Throughout much of the world, Jesuits are known for their colleges, universities, and high schools, as well as their retreat ministries and parishes. Their distinctive spirituality attracts even more people who are searching for greater meaning and faith. Saint Ignatius of Loyola, founder of the Jesuits, developed a way of praying that helps people “find God in all things.” This is the signature spirituality of the Jesuits.
He gathered a small group of companions united in a method of prayer patterned on his own experience of conversion, and together, they established the Society of Jesus in 1540.
Ignatian spirituality is grounded in the conviction that God is active in our world. As the great Jesuit paleontologist, Pierre Teilhard de Chardin wrote: “God is not remote from us. He is at the point of my pen, my pick, my paintbrush, my needle — and my heart and my thoughts.” The spiritual path laid out by Ignatius is a way of discerning God’s presence in our everyday lives. And doing something about it.
The Jesuits have a training manual for this search. It is the Spiritual Exercises of Saint Ignatius, composed by the saint before he was even a priest. Often described as Ignatius’s greatest gift to the world, these exercises unfold a dynamic process of prayer, meditation, and self-awareness. The basic thrust is to make us more attentive to God’s activity in our world and more responsive to what God is calling us to do. Ignatian retreat directors guide people through the Exercises in retreat houses, parishes, and other settings.
Ignatian spirituality is not merely an inward journey, much less a self-absorbed one. It aims to bring people more deeply into the world — with gratitude, passion, and humility — not away from it. Ignatius called on the Jesuits to be “contemplatives in action.” Today, Jesuits and their lay collaborators work with people in many walks of life, such as education and business. Wherever they serve, they help nurture “men and women for others.”
JesuitPrayer.org is an online community created by the Midwest Jesuits. You can download a free app to receive daily Scripture, Ignatian Reflection and Prayer. JesuitPrayer.org is also available in your browser or via email.
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