About This Series
Ignatian, Franciscan, Augustinian, and Thomastic are four of the most influential Catholic spiritual traditions. While none of these spiritualities fully encompass the entirety of the rich, multifaceted Catholic faith, coming to know each of these spiritualities makes it possible for us to understand our own personality and needs for our spiritual journey. A Call From Within is a Life Night series that introduces teens to the four most common Catholic spiritualities, giving them the tools to assess if a particular spirituality type can aid them in their relationship with God.
More Than One Way to Pray
People do not process information or make connections in the same way, but for each person there is a way to process information and make connections that works better than others. People are not all the same. That seems like an obvious statement, but there is a misconception about prayer that can make us feel like prayer has to be done a certain way or that there is only one correct way to pray. That is not true. Prayer is an expression of our relationship with God, and people experience relationships in different ways. There are a variety of personality tests, quizzes, and love languages that reveal how differently we experience relationships, and yet they are often not considered when talking about the spiritual life. In the same way that people learn or process information differently, people find certain ways of praying more effective and connective.
This series will explore four different spiritualities or spiritual types. Some of these spiritualities may feel very familiar or similar to previous experiences of prayer and some might be brand new. Some of these "spiritual types" might be more relatable for you, others not so much, but it is important for us to become familiar with these various forms of spirituality since our tastes and personalities can undergo change from time to time. These spiritualities are very complex and have a lot of similarities. This series will scratch the surface of each one and will point out what specific things make them unique and different, rather than providing a comprehensive understanding of the entire spiritual tradition. Regardless of which spirituality is explored each week, I challenge you to enter into the experiences of each spirituality with an open mind, and be ready to encounter Jesus in new ways.
We will use the word “spirituality” a lot, so it is important to emphasize that this is not meant to be a series that explores practices of mindfulness or meditation that
simply feel nice or help people feel centered. These are Catholic spiritual traditions and approaches to prayer that are based on religious orders or communities founded by some of the greatest saints in Church history. Their teachings and spiritual practices have influenced the Church for hundreds of years, and all of them have the same goal: to grow in a relationship with God in prayer, to worship Him, and to live out the Catholic faith. This first part will explore how to do that through a spirituality that connects to God in prayer through the senses, called Ignatian spirituality.
simply feel nice or help people feel centered. These are Catholic spiritual traditions and approaches to prayer that are based on religious orders or communities founded by some of the greatest saints in Church history. Their teachings and spiritual practices have influenced the Church for hundreds of years, and all of them have the same goal: to grow in a relationship with God in prayer, to worship Him, and to live out the Catholic faith. This first part will explore how to do that through a spirituality that connects to God in prayer through the senses, called Ignatian spirituality.
Ignatian Spirituality
If you had to live without one of your five senses, which one would you choose?
Tough question, isn't it?
Some people are born deaf and have never heard the voice of a parent.
Some people are blind and have never seen a sunset over the bay.
Some people loose their sense of smell and taste, some due to Covid-19.
Some people are wheelchair bound, or even have to live in isolation and cannot experience the loving touch of family member or friend.
We depend on our senses for many things in life, but have you ever thought about how you can use your senses in prayer?
Ignatian spirituality is named after Saint Ignatius of Loyola (1556-1609), a Spanish Catholic priest who founded the Society of Jesus, also known as the Jesuit order. As a child, St. Ignatius wanted to be a soldier. He had a fascination with tales of chivalry and heroic knights that gave him a desire for fame. He was proud, well-dressed, and pursued his military obsession by joining the army at 17 years old. He served for 13 years until his career was ended when his right leg was shattered by a cannonball in battle. During his recovery, he read about the lives of Catholic saints and his fascination with stories of the past turned into a real devotion to God inspired by the holy men and women he read about.
When St. Ignatius regained the ability to walk, he made a pilgrimage to the Holy Land to pray in the places where the real events of salvation history had taken place. He continued to study, compiled his reflections into the Spiritual Exercises, and founded a religious community who adopted St. Ignatius’ Spiritual Exercises as their way of life and prayer. The Jesuit order continues to do incredible work in the areas of religious education and research and formed a number of saints including St. Peter Claver, St. Paul Miki, and Blessed Miguel Pro.
Ignatian spirituality is a way of encountering God in prayer through sensible imagination. This involves imagining oneself within a story or past event (usually from the Bible) and engaging all five senses to paint a picture of the scene. While reflecting on the story of the Feeding of the 5,000, a person would see the events unfolding, hear the words of Jesus and the sound of the sea of Galilee, smell the salt in the air, feel the the loaves and fishes in their hands, and taste their flavor as they read through the text. In doing this, a person can encounter the presence and reality of God more deeply. The passage ceases to be a story and becomes a real event that connects with our own experience.
God is real. Jesus is real. The Holy Spirit is real. God is not in the same category as a mythological creature or a legend, like Hercules or the tooth fairy. He is real and can be experienced in a real, tangible way through the senses. In looking back into the past events of Scripture and salvation history, engaging the senses can help a person enter into specific moments to experience God in new ways. Seeing God’s action more clearly in the past can help a person better discern and welcome Him into the present moment.
Praying Like an Ignatian
Ignatian spirituality is most attractive to people who have a love and appreciation for tradition and history. They love to see the events of the past come alive in prayer, through the different seasons of the liturgical year (Advent, Christmas, Lent, Easter), and the special liturgical celebrations during Holy Week. Ignatians crave and appreciate a sense of continuity with the past as they journey toward a particular goal in the areas of prayer or personal growth.
