.raN Srrntruartry . 35

Jesuits took Ignatius ar hisword.'They accommod:rrcrr rhe Exercises

not related to what we have or have not done, examining "colisciousness" entails
only to the siruation of individual ,"t...t"nt,
bur als't. particurar cul- looking at what is being done to us; how we are being affected and moved
rures' Thking a cue from the tradition,
female Ignatian have begun (often quite spontaneously) deep in our affective consciousness. 'We look
adapting the Exercises by accommodating "*r".,,
them to rhe contours of femi- back at what is going on in our lives and pay notice not so much to faults
nine spiritualiry and cukure.r,
to feelings.
,rs
Jesuits have transrated and adapted the spirituar
Exercisesro the dis- One avid supporter of examining one's consciousness has described the
parate cultures oFLatin America,
Asia, and Africa, as well as postmodern cxercise as 'praying backward through your day'' and offered the follow-
wesrern Europe and North America.
some attemprs in this direction ing five steps as a way of doing it.r6 Each step is a prayer.
entail simply a more modern reading
of the text.,, bthers essay a com-
plete paraphrase, replacing rhe i-"g.,
of Ignatiust late medieval and l. One with a prayer for light, perhaps to the Holy Spirit.
begins
Renaissance worldview with those
trate this Iarter form of adaptation,
-or. ,...rribre to our own. -ro ,lus- The examen is not merely about remembering, itt about insight
one could hardly do better than to
look at the overhaul thar has been inro the mystery that we are even to ourselves. The purpose of
given to ..the examen,,, the daily exami-
narion of conscience. The pracrice the exercise is a graced understanding of when and where and
is an ancienr one, p..d"ting chris-
tianiry, but it has been reconditioned how the Spirit of God has been leading us. It makes sense to ask
into what has been called ..the most
postmodern p ray er.".r. God for help to see ourselves, not so much as others see us but
of asChrist does, who sees into the deep recesses of the heart.
all the various spiritual exercises, Ignatius
was particularry keen on Next comes a review of the day with, as one Jesuit slogan puts it,
the examen' He practiced it regularly
hiirself and wrote into the consri-
rurions' which directs the lives and an "attitude of gratitude." Rooted in the contempladon on love
pracrices of the sociery of
Jesus, thar that conclud es the Spiritual Exercises, grate fulness is a prominent
Jesuits are to do it rwice a day. Though he dispensed
sickJesuits irorn orh.. Feature of Ignatian spiritualiry. The examen provides an oppor-
exercises like meditation, he hardly
ever dispensed anyone from
the exami_ tuniry to count the gifts of the last twenry-four hours-every-
narion of conscience' of any practice
in the spirituar Exercises,onry rhe thing from a morning cup of coffee to a chance meeting with an
examen received this kind of approval
rating. Ignatius obvicusry agreed
wirh Socrates that rhe unexamined life old acquaintance. Ail is gift and calls for thanlis.
is not worth living.
i. As we walk through the day, though, beside the gifts we note the
And yet not onry for Jesuits but also
for most people artracted to Igna-
tian spiritualiry the examen became gaffs. Small pleasures bring to mind sore spots; pleasant surprises
a sterile ,outir.. of all rhe spiritual
exercises, it was the most easiry
conjoin with annoying frustrations. These too call for prayer.
relinquished. Blame it on Freud
and fear l:ieelings, whether positive or negative, ate an index to what is
of neurotic guilt or simply greate*ophirtication
about the inner workings going on in our lives and force us to look not so much at our
of rhe subconscious' Nitpicking o.r.',
-.*ory for morar fa,ings appeared
spiritually unproductive and psychorogically lctions or failures as the motives and reasons behind them.
unhealthy . . . unt, at least l'his kind of review of the day may conjure up a welter of feel-
one Jesuir spiritual director remembered
that in spanish, and so for ings, or rnaybe only one. Even if several come to mind, one usu-
Ignatius, consciencia meant not only "conscience,,
but arso .,consciousness.,,35 rrlly stancls out, calling for particular attention and focused
sThcrea.s examining clne'.s "co,science"
hr.s narrow, m<lraristir. ()v(.rr()r(,s
l)r:ly(:r'. llnvyirrg s()nrcolr(' rrury clrll firr prayirrg [or rhat pcrson.
 J6 . JGNA.TTAN .St,ll{l I LrAt.r
I}
IcNATIAN SPIRITUALITY . 37

