The Spiritual Exercises by Saint Ignatius of Loyola

First published:Ejercicios espirituales, 1548 (English translation, 1736)

Edition(s) used:The Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius, translated by Anthony Mottola with an introduction by Robert W. Gleason. Garden City, N.Y.: Image Books, 1964

Genre(s): Nonfiction

Subgenre(s): Didactic treatise; guidebook; instructional manual; meditation and contemplation

Core issue(s):Agape; Catholics and Catholicism; contemplation; daily living; devotional life; discipline; fasting; guidance; holiness; Holy Spirit; humility; Jesus Christ; monasticism; mysticism; prayer; purgation; purity; self-control

Overview

Born of a noble family in the Basque region of northern Spain, Ignatius of Loyola embarked on a military career, intending to become a soldier. At the battle of Pamplona in 1521, he received a severe leg wound that left him disabled. During his painful period of recovery, he spent long periods in prayer and study of the lives of the saints. Through numerous mystical experiences, he concluded that God was calling him to be a soldier for Christ. He spent several years in study and contemplation, with an extended period (1528-1535) in Paris. There in 1534, he and six of his friends constituted the Society of Jesus with a concern to extend apostolic witness wherever they went. In 1540 Pope Paul III approved the Jesuits as an official order of the Roman Catholic Church, with Loyola as its first “general.” The Spiritual Exercises, which he began writing as early as the 1520’s but revised throughout his life, served as a guide to the spiritual life of the Jesuit order. It has become a textbook for spiritual renewal and discipline used by persons throughout the Church.

The materials that make up The Spiritual Exercises were written over a period of several years and grew out of the religious devotion and idealism of Loyola himself. They represent a handbook of Christian spirituality intended to move the faithful to ever-increasing maturity through moral reflection, meditation, and discipline. Just as the worldly soldier prepares for warfare through an unending series of drills and exercises, the Christian soldier must prepare for the battle against evil. The Spiritual Exercises therefore constitute a training manual for life in the Spirit. By following this organized spiritual method, the Christian grows and matures in the faith and knowledge of the Lord.

The book is divided into basic sections, each to be practiced for one week. The time spent on each exercise may vary from a month to a few days. There is freedom to extend or restrict the time available for the observance. A brief introductory session provides “directions” for understanding the nature of the material and preparing the heart of the pilgrim for spiritual reflection. These introductory directions are aimed at purifying the person of sin and worldly distractions. Each exercise seeks to lead the believer to continuous reflection on the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ to the end that Christ’s love may be experienced anew. The instructions also suggest that the spiritual exercises are best observed under the guidance of a retreat master or spiritual mentor. In fact, younger Christians require such direction for the proper use of the exercises. Special instructions to the “master of the exercises” are provided throughout the book.

The first week is a time of spiritual purgation and preparation. In this section Loyola defines the purpose of the exercises as intended to help the seeker “to conquer himself and to regulate his life so that he will not be influenced in his decisions by any inordinate attachment.” The pilgrim thus learns to practice Christian discipline in such a way as to reject everything that might distract from Christ. Spiritual renewal, therefore, begins with self-examination. The chief end of human beings is to “praise, reverence and serve God.” Any activity that helps achieve that goal is acceptable for the Christian. Any activity that inhibits the goal is unacceptable. The “exercitants” (those who practice the exercises) are called upon to examine their lives with utmost honesty and intensity. No sin, mortal or venial, is to be overlooked. One is “to ask the grace to know my sins and to free myself from them.”

The first exercise also establishes some basic spiritual steps that are repeated in all other sections of the book. These include the “preparatory prayer” and the first and second “prelude.” The preparatory prayer is an invocation of divine grace upon the individual that all “intentions, actions and works” may be completely devoted to the service and praise of God. The first prelude calls the participant to focus mental attention on a particular place (location) in which the object or event of contemplation occurs. The mind thus moves back in time to significant moments in the life of the Virgin or Christ. The exercitant may be asked to create a mental image of Mary receiving the Annunciation, or of Christ in the carpenter shop, on the cross, or by the seashore.

