Praying with Saint Ignatius of Loyola - Catholic Saints

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[00:01]
A
Hi, I'm James Prothero, Associate professor at the Augustine Institute Graduate School of Theology. We hope you've enjoyed listening to and learning from our professors on this and all our podcasts. The Augustine Institute Graduate School exists to make Christ and his church better known and loved through the exercise of academic study. With St. Augustine as our guide, we focus on the narrative of Scripture and the evangelization of the culture. Faculty and students alike immerse themselves in the rich sources of the Catholic faith, drawing upon sacred Scripture, the catechism of the Catholic Church, and the writings of the fathers and doctors of the church. We have 550 students and over a thousand alumni serving the church in parishes, dioceses, schools, the academy apostolates, the domestic church, and even the secular world. With master's degrees in theology, past Pastoral Theology, Catholic Education, and Biblical Studies. Our programs are for anyone looking to go deeper in their faith. Are you interested in studying theology with the professors of this podcast? Earn your degree online or on campus in St. Louis, Missouri. Apply now for the coming term of study. Learn more at augustine. Edu.
[01:15]
B
You're listening to a podcast on Catholic Saints. This podcast is produced by the Augustine Institute, an apostolate helping Catholics understand, live and share their faith.
[01:33]
C
Hello and welcome to Catholic Saints, the podcast about the lives of the saints and their legacy for the church and for us. I'm Dr. Jessica Ewell, and joining me today is Father Tegan Jee. Welcome, Father. It's great to have you.
[01:47]
D
Thank you, Jessica. It's a pleasure to be here with you.
[01:52]
C
Today we're going to be trying something a little different. One way that the saints help us is through modeling a life of prayer that brought them closer to God. By learning from the ways they prayed, we too can grow in our relationship with God. During this episode, we're going to learn from Saint Ignatius of Loyola about prayer. Before we jump in today, can you tell us, Father, a little bit about the favorite course that you teach in the graduate school? Do you have a favorite course and what is it?
[02:22]
D
Yes, My favorite course so far has been A Mystery of God. It's a course on the Trinity, and it invites us into an intellectual and prayerful contemplation of the very life of God and himself. And this has been revealed to us in Scripture, probed over the centuries through intellectual pondering and search of the saints and martyrs and scholars. And it has been so exciting teaching this course, especially hearing of and witnessing the immense transformation and experiences of my students. So I love teaching.
[02:55]
C
It sounds fascinating. Today is the feast of St. Ignatius of Loyola, July 31st.
[03:02]
D
Yes.
[03:02]
C
And we're going to be talking about what we can learn from him about prayer. But before we do that, maybe we can do a little bit of a recap of who he was when he lived. And by the way, for those of you who are interested in learning more about his life, you can find another episode on St. Ignatius just by typing St. Ignatius into the search when you're on the Augustine Institute channel. So, Father, where shall we start with his life recap?
[03:27]
D
Yes, Ignatius of Loyola was born in the year 1419, and he was the youngest of 13 children. And he lived, of course, in Spain and is often referred to as the Spanish soldier, tent mystic because of his earlier background as a soldier and later on becoming a mystic of the Catholic Church.
[03:50]
C
So he probably saw a lot of action, a lot of events. Can you tell us a little bit about some important things going on in history during his life?
[03:59]
D
Yes, there are quite a lot of things going on around the time of Saint Ignatius or Ignatius, who becomes a saint. The first is the Protestant Reformation, which started in the year 1517, just around when he was a young man. And of course, we know how that unfolded in church history leading up to the Council of Trent, the Counter Reformation. And Ignatius, interestingly, is going to found an order, the Society of Jesus or the Jesuits. And a good number of these Jesuits will become very instrumental in the Counter Reformation, the life of the Church. A good example being Robert Bellarmine and even so many missionaries who were sent into the New World when explorations went on, when European explorers went to Asia, especially Francis Xavier. He also was a Jesuit. So he was very important, Ignatius was very important in the life of the church around the 16th century. And one of the most important or life changing experiences around that time of his life was in 1521, you know, in the Battle of Pamplona. And legend goes that he actually was fighting in that battle when he sustained an injury and he feared he was going to die. And this was a crucial moment for the future saint. He was bedridden for almost a year. And when he was, when he asked for reading material in his normal way of just debauchery lifestyle, he asked for romantic stuff or things about the knights and conquest and power. He was rather given material on the life of Christ and of the saints. And when he read that, it was the moment when he had this tremendous transformation which will later on lead him to talk about a discernment of spirits, when he experienced consolations and desolations. And eventually this will become the foundation for what has come down to us as a spiritual exercise of St. Ignatius.