Shame at one's insensitiviry

ca,s for .sor-ow. Anger, defensive-
ness, and self_righteousness Muslims, or rwelfth-century Roman Catholics. Neither do we think like
. . . rhe examen calls for a
self_ sixteenth-century Spaniards.
cridcal assessment of onet sponraneous
feelings, which tell us
who we are and perhaps tanslating, who have tried their hands at it know, requires mak-
as all
*hrt *.
need to do. Feelings may be
spontaneous, but rhat does ing choices. Once you understand a word or text within its historical con=
not mean they ,.. b.yon"d conuol.
5' The examen closes with a look text, how do you express it in todays quite different situation? Biblical
to the future, sometimes evoking
a sense of determination scholars know the dilemma. How do you translate the Hebrew Yahweh
and a resolve to try again. gr;orlr.r.
feelings could rise up just .\abaothof Isaiah's vision of God (Is 6:3), cited verbatim in the Sanctus of
as well, and these roo
can be turned
into prayer' for whatever comes r he Latin Mass? Literally as "Lord of the armies," or figuratively as "Lord
most readily. Sponraneous senti-
ments are usually the deepest, ,,[power and might"? How do you translate the Greek addresses of Paul's
where, St. paul ,ryr, *. find
Spirit of God praying within the t'pistles? Literally as "brothers," or inclusively as "brothers and sisters"? The
us (Rom 8:26_27).
, lrallenge faced by translators and interpreters is fideliry to the spirit and

The examen ends, as do most rrrind of the text and its author, distinguishing between negotiable forms
exercises, with the Lordt prayer,
trusr and asking for forgiveness expressing .rnd nonnegotiable substance, between what is at the heart of the matter
and deliverance. vhichever
speaks best to the heart sentimenr .,,rtl what is a matter of mere cultural expression. That said, what stands
at the time depends on what
transpired in the pre_ 1,,'hind the image of a crusader Christ?'What are the nonnegotiablcs of
vious quarter-hour. Gratirude
for gifts may have held center
worrisome feeling, or concern srage, or a ll,rratian spirituality?'What are the characteristics that define it?
for the fuure. \vhatever the
tian spiritualiry encourages focus, Igna_ l'he foregoing consideration of Ignatiust life and the origins of the
thar we adapt our prayer ro
our particular cir_
cumstances at the time,
allowing a free interplay of 'l,iritual Exerciseshave already given us a few clues."
experience, reflecrion, and
our _or, p.rron"l
action.
As one can see from the foregoing,
there is considerable difference
berween conscience and
consciou"*.rrl ;.ruit transrators
SonnB DrsrrNCTrvE FBarunES oF
a moralistic search fo
have transposed fcNatraN SprnrruALITY
rife Bu, i, d";;,;,;T: ffiiil:lT# ff ;;:ft1,v#3.:"#
view of the marrer' there is l,,r lreing quite a slender volume, the Spiritual Exercises has generated
no doubt that rhey have interpreted
of Ignatius' They the mind ', lr,,lc shelves of commentary. There are books that probe each idea, pars-
had no choice. curtures
and their ranguages change.
day new words are born, Every ,,
, v i rrually every word and relating them to Ignatius's other writings like

and differen,
some old on., diJ.;;;;;f:,f::::i:: rl,
1,,

( ,'onstitutiorus of the Society ofJesus and his thousands of letters. Because

-.rnlrgr.
To refuse ,o
to risk misunderstanding it.
And
,.r.,r,rl*11,0;:H*t
undersranding ir requires
il:ffi;.I l1,rr.rri:rn spiritualiry arose out of a life experience, some of the most valu-
its historical context'.words putring it into rl,lr. .rrr:rlysis explores the historical origins of its various characteristics.
rike perron, (wirh respect
understanding of God), jihad, to rhe christian I rrr. srrch clistinctive feature, for example, is generosiry as articulated in
,roro)rare problematic for us
today r l r, ('( u r'r'cn t thcme of doing "more" (magis) for the "greater" glory of God
because we do not rhink Iike ^nd
fourth-cenrury Greeks,
r

seventh-cenrury r,r,/ rttitf ttx,rn l)ei glorian). \i7e can see from If,igo's memoirs how this arose
f
38 . lcNar.raN SprnrL,uarrry
IcNat.lat.t Sprnl.IluaLtt-t 39

from the idearized norions

of knighrhood he imbibed
at rhe court ofJuan ver'zqueza. reading romances them in conversation. Ludolph's life of Christ that If,igo read while con-
Lreil,r Generous service *i, .*p..r.d valescing at Loyola presenrs a Jesus who reveals and mediates God to a
of a vassal-knighr in response
to the generous parronage and friendship fallen humanity. Ludolph invited his readers first to seek forgiveness and
How much iror. ro, irr.
of
ffi;fflliegc-lord. n,.,,'ari;;;;;. erernal renewal of spirit in Christ and then to read and reflect on the evenrs of
his life in such away as to experienee and imitate him. Taking Ludolph
civen the massive literature
on the subject, it would at his word, Ignatius did just that, and in the Spirirual Exerciseshe invites
be unrearistic to

