Ignatian Spirituality

Ignatian Spirituality is the spirituality of the Society of Jesus, the Jesuits and is based on the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatian of Loyola, who was the founder of the Jesuits.  In this section, I will present different forms of Ignatian prayer.

I will begin with one of the key forms of prayer, that St. Ignatius used to perform many times a day and recommends that people should pray what he called the Examen of Conscience at least once a day.  For Jesuits, Ignatius recommended that we pray it at least twice a day and if prayer time was going to be short for the day, that the Examen should have priority over all other forms of prayer.

 

Examen of Conscience:

The Examen of Conscience helps me to check how I have acted during the day—not what its significance is, or how I felt about it, but what I have done or failed to do.  The examen is prayer.  That means my reflection during the examen is not about myself but is about the relationship of my experiences and actions to God's call. 

Please click the Examen of Conscience link to find out more information.