[05:49]
C
So we start with a book or two books, as it were, and the great power of literature and the imagination. And I'm sure you're going to talk more about his imagination in his prayer life. But it's really neat to think about how his imagination was really the leader in his conversion experience. Right. Instead of another, you know, thinking about facts that are removed from the imagination. He entered through that. It's really neat.
[06:17]
D
Yes.
[06:18]
C
What else would you like to tell us about his life before we move on? Any big miracles or any works or any other things that you want to make sure we cover before we move
[06:28]
D
into prayer with a figure like Ignatius? There's just so much out there that you can learn about, you know. But one of the things which I find interesting when we talk about miracles, it's the mystical experiences he had, which will begin right from the moment of his conversion. And we're going to see a little bit more about that. And also he was known for his levitations during prayer and some of the exorcisms and deliverance associated with him, and even after his death, when he was involved in those cases. And, of course, when it comes to works or letters, he wrote more than 7,000 letters during his lifetime, especially when he was the leader or the leader of the Society of Jesus, which he himself founded. And also, the Spiritual Exercises are about the most widely known and beautiful of all the works that have come down to us from Saint Ignatius of Loyola.
[07:23]
C
We could do a whole series of podcasts on St. Ignatius. And when you talk about levitations, you mean that he was raised above the ground in prayer, right?
[07:32]
D
Yes, raised above the ground in prayer. And there are so many saints, Joseph, Cupertino, and many others who are known for such interesting mystical phenomena.
[07:41]
C
Wow. So in those mystical phenomena, the. The source of those is his prayer. So let's talk a little bit about that. What do we know about this saint's prayer life, especially about how it relates to his own life and experience?
[07:59]
D
Yes, we know quite a lot, Jessica. In March of 1522, which is around when Ignatius had his accident or his injury during battle in 1521, and he was sick for almost a year. And 1522, he was recovering, and by the time he recovered, he went to Montserrat and spent the whole night in prayer at the shrine there, often known as the Shrine of the Black Madonna, where he spent almost the whole night in prayer, actually. And in this moment, he abandoned, or at this Shrine abandoned his sword and all the noble garments and cloaks and everything that came with his prestigious position in the military. And also his family.
[08:40]
A
He.
[08:40]
D
He was from a minor noble family. He abandoned everything there and took on a life of poverty and pilgrimage, which brought him to Manresa that same year. And he lived there in a cave outside of the town. And it was here that he took to serious prayer and meditation and reflection, which shaped the rest of his life. He would think through his own emotions. His imagination was very active. And all of this in relation to the love of God and. And how God was impacting his life. And the two most important things which come out in this way of prayer by Ignatius at this point of his life were the two feelings of, on the one hand, desolation and on the other hand, consolation, which became foundational for his exercise or practice of the discernment of spirits. And broadly speaking, or even more broadly speaking, the spiritual exercise of Ignatius. So that was very important for him at that point.
[09:38]
C
Can you, for those who aren't as familiar with Ignatian prayer, what does he mean by desolation and what does he mean by consolation? How are those really important? And can you talk a little bit about what discernment of spirits is?
[09:52]
D
Yes, yes. So with desolation, it has to do with a feeling of sadness, of sorrow, a feeling of regrets, and all the negative feelings you may think of, which arise from a sense of one's own sinfulness, brokenness and unworthiness. Basically, it's a feeling that arises from evil when you think of an evil thought or an evil experience or something which is opposed to the will of God. That's desolation. And consolation is a spirit of affirmation, the feeling of affirmation of love, of gratefulness, of gratitude, which arises from the Spirit of God, basically, or from goodness or that which is good. For Ignatius, we could easily make discernment or discern between good and evil with respect to how whatever it is that is the object or subject of discernment makes us feel or makes us recognize the working of God in us or the working of the Spirit in us. Is it a matter of desolation or is it a matter of consolation? So if it's desolation, you can know that it is something which is of evil origin or which leads to evil or lends more to evil, of consolation. Is something of God or leads to
[11:11]
C
God something that is really important? We are faced with a lot of choices in our daily lives, some of which are more serious than others. And so this is a really important tool that we have for us today. And we can build on our knowledge of this, of course, with a director, a knowledgeable spiritual director. Right. What other unique aspects of his prayer life have we adopted widely in the Church today?