:. :fi: :il,, #,#T,I:ff

is to examine the influenrr
il'; fifi
of R.rrirrrn.. tr,ra*ism
tualiry. Bur, ar the risk_of
so*. ,.p.ririon,"*nrr.r., be
consideradons made th.us
fari Oi'iorrty *...
* _r.i;;r
spirituality that is generic.
Rooted rr* t:oo-y.ar-ord
it has features in common
wirh other, earlier forms
aliry' But even those common
features have a srant
together, make them
distinctively tgnrrirr.'
HT*,*,ilffiT;
retreatants to do the same.
Behind the medieval metaphors of competing armies and a crusading
king lies the idea of a divine project or masrer plan, expressive of what St.
on Ignatian spiri-
Pault epistles describe divine "mystery."3u This mysteryis that Christ's
distilled rtgnrrl"n
from the as a
mission is to unite all things in himself and thereby to God (1 Thes 5:9;
cathoric tradition, Col2:2; Eph 1:9-10). In Christ the world is reconciled to God (2 Cor
of Christian spiritu_ 5:19). Paul's vision is panoramic. "AIl [thingsl are yours. And you are
Christt, and Christ is Godt" (1 Cor 3:22-23). According to the project,
ro rhern rhat, taken
as both Paul and Ignatius understood it, the church continues rhe recon-

ciling work of Jesus. It exists ro carry on his mission and thereby do him
l. Centeredness on a Christ service. Every Christian is called to some particular aspect of that service,
with a Mission to do his or her part in the divine project.
The first week of the Spiritual F.xercises opens with fundamental ques-
a Chri s tian spiri tuar i ry
:rT::*T.il"jHili:.#iorlv;r1out bei n g tions of existence: \Vhy does anything exist? \What is my purpose? How
ife descri bea,",rr. do I fit in? In the "principle and foundation" of the Exercbes,Ignarius
I
Gospel r,..,.r--1.,,,';.T:ffnff Ti"l..r:X,
teaching and healing,lilrwe* TI responds to those questions with answers as basic as the first pages of a
These have all led to r:atechism or Sunday school reader: we were created to "praise, reverence,
ous.schools or kinds
of spirituality. "nafrrrio.,. vari_
all they have in common, attd serye God our I-,ord"; all creation exists to help us attain that end.
are distinctive features "*ju.
to rhe spirituarities asro.iated
rhere
with St. Benedicr, st.
Francis ofAssisi, and Ignatius connects St. Pault cosmic vision with the quite individualized
St. Dominic. ,r..,r"
one *il ;:',;i:
itrvitation of Jesus to "come, . . . follow me" (Mk 10:21). 'What exactly
T r*,[,:x'iil?:;
#%i::,*m:'lhe
lts or gave rise to cloisters;
the Ignatian
lirllowing Jesus means varies from one person to another. Ignatius gradu-
,rlly grew sure that God did not intend a monastic exisrence for him. He
man on the move. christ is a
It is worth noting how 6leaned dris as he looked back at the unfolding course of his life history
ry fewof the Gosper stories
rerative
urrd listened to what for him was God speaking in the deepest desires of
prayerful reading in the assigned for
spirituar Exerr;ro t
^rrto with miracres com_
pared with rhose thar do lris heart. In the Spiritual Exerciseshe invites rerrearanrs to do the same.
hru. to do *ithy.ru, r.r.hing
people ,J.rgrging
 4{) I(;NA ItAN Sl,U{tIlii\l ||\
IcNat raN Splnrruallrr" . 4l

