Introduction to the guided Ignatian meditations

Introduction:

Saint Ignatius of Loyola developed the Spiritual Exercises to help people live happier, more loving and more fruitful lives. The Spiritual Exercises are based on Ignatius’ own personal prayer experiences and those of the people he guided. They have been used by the church for centuries to help people see the relevance of Bible texts to their own daily lives. The emphasis is on developing a deeper and highly personal relationship with the God who loves us as well as enabling us to get to know Jesus more and love Him more deeply so that we can follow Him more closely becoming the kind of Christians God wants us to be.

Ignatius was a knight when he was a young man and fought many fierce battles. He lived life passionately and had at least one illegitimate child. After being seriously wounded by a cannonball in battle he spent a long year recovering in the family castle. He longed to read but the only books available in the castle were a book on the life of Christ and a book on the lives of saints. He was deeply moved by these books and discovered that the consolation he felt when imagining a life following Christ was deeper and more longer lasting than the consolation which he felt when daydreaming about winning the affections of a very highly placed lady. He chose to follow Christ and embarked on a long and difficult path which eventually led to his setting up a new religious order together with several companions. The Society of Jesus, the order of the Jesuits, was born. During the years after his conversion Ignatius tried as hard as he could to rid himself of the guilt he carried regarding his earlier life. He went endlessly to confession, fasted very strictly and indulged in many penances. Nothing helped. He was still weighed down by feelings of unworthiness and guilt. Until one day when sitting by the river Cardoner his eyes were opened and he received a strong spiritual insight into God’s unconditional love. He could not earn God’s love and he did not deserve it but God truly loved him totally unconditionally. This vivid experience changed Ignatius’ life forever. He wrote the Spiritual exercises based on this experience and tried to help as many souls as possible grow in their personal relationship with God. The emphasis was on helping people learn to discern what God desired for them. The spiritual exercises are still helping people learn to discern and live happier lives to this day. The grace Ignatius received on the banks of the river Cardoner has grown into a grace for thousands of people over centuries and remains just as relevant today as in the time of Ignatius.

Our Ignatian meditations follow the structure and phases of the Spiritual Exercises closely over a period of 33 weeks. Normally the Spiritual Exercises are made in an abbey or monastery praying for 5 hours a day for 30 days. Many people choose to follow the exercises in daily life because this fits in better with their lives at the moment. People who commit to the Spiritual Exercises in daily life will pray (meditate) every day for 33 weeks. It is a requirement to have a Spiritual Director who is fully trained in giving the exercises and will usually see you every week. The spiritual director listens to your experiences during prayer, guiding you to see more clearly how God is communicating with you and helping you to enter more deeply into a personal relationship with God. The Ignatian spirituality is based on a strong conviction that God is seeking a personal relationship with every single person. Ignatian spirituality is concerned with developing the personal relationship with God. It does not focus on the rules of the Church or particular theologies.

It might sound easy to say we just need to respond to God’s invitation to embark on a personal relationship with Him but it is anything but easy. As an introduction to the experience of the Ignatian meditations which help us develop that personal relationship with God and Jesus, we will have a guided meditation in the chapel for half an hour. The meditations usually follow the same structure. We start by stating the theme for the week (chosen to fit in with the dynamics of the Spiritual Exercises) and suggesting what we may desire for the half hour meditation. Remember that any other desires you may have which are personal to you are just as important and should also be expressed when you start your prayer with God. We then enter the calm, still atmosphere of the meditation by playing a piece of music. Afterwards a Bible text is read and suggestions are made to help you connect the Bible text with your own life at this moment in time. Usually, we then meditate silently for about 5 minutes. The person giving the meditation will then make some more suggestions to help you pray with the Bible text. Again, there will be about 5 minutes of silence. Normally, there are 3 moments when the guide breaks the silence to make suggestions. At the end of the meditation the music is played again.

We then move quietly into the tea room where we have tea or coffee and biscuits and take part in what is called “a spiritual conversation”. A spiritual conversation involves each person sharing something of their thoughts and feelings during the meditation. Sometimes people prefer to just listen to others and remain silent and this is also fine. While a person is sharing the others listen attentively without interrupting or asking questions. We usually allow a moment of silence after someone has shared. When everyone has had the chance to share, we pour a second cup of tea or coffee and everyone is invited for a second round of sharing. During the second round, people are invited to share what touched them or moved them while listening during the first round. Occasionally we have a third round where we simply share what we are taking home with us after the evening together in prayer.