[11:43]
D
Yes, the most famous is the Spiritual Exercises, which, like you rightly mentioned, is preferably undertaken with the help of a wise and learned spiritual director. But anyone can actually practice exercises, and there's a lot from these that we can learn, even for our daily prayer life and our daily existence or experience. And the Spiritual Exercises are basically a series of prayers, meditations, and contemplative practices in seeking God. And they are structured around four weeks and weeks here do not mean chronological weeks, basically like four stages, if you wish. And the first of it is meditating or reflecting on our lives of sin or our sinfulness. And the goal of this is such that we may be able to follow Christ. It ends on a note of following Christ. And the second is, how then do we follow Christ? And here he calls on us to reflect on Scripture from Christ's birth and baptism, his sermons on the Mount, his ministry of healing and teaching, rising of Lazarus from the dead. And the end or goal of this is to reach the point of decision to change our lives. You can see how this is flowing from his own experience, you know, his own conversion. And when we change our lives, we commit to doing God's will and to love him more intimately. And the third stage in these Spiritual Exercises is to meditate on the Lord's Passion, the Last Supper, the Lord's Passion, death. And for him, we see suffering in this stage and the gift of the Eucharist as the ultimate expression of God's love for us. And this brings us to the fourth stage in these Exercises, which is that of meditating on the resurrection of Jesus Christ and his apparitions to the disciples. We walk with the risen Christ, and we set out to love and to serve in concrete ways as Christ would have us do, and to live our lives for him. And the most beautiful thing is the way this particular section or stage of the Exercises ends. It ends with the contemplation to attain love. And it is in this context that we have the famous Ignatius Prayer, which many persons think of today when they hear St. Ignatius the prayer which goes thus, Lord Jesus Christ, take all my freedom, my memory, my understanding and my will. All that I have and cherish you have given me. I surrender it all to be guided by your will. Your grace and your love and wealth are enough for Me. Give me these, Lord Jesus, and I ask for nothing more. Amen. So those are the beautiful words of prayer, or the famous St Ignatius prayer, which are situated or located within the fourth week on the last section of the spiritual exercise.
[14:25]
C
It's one of my favorite prayers. It is gorgeous.
[14:28]
D
I love it.
[14:28]
C
It's one of my favorite ones. Yes. Looking at this great legacy, what are some specific things that we can take with us and meditate upon from this very famous prayer of St. Ignatius?
[14:42]
D
It's a prayer of radical conversion. Jessica. A prayer of radical conversion because it springs forth even from his own personal life and experience of encountering God and of converting, of turning away. It is a prayer of finding new love and a new mind, basically. And there is this famous line from the autobiography of Saint Ignatius. When he encountered God at the time of his conversion, we came to this river at Cardona, which is near Manresa in northern Spain. And as he sat there, just piercing into this river, he came to this awakening. And he writes about this in his autobiography. And he also writes in the third person. So I'm going to read it. As he wrote it, he sat down, which would mean I sat down, basically. He sat down for a little while with his face to the river Kadona, which was running deep. While he was seated there, the eyes of his understanding began to be opened. Though he did not see any vision, he understood and knew many things, both spiritual things and matters of faith and learning. And this was with so great an enlightenment that everything seemed new to him. It was as if he were a new man with a new intellect. This was so foundational for Ignatius. And even in this prayer he's expressing that conversion means taking on a new mind, a new intellect. He reiterates in a very beautiful way what we can live every day. The command of Christ in the gospel of Matthew 22:37, 40, where Jesus is asking us or inviting us to love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul and all your mind. And if you look at this prayer of Ignatius, what is happening? He is asking us to surrender all these faculties to God. Our freedom, our memory, our understanding, our will. These are all faculties rooted in heart, mind and soul. So it is a deeply biblical prayer rooted in the tradition of radical discipleship and in Ignatius own life, which invites us to surrender everything completely to God. And it's a prayer of total openness. So it really reminds me that we all are called to this total openness to God, seeing God in all things and doing all things for the glory of God. And of course we know the motto of the Jesuits, which comes from Ignatius himself at Maiorem DEI Gloria for the greater glory of God. And he's not unique to Ignatius, of course. You know, it reminds us also of St Teresa of Avila, another great saint, another great Spanish saint who tells us that God alone suffices in her famous prayer. So these are all different ways by which we can learn from this prayer of Ignatius and apply it to our individual lives and experiences.