2. Trinit.-rr.i;rrr Sw,(.(. l)
Ignatius describes the Holy Spirit as one who governs and guides the
There is a Tiinitarian sweep church [365]: This makes the Spirir latent but not absent. tking asan
ro rgr:rri;rrr s,irirrr.rrirr,. N.
distanr watch-
maker/archirecr or self-absorbed .'xample the just-cited reference to God desiring to give "even his very
rhi.kr:r. t ;,,.1
,,, ,lr, \;,i, i'rrr;),t Exurire, k
"one who is laboring," one can argue that allusions to the Holy Spirit abound rhroughout
t236) not onry c.cari,g rlrt.trrrivcrsc but 'clf,"
arso rec- rhe text, and not only at their climax in the "contemplation to attain love."
onciling ir in and through Christ.
As fbr rht,r,;rrly CIrr.isrians, so
Ignatius roo, reflection on christ for I he discernment of spirits looks not only to the inner motions or dynam-
had ,,inirari:rrr irrr,licati.ns.
$zho is r, s within our psyches but also to their causes. Consolation, which is cen-
Jesus? How does he relate ro rhe God
he ca,ed lrarhcr? v/ho or what
the Holy spirit? No.r that Inigo is rr.r[ to the Exercises and at the heart of the discernment of spirits, is
expricitry thoughr our
t;:".r;:,
rhcsc qLrcstions. For
him the'Iriune God of Cathoti. rt garded by Christian tradition as the work of the Holy Spirit. So too is
trrdltio, *r.',,1. i.;:
rlre indwelling of God's presence in ourselves and all things, which is a
than a question forponrering.
"great devorion"
He rers r,;T,:;:tjj;#;{.;:ffiilT l,.rllmark of Ignatian spiritualiry.
to the Most Holy Tiiniry and that
one day he exprerienced 'l'he
cod as three keys on a musicar instrument image of God as Father or Creator points to God as transcendent,
making one harmonious chord.
The experience moved him to l,t yond creation and "above." The image of God as spirit-meaning both
rears, somerhing rhat occurred
often in his l,rcarh" and "wind"-points to the immanent God whose power, like
later Iife' particularly if he happened
ro see rhree instances of anyrhing.
There is nothing originar abour \\rr(1, is beyond telling and whose presence, like onet breath, is experi-
rhe Tiinirarian imagery of the spirituar , ,( cd "within." Ignatius was not careful in making Tlinitarian distinc-
Exercises. In some wa
,,,ns. More than once in the Exercises he describes Jesus as "Creator and
s o ro s p eak, o n
e,#J',ffl':: iii: :: ilr#j:l;Iff, ?:,
rh
Father"'seared "above."Jesus,
who is both above and below,
r:;.; l,,rrl," and attributes to him the Spirit's traditional "office of consoler"
is rhe ,,eter_ | ' l'rl. We can excuse Ifiigos lack of linguistic precision here. In Christ the
nal King" who mediares for us
with the Fathec revealing and accom_
plishing Godt master plan. Both, ,,,, .rning of creation and rhe purpose of consolation flow together like the
together with the Hory Spirit, ,,God
are ,,.rr('r's of a river, revealing the One God who is at once Creator and Con-
our Lord" or the "Divine Majesry."
vhat is striking about rhe spirituar ,,1,'r. Giver and Gift.
E'uercises is Ifligo's panoramic
view of salvarion history in
which rhe enrire
universe is viewed as proceeding
from God and returning ,o God,
ing the ongoing crearion ro it, Iirk-
*nrur'marion. There is
a tinitarian cir-
cularity to Ignatian spiriruality. 5. Liberality of Grace
The end of the spirirual Exercues
corresponds to the beginning.
The creating God of the op.rring.principre
, ,r.rt t' is <lne of the most distinctive and pivotal concepts of Christian the-
and foundation" is rhe "same
Lord" who, Tr, ,h. "conremplation
to attain ,,1,
'11r' ;rrrcl spiritualiry. Recurring time and again in the episdes of St. Paul,
"desires to give me
i::=_Y:lTq
accordance with his ".,*rcises,
divine design,, t2341.
even his very self, in ,1,.r{ (;rrbenoself-reflectiveChristianspiritualitywithoutit.Yet,inthe
,, ,.,1|.'tl "rulcs for thinking with the church" of the Spiritual Exercises,
It is often noted that there is littre mention
of the Hory spirit in rhe lr ,.rrnrs wrrrrrs tlirectors against speaking "so lengthily and emphatically
Spiritual Exercises' Jn fact, there
is only one expricir reference,
in which il,,,rl l,,r'ircc tlurt wc generate a poison harmful to freedom of the will"
 42 . l<:rua.r'r,llv .SnrHl l(,^t I r.\
Icr'ratlaN SPrRiruALrrY . 43