Ignatians need consistency in their prayer life. They are usually organized because they need to be in order to stay disciplined in prayer. Setting consistent time aside
for prayer every day will be the best way for them to experience a deeper, more vibrant relationship with God. Practicing sensible imagination while reading the daily Gospel would be a valuable form of daily prayer. When reading the Bible, Ignatians benefit from asking the question, “What did this mean then and how can I better understand it today?” This might also inspire insightful questions about the Bible that drive them into a deeper understanding and knowledge through personal research. The Ignatian fascination with the past can also take the form of personal reflection on the events of a person’s own life. The Ignatian Examen is a practice typically done once or twice a day during which one walks through the events of the past day or half-day, reflects on what they experienced, how they encountered God, how they could have done better, and allows their reflection to inspire them to seek and follow God more faithfully going forward.
To begin exploring Ignatian spirituality, a person should spend time reflecting on their own life with God, and commit to a daily schedule of encountering God in Scripture using sensible imagination. If a person tends to view God like a mythical being who is far away in the sky, they can spend time in prayer seeing themselves as the next “link in the great chain of believers” (CCC 166), reflecting upon how God has worked in the past and led them to where they are today. They can experience God who is as real now as He was in the past, who loves them and desires to be in relationship with them. It has been said that “those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it” (George Santayana). The Ignatian would modify that and say, “Those who cannot remember the past will never see it bear fruit in the present.”
"Lectio Divina"
"Lectio Divina" is an ancient form of prayer that very much goes along with the Ignatian form of spirituality. The phrase literally means "divine reading". "Lectio Divina" is a process of meditation using a passage from scripture. We have used a form of "Lectio Divina" during our Sunday gatherings.
The standard process of "Lectio Divina" can be summarized using the words: Lectio (Read), Meditatio (Meditate), Oratio (Pray), and Contemplatio Contemplate).
1.) Lectio (Read): Read the passage at least twice. If you are doing this as a group, have a different person read the passage. When reading, read slowly so you can clearly understand each word. Pause at least briefly in-between readings. You can even use two different translations, since each translation of scripture can offer something slightly different.
2.) Meditatio (Meditate): Now, read the passage again, to yourself. While reading this time, concentrate on any words, phrases, or images that may come to your mind and stop as soon as you think of them. Repeat the word, phrase, or imagine in your mind over and over. Think about why this word, image, or phrase is interesting to you, and why it might be important for you. This might come easily to you, or it might require some more time and patience. When you have taken some time with that word, image, or phrase, keep reading and repeat this process until you reach the end of the passage. There might be multiple times in the passage where this happens, that is fine. Stop each time and meditate on that word, image, or phrase.
3.) Oratio (Pray): Take that word, image, or phrase to prayer, and ask God to help you understand why this is important.
4.) Contemplatio (Contemplate): Now, take time in silence and allow the Lord to speak to you in that silence. Sit still with God, realizing that in this deep and profound relationship, words are not necessary. Be content and at peace with a wordless, quiet rest in God, which brings joy to the heart. Remember that contemplation is not your action or doing, rather it is allowing God to act in you.
Try it for yourself! Use any passage from Scripture. Can't decide on a passage? Try my favorite: Luke 5:1-11.
An Ignatian Example of "Lectio Divina"
Ignatian meditation involves using your senses when meditating on a scripture passage. Let's use that passage above: Luke 5:1-11 as an example of how to do an Ignatian Lectio Divina meditation.
While the crowd was pressing in on Jesus
and listening to the word of God,
he was standing by the Lake of Gennesaret.
He saw two boats there alongside the lake;
the fishermen had disembarked
and were washing their nets.
Getting into one of the boats,
the one belonging to Simon,
he asked him to put out a short distance from the shore. Then he sat down and taught the crowds from the boat.
After he had finished speaking, he said to Simon,
“Put out into deep water
and lower your nets for a catch.”
Simon said in reply,
“Master, we have worked hard all night
and have caught nothing,
but at your command I will lower the nets.”
When they had done this,
they caught a great number of fish
and their nets were tearing.
They signaled to their partners
in the other boat to come to help them.
They came and filled both boats
so that they were in danger of sinking.
When Simon Peter saw this,
he fell at the knees of Jesus and said,
“Depart from me, Lord, for I am a sinful man.”
For astonishment at the catch of fish they had made seized him and all those with him,
and likewise James and John, the sons of Zebedee,
who were partners of Simon.
Jesus said to Simon,
“Do not be afraid;
from now on you will be catching men.”
When they brought their boats to the shore,
they left everything and followed him.
1.) Begin in a short prayer; invite the Holy Spirit to guide this time with Sacred Scripture.
2.) Read through the passage once without stopping.
3.) Next, read the passage again, this time imagine yourself in the scene. You are standing by the Sea of Galilee. You can see the disciples are around you. Imagine what the weather is like. Smell the air next to the water. Feel the breeze. Hear the waves. Hear the disciples as they are working on their boats. Hear Jesus call to them. Listen for their response. Feel their tension. Go through the scene and use all your senses.
After you finish, conclude with these questions:
4.) What did you see, hear, taste, touch, or smell while imagining this passage? What did you notice or experience that you did not realize the first time through?
5.) What do you think God is saying to you specifically through the things that stood out? What is burning on your heart today? What is Jesus revealing to you right now?