It is worth saying more about this spiritual conversation. It is the foundation on which discernment in common and the synodal process are based and is very much something for the Church at this moment in time. The Superior General of the Jesuits is asking all Jesuits to give this some special attention. When we share our experiences of prayer with each other the sharing itself is a form of prayer. We are listening to each other knowing that God is with us. When we are moved by something someone shares, we know that God is telling us something important about our own lives. We have become so used to thinking of prayer as an individual activity. I sit alone with God. It can be quite challenging to accept that a spiritual conversation is also prayer and can deepen our experience of personal, individual prayer. But pay attention to what happens when we all pray together in a circle and then share our experiences and you will become very aware of how your spiritual life deepens. Church means community and this sharing of our spiritual experiences with each other enriches that feeling of community.

It is very important to emphasize that people need to feel totally safe in order to share deep experiences with each other. Everything that we share with each other after the Ignatian meditations remains in this room and is not talked about any more.

We will now proceed to the chapel for a guided meditation. If you haven’t experienced this before just allow yourself to gently try it this first time. If you get distracted by other thoughts just try to bring yourself back to the text you are praying with. It takes several sessions meditating before you manage to get easily into the rhythm. Just be gentle and patient with yourself.

Sometimes my prayer can be very dull and boring and nothing spiritual seems to happen at all. If that happens, I tell God that I will stay faithfully sitting in silent prayer as a token of my love for him. It can help me to then spend my prayer time considering my desire for real spiritual contact with God.

Sometimes something special may happen during prayer: a moment when I feel God has touched me, a word or sentence which truly moves me revealing something important to me, a thought which takes my breath away. These moments are rare and precious gifts. I can’t make such a special moment during prayer happen. It is a grace bestowed upon me by God and my only response can be one of deep gratitude. I will probably not experience many of these special moments of grace during my prayer but when they do happen, I can pay full attention to expressing my thankfulness to God.

The theme, “God’s Unconditional Love”, has been chosen because Ignatius emphasized the importance of beginning the exercises by reflecting on this unconditional love of God.

In the Chapel:

To prepare for meditation I try to sit in a comfortable position with both feet on the ground and my hands relaxed in my lap. It helps to keep my back straight. I become aware of my breathing. Without forcing anything I breathe deeply in through my nose then slowly and gently out through my mouth. I pay attention to my breathing for a few breaths.

I place myself before God and become aware of how He is looking at me lovingly as a friend.

The theme is God’s unconditional love for each person. Nobody can earn that love.It is given freely and undeserved. It is a grace to be received.

What I may desire is to become fully aware of God’s love for me, just as I am.

Music: Ubi Caritas Taizé

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Luke 15: 11-24 (The Prodigal Son)

Then He (Jesus) said, ‘There was a man who had two sons. The younger one said to his father, “Father, let me have the share of the estate that will come to me.” So, the father divided the property between them. A few days later, the younger son got together everything he had and left for a distant country where he squandered his money in loose living. ‘When he had spent it all, that country experienced a severe famine, and now he began to be in need; so he hired himself out to one of the local inhabitants who sent him into the fields to feed the pigs. And he would willingly have filled himself with the pods which the pigs were eating, but no one would let him have them. Then he came to his senses and said, “How many of my father’s hired men have all the food they want and more, and here am I dying of hunger! I will get up and go to my father and say: “Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you; I no longer deserve to be called your son; treat me as one of your hired men.”

I step into this story and look attentively at the faces of the people involved. I listen to what is being said. What feelings or thoughts are stirred up in me?

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So, he got up and went back to his father. ‘While he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was moved with pity. He ran to the boy, clasped him in his arms and kissed him. Then his son said, “Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I no longer deserve to be called your son.” But the father said to his servants, “Quick! Bring out the best robe and put it on him; put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. Bring the fattened calf, and kill it; we will celebrate by having a feast, because this son of mine was dead and has come back to life; he was lost and is found.” And they began to celebrate.

The young man in this story had behaved very badly. He deserved to be punished. But his father never mentioned his behaviour and showed no anger. He embraced his son and showed only love and great joy. I watch this scene slowly unfold. What does it evoke in me?

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I imagine myself standing before God. He shows me only love and great joy. Can I truly receive that grace?

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Music: Ubi Caritas