[369]' He explains the caurion in rerrrrs

,f: trrc controversies besetting the
church at the time with regard
ro'urrrar: rc.s,.lrsirrility and predesdnation. orthodoxy. But allusions to all three levels of meaning behind the word
The sixteenth-century rrebates abound in the Spiritual Exercises-God's graciousness and gifts, and our
over *l'acc arose our of the theology
St' Augustine' named by subsequen, of dury to respond with gratitude. But here too there is a distinctive Igna-
..n,uri., rrrc l)octor of Grace. Godt
grace for him was primar,y tian slant. St. Augustine was impressed by the amount of sin in the world;
an unmerirec{ supernaturrr h.r;;;
from sin or resisr temptation. converr
Augustine knew the weakness lrtrmanity for him was a That seems to imply that grace
mdssa damnata.
human narure and'his own need
of his own
is not only unearned but bestowed sparingly. Ignatius, on the other hand,
for God's help; he inrerpreted
thac help
as grace' \x/ith all due respect
to the Doctor of Grace, thar notion was impressed by the fact that God spoke to him despite his sinfulness.
while correct as it srands, is much of grace, 'l'hat implied a liberality to God's giving and forgiving. If God would
roo narrow The biblicar understanding
of grace is far richer and more ilreak to him, he would speak to anyone. And from a conviction of abun-
wide-ranging, as St. Thomas
Aquinas later
noted and as the several cognates
of the"word suggest. tlant grace springs what has been called Ignatian optimism. The "con-
The Greek word for grace, charis,lies rcrnplation to attain love" is a veritable hymn to grace, aimed at stirring
at rhe heart of bot h charismaand,
Eucharist' The Latin gratia,
the root of the spani rlrc soul to "profound gratitude" by reflecting on God's generosiry as Giver
,"1:;,:r:*:::j:1.r., of Engrish words tike sh gracias andrtarian gra_ .rrrd Gift l233l.If lgnatian spiritualiry seeks and finds "God in all things,"
gracious, gracefut, gratitudz,
and the concepr of a grace before rr is because everything is grace.
levels of meaning' Its primary
mears. tn. ir.Jil :;;;:::"{::rr*;
reference is to the "graciousness,,
erosiry of one who gives and, or gen-
in the case of debts
Its secondary reference is to "r;"rJ;;g, forgiu.r. 4. Faith as Trust
the "gift" that is given. \with respecr
from a gracious Go''. rhe *o.d to gifts
-Jy poinr to the naturar talent of a gifted
musician' the gracefurness of l',rirh is as central to Christian life and spiritualiry as grace is. Jesus in the
a dancer, or the charisma
of a speaker. In the { iospels makes it requisite for entry into God's reign. There can be nei-
case of debts or wrongdoing,
the gift is that of mercy rrd
f";g;;ness, rhe
meaning favored by Martin Luther. tlrt'r' discipleship nor healing without it. For St. Paul, Christians can be
In the case of those unable to resist
temptation or do the righr thing r,lrrrtified simply as "'believers" or "the faithful." And yet, like grace, the
on their own, rhe gifr is God,s
natural help' the **Tgi:.
Augustine prefe*ed. The cathoric
#;_ *,trrl.faith became a red flag for Catholics in Ignatius's day, after Luther
Ages focused on the gift of Middre c'r'rrrcd to disparage love and good works by making grace and faith alone
Godt rove, ui.*..i as something
poured into
our hearts' More recently, thanks tlr,'c:.rsence of the gospel. So again, in the "rules for thinking with the
greatly to Karl Rahner, Catholic
ogy gives more a*enrion to theol- lrrrlctr" of the Spiritual Exercises, ignatius warns against speaking too
the settrc;ft that
nar lsis Lrod.s
God,s rndwelling
indwelrino Spirit. '
As a response to alr rhese gifts
Sni,i, rnrr, h or too emphatically about faith, without any further distinction or
and the graciousness from which
derives the third basic meaning they flow r1'l;rurtion t36B],
of irrrr, ,,gr^ritude,,, the expression '
of thankfulness to God thar is lp,n;rtiLrs was giving sound advice there. Faith requires explanation,
,r,. aJ* of a grace before a meal
canonical eucharisric pruyer or the l*i.r ,rtrsc tlre word is ambiguous. It is one thing to have faith orbelieve that
of the Mass.
Ignatius may have been wary .J \r.rrrnrclrlr is true or thatsomeone is telling the truth. It is something else
of clwelling at anygreat rength
subject of grace, lest he raise on rhe ,ilt,,1it'tlrr,r.-involving the whole person and not just one's intellect-to
a red flag for inquisirors suspicious
of his lr,iv,' lrritlr riz someone or to bclicve irz something, in other words, to trust.
 ,l.l . lr,NAltn
N St,lt{trt,Alll.y
I(;NAttAN SI'ilittlrAt.trv . 45

Fairh in the Hebre,

Bible (amoona, a cognate
to lean on ,o_.on.I of amen)means being .r,, l:rit h or hope, he was talking about trusr, which was indispensable both
able
himserrandn,,;ililTil:,*:H'JT:l*",.l.ffi l.r rhe literal kind of pilgrimage he made toJerusalem and the spiritual
t1:23)' Their trust in their
moms ,"d;;;. is the
::*,iill ,,,rt'lre invited people to make in the SpiritualExercises. Call it faith or
reason Jesus ters l,,rpc, it took trust to risk either pilgrimage, just as it takes trust to say the
ciples to become Iike his dis_
little.hild..;iil. t0:15). For the
and the Jewish Hebrew Bible ',rrsr ipe and really mean it.
Jesus, rrusr is the prima ry
andbasic meaning of
But the disciples,trust faith.
in Jesus, especirttr rn.,
tion ind argumenr. Easter, ,.qJr.d
,:r* *h:T h9 i..[r.rr,rrs explana_
the fusen christ' Lord, son of God.
offaith that_tharheis 5. Service in the World
v.rbiriri.rg one,s ffusr and the reasons
for ir invariabry leads
r..*o;;eaning of faith as interectuar ll rlre suscipe sums up Ignatian spirituality, it disproves any allegation
acceptance and avowal,,o :h.
of a statemen, ,ru.. As the Jewish-christian rlr.rr the Spiritual Exercises are an attempt at self-salvation. Ignatiust
church entered into the
cerebrar ",
*;.ro ;ftreek
gentile' it was this interectuar curture and became more I'r.ryer is a quintessential expression of a faith that acknowledges the
,.,a.*r.ratgof faith that became domi_ ;,rrority of grace: all that I have and possess, you, Lord, have given to
ffi :rJ[*,:1ffi*e
identined with dosma,i.
fb,;;;;la .,..d,, ,,,t'. But then the przyer entrusts everything back to God: all of it is

