Prayer – Through the Eyes of Ignatian Spirituality

Last Sunday Father Rob reflected beautifully on our Gospel reading from Luke where Jesus taught his disciples to pray, a prayer which we know as The Lord’s Prayer.

Our catechism in the Book of Common Prayer affirms that prayer is “responding to God, by thought and by deeds, with or without words” and that the principal kinds of prayer are “adoration, praise, thanksgiving, penitence, oblation, and petition”. (BCP, p. 856)

Over the years I have learned to listen to God through various forms of contemplative or reflective prayer. One of my favorite books is 50 Ways to Pray: Practices from Many Traditions and Times by Teresa A. Blythe.

Since we remembered Ignatius of Loyola on July 31, I thought I’d mention his Spiritual Exercises and the prayer practices which have emerged from his writings.

Ignatius was born into a noble Basque family and relished in the ways of the world in his youth, especially in reckless military endeavors. During his recovery in Loyola, Spain, after a serious wound, Ignatius had a spiritual awakening. His Spiritual Exercises were a way to encounter Jesus as an intimate companion and to respond to Christ’s call to serve.

After ordination to the priesthood, he took vows of poverty and service to the poor. He and his companions founded what became the Society of Jesus, today known as the Jesuits. Their belief is “to find God in all things”. Pope Francis I was the first Jesuit to be elected Pope.

Ignatian Spirituality seeks to find God in all things. The traditional Ignatian Examen is a spiritual exercise to create an awareness of God’s presence and absence throughout the day. The contemporary Examen invites us to pray throughout the events of our daily life.

Here is the Exercise (50 Ways to Pray, p. 60):

• Make yourself comfortable and set aside some quiet time for this prayer. You may want to light a candle to signify the light of Christ illuminating your day.

• Rest in silence for a few moments.

• Ask God’s Spirit to lead you through your day.

• Review your day.

If you could relive any one moment that brought you joy, which would it be? What happened in that moment that made it so life-giving? Sit with that moment and allow it to give you life again. Offer your gratitude to God for that moment.

If you could go back and change any one moment in your day, which would it be? What made that moment so difficult? Sit with that moment in the light of God’s love and allow yourself to feel whatever emotion you have. Offer that moment to God for healing.

• Make a note of these two moments in your day.

• End by giving thanks to God for all the ways God have been with you – through the joy and the pain.

Ignatius of Loyola was a 16th Century priest, monastic, and founder of the Society of Jesus. Many followers consider his writings and his life the best of the Counter-Reformation.

Let us pray:

Almighty God, from whom all good things come: You called Ignatius of Loyola to the service of your Divine Majesty and to find you in all things. Inspired by his example and strengthened by his companionship, may we labor without counting the cost and seek no reward other than knowing that we do your will; through Jesus Christ our Savior, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, now and forever. Amen.

May we find God in all things,

Judy Q+