The second prelude involves supplication, asking God for what one wants, needs, or desires. Such desires are not whimsical or self-centered but are prompted by the specific subject matter of the exercise. When reflecting on the Resurrection one asks for joy. When meditating on the Crucifixion one seeks sorrow and tears.

Participants are required to devote a portion of every day to the examining of the conscience—morning, noon, and evening. Explicit instructions are given regarding the process of confession and repentance in the continuing life of the Christian.

The use of the imagination is a major factor in the spiritual discipline of the exercises. Exercitants are required to use their imagination throughout. In the meditation on hell, for example, the reader is urged to feel the heat, smell the brimstone, and hear the screams of the damned. On another occasion, one is to imagine being bound in chains and standing before God in judgment. Through the intensity of visualization, the believer moves to spiritual sensations. The spiritual life involves the discipline of the mind.

The second week of the exercises involves meditation on the kingdom of Christ. During this week the imitatio Christi, the imitation of Christ, is urged upon the participant. Through reflection on Christ, his birth and activity in the world, the Christian learns to imitate his life. Meditation on the Incarnation and the Nativity provide spiritual insight into the nature of Christ, his humanity and divinity. In fact, Loyola suggests that the pilgrim read passages from Imitatio Christi (c. 1427; The Imitation of Christ, c. 1460-1530) by Thomas à Kempis or from the saints’ lives during this week of meditation.

In considering the Incarnation, participants meditate on the many peoples of the world, their sins and sorrows, and the desire of God to save them. In preparing for the Incarnation, the individual considers “what I should say to the Three Divine Persons, or the eternal Word Incarnate, or to His Mother and our Lady.” Those who wish to explore the nature of Christ’s divinity are asked to imagine “the infinite fragrance and sweetness of Divinity” in order to secure “spiritual profit.”

The intensity of the meditation is evident in the “observation” that the exercise on the Incarnation be observed at midnight, daybreak, at Mass, at Vespers, and before supper, each time for at least one hour. Instructions acknowledge that the pilgrims will experience exhaustion, physical and spiritual, after the first full week of activities. Thus some exceptions might be made: The midnight observance may be omitted.

This week of exercises also focuses on the virtues of the kingdom life. Meditations concentrate on “the two standards” for human behavior, Christ and Satan. One reflects on the evils of the demonic as contrasted with the beauty of Christ. On the same day the exercitant concentrates on “the three classes of men” and the question of attachment to the things of this world. The end of such meditations is that persons shall learn how to act as God inspires them. Those who know Christ have “broken all the attachments,” desiring only those things that God permits.

After reflection on specific occurrences in the life of Jesus, the exercises turn to the “three modes of humility.” Each marks a steady progression to a higher degree of humility and self-denial.

During the second week, Loyola gives serious attention to the role of free will and “choice” in spiritual life. How does one make choices to marry or remain celibate, or to discern the will of God in all things? Proper choices may be good or indifferent and may be accomplished only as God acts on the human will “to reveal to my spirit what I should do to best promote His praise and glory in the matter of choice.” Such decisions are best made when one has cultivated enough other spiritual disciplines to experience “a time of tranquillity” when the soul acts “freely and calmly” in using its divine resources.

The third week of exercises is directed toward meditation on the sufferings of Christ. Exercitants reflect on the events that led up to Christ’s death—the Last Supper, the Garden, his arrest and trials, his crucifixion and burial. Using the imagination, the pilgrim returns to the places and events of Christ’s passion, the road from Bethany to Jerusalem, the upper room, the house of Pilate, the hill of Golgotha, the sepulchre of his burial.

Rules for the use of food and drink and the practice of fasting are included in this section. Food is never to be a distraction from the life of the Spirit. Even while eating, the Christian should focus concentration on the spiritual realm, contemplating Christ’s presence at meals, the lives of the saints, and the need for temperance in all things.