rius,-in""o,i,r.,Jililffi:;,,:Xmim,::il#.tJ; r,,rrrs, dispose of it according to your will1234].In the meditation on

,1,,' kingdom, Ignatius has retreatants, like vassal-knights, consider how
rl;'3;i::'l
of much :i".1::;;1""ry
iq ""i,r,,o ortrre worcr was at the r lrt'y "ought to respond to a king so generous and kind" [94]. He invites
heart of the debates ,0.r, iuii;;:
Ignatius found it wise
nor ro become.*iror.d
ill;#ilJ}r::rff rlrcrn to respond with generous desires and generous service.
is very much a centrar
in rhe.sc crcbares. But ffusr ,service is at the core of Ignatian spiritualiry encapsulated in a phrase
*,'*r.r'fril;:;iritualiry,
fiust ju.sr:r.s it wa.s ftrr Luther. rlr.rr Ignatius used more than any other in his writings: "helping souls."
became a focal poi.rt
fo".I-r,fr.rl
r"*, I lrc phrase appears in the first paragraphs of the Constitutions of the So-
became
"
he encountered a
Ar-rgnr,iu, ou, or r,i, ..r;,l#il: :ilii,.r#rl i ,tr't.y ofJesus as its purpose for existence. But Ifligo gave spiritual exer-
Jesus who had .ro*h.r.
l.,,|.';1,, , iscs to lay people long before there was a Society of Jesus; as early as
for Ignatirls,s christology;
_c_entral it ir rr ;JT.li H;il3iijfl; lrrs sta/ in Alcald, the widow and her daughter he directed were moved
King" and "Lord of a,
the *orfJ" r" *. nr*rir:rri.rr
dards," riches are the ,rrr lrrr. .t*o strn_ l,y rhe exercises to a desire to serve poor people in hospitals. Service
alluremen, of .tl".trcnry.,,(
)rrr,sl;urrls withJesus .rl)l)ears at the culmination of the Spiritual Exercises in the "contempla-
by one's willingness to
share rri, p*..ry. Rt,r;r,
rr<.rr. lrr* rris rrrn to attain love," where it is described as the love that manifests itself
how determined I6igo memoirs
was ro tir. ty lr,.g1ii,,11.r*lrlt.
to Jerusalem, going so t,rr lris pilgrimage .rore by deeds than by words" [230). The Christ of the "Meditation
far rr ,o I..* lr,l,i,,.l lrir
before boarding ship. l.rv ,...,,,,,iling .oi* ,,rr 'lwo Standards" sends his servants and friends out "to aid all persons"
On a later t"g,,f t.rr,,';,,,rn(.\.
would provide and .,brough, .r,, rn,,.ll, 6t, rr.sted
God lrz16]. The "election" of the second week-to which everything prior
no _,i" li,, 1,i,,
l,',rds and from which everything after proceeds-is a decision about
lod" 144).He might have sudfiit/t,,,,,, ,_., j, j:_1':i::l'll:,:,'jl; i,Hj;[: wlrat form one's service will take, discerning God's will in one's deep-
didon had become so intellecrurlir.,l,
lr,. r,rr,l /trt1,i. l\11rvlrt.r6cr
articulated ,'sr desires.
 IcNarreN Sprnrruelrry . 47
Forthatdecisio, r. lrt'r.rlr,'.rrrrlr,.rrlr,,Igrrarir-rspurapremiumonfree_
"cxtended Ignatian family'') more often than not found themselves where
*I*,1ril,'H::i.;ll:: :lll:.;,:t ;,,rc
pu,,
",0
i,* .,.ompe,ing
rhe people and their needs were most numerous-in city centers. Serving
librium (a state h. t..-.,1 ,,irr<tirlt.rt.rr,,
,, i ;::'];J:';:Hffi;:,r..:J; 1',cople anywhere in the world and finding God there, Ignatius-again to
allowGod "ro dear immediarcry"
witrr rt.r,.1,,,.,,,,, wirrr,rrr , ire Nadal-became a "contemplative in action." The phrase has become a
They were not to persuade irrrcrference [15].
exercitarrt.s r,wrrtr ,rrt. ,lassic expression of the Ignatian spirirual ideal.
tion over another, I.rrrr ,,[.st.rvice or voca-
nc

