Much can and has been said about Saint Ignatius of Loyola. Most of all, he is known as the founder of the Society of Jesus, known popularly as the Jesuits. As you probably all know, Pope Francis is a Jesuit, that is, a member of the Society of Jesus and, therefore, a son of Saint Ignatius.
What is not given enough attention is the revolution in Christian spirituality that was wrought through Ignatius. His story is pretty well-known. Born Iñigo de Loyola into a noble Basque, not Spanish, family, he initially set out to find fame and fortune as a soldier. Badly wounded in the hopeless defense of Pamplona in 1521, he went home for months of recuperation.
During his convalescence, wanted to read novels about chivalrous knights of the kind Cervantes’ Don Quixote was so fond. But all he had to read was the lives of the saints and the Cistercian Ludolf of Saxony's well-known Vida Christi As a result, he experienced a profound conversion. Once he was well, set out as a pilgrim.
But his deepest experience of conversion happened in Manresa, a town near the great city of Barcelona. From 25 March 1522- mid-February of the following year, Ignatius lived as a beggar, ate and drank sparingly, and practiced other extreme penances, which he later discouraged others from doing. He went to Mass daily and spent seven hours in prayer, often in a cave outside Manresa.
During this time, he was walking beside a river and, according to his autobiography, “the eyes of his understanding began to open and, without seeing any vision, he understood and knew many things, as well spiritual things as things of the faith.” While a mystic, Ignatius never claimed any grand visions. Shortly after this he began to write down what would later become the Spiritual Exercises.
Ignatius’ Spiritual Exercises are the means by which the revolution in Christian spirituality brought about through him was achieved. These were revised and refined several times before they reached the final version we now possess.
This portrait of Ignatius is thought to be an "authentic portrait," ca. 1598-1600
Relevant to our first reading, the motto of the Jesuits from Ignatius’ day to our own has been Ad majorem Dei gloriam- for the greater glory of God. Another of Ignatius’ key insights is not just the possibility but the importance, even the necessity of finding God in all things. The axis around which the revolution in spirituality wrought through Ignatius orbits is his conviction that God speaks to everyone directly; God communicates with each person.
Hence, what the Spiritual Exercises are geared towards are learning methods of prayer through which God speaks, not in weirdly revelatory ways, but in a quite ordinary ways through your daily experiences. The key word in Ignatian spirituality is discernment. Specifically, how to discern in order to do God’s will.
The daily Examen is perhaps the most accessible of the practices Ignatius set forth in the Spiritual Exercises. This daily practice unfolds in five easy steps:
1. Become aware of God’s presence- God is always and everywhere presentApropos of our Gospel, Ignatius was very serious about the importance of poverty and simplicity of life, not just for the members of the Society he founded, but as a way of Christian life appropriate to one’s state of life.
2. Review the day with gratitude- even as you consider those things you did wrong
3. Pay attention to your emotions- consider what you were feeling and thinking at the time and how you feel about them now
4. Choose one thing from the day and pray from it- it can be something for which you are grateful or something you regret, use this as prayer starter
5. Look toward tomorrow- Christians are people of hope, trusting in God's goodness
Saint Ignatius was serious about always bearing in mind the final end for which you are created and redeemed, and for which are being sanctified: eternal union with God. It seems fitting, therefore, to end this short reflection with the beginning section of the Spiritual Exercises:
By the term “Spiritual Exercises” is meant every method of examination of conscience, of meditation, of contemplation, of vocal and mental prayer, and of other spiritual activities that will be mentioned later. For just as taking a walk, journeying on foot, and running are bodily exercises, so we call Spiritual Exercises every way of preparing and disposing the soul to rid itself of all inordinate attachments, and, after their removal, of seeking and finding the will of God in the disposition of our life for the salvation of our soul
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