The fourth and final week requires contemplation of the resurrection of Christ and the experience of divine love, the ultimate goal of all Christian spirituality. Through these exercises the believer discovers the wholeness of faith and unity with God. Contemplation becomes a means of attaining divine love expressed in “deeds rather than words.” A portion of this chapter is devoted to the three methods of prayer, each leading to greater intimacy with God. The first method involves moral contemplation, using the Ten Commandments, the seven capital (deadly) sins, and the five senses as guides for purification of the self. The second method of prayer involves careful contemplation of each word of such selected prayers as the “Our Father” (Lord’s Prayer), the “Hail Mary,” and the Creed (Apostles’). Instructions include the position of prayer, kneeling or sitting, with eyes closed or focused on one spot, and the considerations for each word of the prayer. The third method involves a “rhythmical recitation,” a process of breathing out the same selected prayers in “rhythmical measure.” The major portion of this final exercise, however, is given to meditation on the “mysteries” of Christ’s life, from the Annunciation to his resurrection appearances. These reflections are taken directly from the text of the Gospels.

The book concludes with a section containing various rules for Christian living. These include rules for discernment of spirits, for distribution of alms, and for proper “thinking with the church.” The section on discerning the spirits gives particular attention to periods of “desolation” that may overtake the Christian. Loyola advises that during such times one should avoid all rash behavior and continue to stand firm in the faith. The Spirit brings consolation, not confusion, during such stressful times. Christians should also understand the nature of the enemy, Satan, and how he acts to entrap them. He works in secrecy, “like a false lover who wishes to remain hidden” and as an “angel of light” who entices the soul to his own evil “designs and wickedness.”

“Rules for thinking with the church” provide advice on proper mental attitudes in the “Church Militant.” Loyola recommends frequent participation in worship and reception of the most holy sacrament at least once a year, preferably once each week. He also urges conformity to Church doctrine and the careful study of the doctors of the Church (theology). This devotion, like all others in the exercises, provides a means of continued conformity of the soul to the image of Christ.

Christian Themes

The Spiritual Exercises of Saint Ignatius of Loyola provides the seeker with a manual of vigorous military discipline in the spiritual life. It is a guide to Christian maturity that offers instruction in the freedom of the Spirit within the security of religious structure. A classic of the Church’s devotional life, its prescriptions can be summarized as follows:

•The spiritual life is a life of rigorous discipline.

•The Christian disciple must reflect continuously upon the life, death, and resurrection of Christ.

•Continued self-examinations are necessary for spiritual growth.

•The imitation of Christ is the essence of Christian discipleship.

•Meditation on the Incarnation prepares the soul for spiritual experience.

•The experience of divine love is the ultimate goal of Christian spirituality.

•Prayer is the means to greater intimacy with God.

•All devotion is a means to conformity to the image of Christ.

Sources for Further Study

Barthel, Manfred. The Jesuits: History and Legend of the Society of Jesus. New York: W. Morrow, 1987. A history of the Jesuit order from its beginning to the present.

Donnelly, John Patrick. Ignatius of Loyola: Founder of the Jesuits. New York: Longman, 2004. An interpretive biography that places Loyola and his spirituality in the context of the Reformation. Includes a bibliography and index.

Lonsdale, David. Eyes to See, Ears to Hear: An Introduction to Ignatian Spirituality. Maryknoll, N.Y.: Orbis Books, 2000. A good introduction to Ignatian spirituality in general, with a chapter devoted to The Spiritual Excerises.

Loyola, Ignatius. The Autobiography of St. Ignatius Loyola. New York: Harper & Row, 1974. A spiritual autobiography.

Wulf, Fredrich, ed. Ignatius of Loyola: His Personality and Spiritual Heritage, 1556-1956. Saint Louis, Mo.: Institute of Jesuit Resources, 1977. Essays on Ignatius and the Jesuits on the four hundredth anniversary of his death.