;.t ::I *1 : ffi:i t ;),:; ; i,,,;;

:i;, ;
:,1 I
; lt :: : :, i il,il.J,,:
6. Praying with Discernment
,he varidi
accused
ry *o *i".
of borrowin*
l1 ffi,,jf
prorestanrs
H il [T:ll i,r l:] I ;:l,m:*:*
by desc.ib;ng thcir various l'. r here anything distinctive about prayer in the Ignatian tradition? "Con-
of service ministries.r''1.:
as Bur the biblical t..-, ,hr.,ks
forms
r{.nrplative in action" has become a slogan in Ignatian,circles. Is Ignarian
can council' is now an to thc Second vati_
integrar pr., of c",holic ,r ,,ver peculiarly contemplative? Not if one understands the word, as mosr

linking the episcopal rnd theorogy and spirirualiry, 1

pr.rbyt.r,, _lr,r,.;.: J.,]]:Y^':'l: :0,, 1'r'rple do, as prayer that is free-flowing and without images. Ignatian
thor. Jf ,,r. il,o, l,iose
1,,.rvcr is highly structured and teems with images. In the second week of
for being called lay.
se:vice is no less,,,.jiti.",ii.'ji::ff
il:r:T::; r l,, Spiritual Exercises, Ignatius asks retreatants to contemplate ("look at")

Helping sours as a characterisric , l', lrirth of Christ, using all their senses. One is to imagine the road, feel
of Ignatian spirirua.riry
never did) mean ignoring does not (and
peopre's bodlr. And r l,, wind, listen in on the conversation berween Mary
the reader w,r note the and Joseph, grue at
modesty implied in rh. ,l', rrcwborn infant-all activities intended ro arouse the affections. An
_orC "t,.tpir_,g; rrther rhan ,.saving,,
is rhe openness of the souls. Bur ir
Sptr;n at Eirciisto , \( r(ise with a very different aim is the meditation on hell, which asks
peopre both inside and
religious life that outside
Ignatian ,O,.Urri,,, particularly ,, u(^.rtants nor only to imagine the pain but see the fires, hear the wailing
"ri\.;
firsr century marked apt for a rwenry_
by- iicreasin* t,
,r*r"emenr l,l ,..plrcmies, and smell the sulphurous smoke and rot.
carholic church. If_as Ignatiu, -j t.ra..rt ip in the
i, in the Jesuit consritutions,
p"u, t iivcn such appeal to all rhe senses, one might say that preyer in the
we can
o,, ro,i r.,,il ,r,ing,,,,rhen,r,.,. l1.rr.rri:rrr rradition is peculiarly holistic. Contemplations employ the imagi-
;[4,:l**:: J;1.""0
ror thar is ourside of
i"no aspect or , *r(,, so as to speak to the heart. In meditations one thinks discursively
grace or inappropriate
tian seryice. for Chris_
l,r r,'.rsoninB, reflecting, and reckoning so as
to bring about a firm deci-
seeking and finding ,,,,' lry the will. The examination of consciousness and "contemplation
God in aJI things, Ifiigo
and his Jesuit companions
wenr where they saw
needs' They *ouri r,, ,11q.1i11 love" both rely on memory to stir up a sense of gratitude. Ignatius
,rk ,h. pope to send them where
he saw the grearest needs'
And .,r., *"rra ]i.i, ,h. l, r r('rr('lltunts pray for sorrow, tears, shame, sereniry consolation, knowl-
lar'vomen to herp rhem assistance of raymen
and
in their respons. ,o ,hor. ..The ' '11,, .l ( lod's will in onet deepest desires, and the affections necessary ro
needs. world is our
home"' said Jerdnimo Nadar, r .,r
Ifrigo's .ror. r(. t lrosc dcsires.
ited with truly understanding
,*o.;"te and someone he cred- l,i r

*1,r,,r,. ipi,*nt roo*ris a, about. wirh I lrrs lrroad appeal to the spiritual faculties does not imply that Ignatius
the world as rheir home, l,,r
Jesuits ,nd rhor. who shared
their spiriru:rriry 1^,
rr r lrt' botly. IJc givcs aclvice about eating, sleeping, and what rime of
(rhe
Irr ,,r rril',lrt tt'rt;tirr excr.r'iscs lrrt'to [rt'rrlrrlt'. Ilt: rnakcs rccomrtrcrrrl:triorrs
 4t . l(i NA I tAN Sl,ml l.rrAl.t.r,y
lcNA rrAN SPTRTT'UALITY . 49

on one's Posture while

Praying sitting, kneeli (standing,
r.,i-^ a^^ - -
rlng.raceuporprost;#"*:*";;Hi"':;ffi:,;-::1,f:::i::: wolld, as pointed out above, is characteristic of Ignatian spirituality. But
..,,
*., u niigr,, o. r; ;; ;il" ;:ft ,T__.:?f.:::iT:'"T 11.:
what kind of service? The answer is discovered by discerning what con-
sritutes the "greater" glory of God.
;::,'*:*';,:::*.r_'r"",r,u*..;*i;#'J;.T:;ff. Coupled with the word discernment is that other peculiarly Ignatian
ilrf :::,
with yoga.
", b reath ing wh i
;: ..Jfflllf:l.J
e prayinr,r r" _".J,"i
r
w<>rd, magis. tanslated as "more," the word has been mistaken to mean

None of these methods rhat Ignatian spiritualiry calls for constantly giving more and more of one-
or recommendations for
prayer is originar with sclf in a kind of messianic enthusiasm that can lead to bugnout. Nothing
to. rgnatian ,piritJiry.
,?ffi:;;:ff:;11;, rn.r ,,l?,,]a,i,, .",ri., ,,ruld be further from Ignatiust mind. Seeking the magisin Ignatian spiri-
aboutth.rgnatian;,=:ili;HT,ffir#::1:IIilH:?,:f#; r rraliry means pa1rngattention to means and ends and discerning what is

be used or ignored. rnore conducive" to achieving the end results desired. It's a matter of dis-
No directive i, ,".*.r.r,
unless it is that of ,.what_ , riminating between options and choosing the better of the two. (Burnout
ever helps'" Ignatius's
ap.proach ro prayer is
pragmatic. (Spirituar exercises is not a reasonable option.) Thus one prays over onet choices, looks at
on humiliryprove more beneficiar;";;;;".rr,
and ambitious crerics
selEdeprecating commoners.) 'sThatever than ,,ne's gifts, considers the needs, and then decides where can one do the
works to bring a rerrearanr
version, cohsolation, ro con_ lircater good.
and deeper lolr. of GJ
and neighbor, drat is
of prayer ro be the kind
recommended_at the
Discretion is anorh
di.e.tort discretion. ,<
thatmost idiosyncradc of
tian
rian terms generally ,":t:]rt:'Tl'*t
seneralv rendered Igna-
Latin verb discerno,meaning ,.to ^,
a*rrro*"")).ffi ;.il:HL:rt:; 'l'hese
six are only some of the traits usually described in commentaries as
sever or
.o "to dis tingui sh, dislrim,
r
.lisrinctively Ignatian. More could be said about respect for freedom or the
T.1n *r., ;; ;t;r:;:il, i ;; :r.:::: il,m: crnphasis on Godt merc:)- in the sacrament of penance. Some elements of
used the substandve form
of rhe ,.ru'a
discretion' but also insight. -.rn nor onry criscernment and lgnatian spirirualiry (like the exAmen or the focus on poverry) were bor-
Keenness of insight :rncl
ing are accurate representations skill in discriminat_ rowed from earlier sources. And others, if distinctive at one time, are no
of what Ignatius ,,rc:rrr Ionger so (like frequent Holy Communion). But, to return to the thesis of
Praying in the Ignadan.tradition hy the word.ao
pry, nir.o,i,rr ,rrtl tli.scriminates. this book, it was more than Ifiigot life experiences that gave shape to the
director pays amendon The
and discern, *h* is g,irrg
so as to be abre to counsel
,rr wirhi, rhe rerreatanr, ,\piritual Exercises and the spiritualiry arising from it.
which exercise.s r, rccrrrrrrcrd
Retreatants pay attention and which not. His memoirs tell us what Ifiigo remembered, not what he took as much
and discern *t nr-. (ttt within themselves,
discriminatingb.n"..., what li()lItli lbr granted as the air he breathed. That air included the assumptions and
causes ,.u.,,,,,'*cl
tress. Discer.r-.na is l)c l(c ttrrd what causes dis- :rttitudes embedded in the culture of his day. k included the education he
the key to morrl .()nvrrsiorr,
knowle,o..,-
knowtedge ^-
.t --^ come lilr only from self_ end his companions received as universiry students at Alcald and Paris.
can there
discovering what kind of
serf_disciprirre. , ;::il::,1::,T:l ['.TJ[ 'l'he spiritualiry codified in the Spiritual Exercises is a product both of
service i;;,o , .rrqr
"";i- r. .frcr. service in the lgnatiust experiences and Renaissance humanist culture. It is that influ-
t nce that warrants calling it Ignatian humanism.

H
I