[17:30]
C
If we wanted to take next steps, somebody's listening and they're like, I really want to know more. I want to learn how to pray the Spiritual Exercises. I want to find out more. What are next steps for them?
[17:44]
D
Yes, Jessica, the very first thing I would say is to begin the practice of daily examine. Daily examining simply means we find quiet time each day to go through our life that day, preferably at the close of the day before we go to bed. And why is this so important? And how does this fit into this legacy of St. Ignatius is because in our daily examine, we can literally go through these four steps, of course, an abbreviated version of Ignatius Spiritual Exercises. The first, we could think of our sinfulness and ask for forgiveness and commit to following Christ more. And then we could reflect on how God's love is calling us through the ministry of Jesus Christ to follow him. That will be the second. And then we can now reflect on the Last Supper or the Passion of Christ that love manifested for us in a special way. And of course we can now ask for the grace to attain this kind of love which unites us with God. And these are myriad off of the Spiritual Exercises of Saint Ignatius of Loyola. And in these Exercises too, the very next big step which we could think about is just the fact of making time for prayer. These Exercises show us that we have to combine, or we can combine contemplation with active life. It's an important thing which we are losing our world to. A fast paced and kind of consumerist or work driven world. We can make time to contemplate God, which does not detract or distant us from our daily activities. And lastly, I would think it's a matter of living by the principles of Ignatian spirituality. You want to follow this example of ignorance, Ignatius, which are basically principles of collaboration with God's will in everything we do. Spiritual discernment in making our choices. Do we go to God to make our daily choices every day or do we just choose and then feed God in generosity in responding to God's will, just surrendering ourselves to God and of course, disposition to find God in all things. And my favorite of all of this is that surrendering here and now, asking the question, in my choosing, in my living, in my acting, am I doing any and all of this for the greater glory of God? That's a practical way to leave the legacy of Ignatius of Loyola so relevant,
[20:09]
C
so relevant for us. We can start acting on that right away. And St. Ignatius has much, much to teach us. So if you're interested, those of you who are listening can do more. Looking into St. Ignatius, we have, as I mentioned earlier, an episode on his life and legacy. If you search that in the Augustine Institute Channel and if you enjoyed this episode with its special focus on praying with the Saints, please let us know by subscribing or by leaving a review. Thank you Father for joining me on Catholic Saints. Saint Ignatius of Loyola pray for us.
[20:44]
D
And thank you Jessica.
[20:47]
B
Thank you for being a dedicated listener to the Catholic Saints podcast. Your support truly uplifts us. For those seeking additional thought provoking content, go to formed.org It's a platform brimming with resources, including insightful videos that align seamlessly with our podcast themes. If you're finding value in our podcast, please consider taking a moment to leave us a review. Your feedback serves as a cornerstone for for our growth and outreach.

Summary5 min read

Podcast Summary: Catholic Saints — Praying with Saint Ignatius of Loyola
Host: Augustine Institute | Date: July 31, 2026
Guests: Dr. Jessica Ewell (Host), Father Tegan Jee (Guest)

Episode Overview

This episode dives into the profound legacy of Saint Ignatius of Loyola, focusing on his transformative approach to prayer and how his methods continue to shape Catholic spirituality today. Dr. Jessica Ewell and Father Tegan Jee discuss Ignatius’ conversion, mystical experiences, and, most importantly, the Spiritual Exercises, exploring how these practices can help the faithful deepen their relationship with God. The episode demystifies key Ignatian concepts—like consolation, desolation, and the daily examen—offering listeners practical ways to incorporate them into everyday life.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Saint Ignatius: Life and Historical Context

Background and Early Life (03:26–03:50)
- Born in 1419 in Spain; the youngest of 13 children; known both as a soldier and a mystic.
- Lived during a tumultuous era, notably the Protestant Reformation, which began in 1517 (03:58).
- Founded the Society of Jesus (Jesuits), whose members were pivotal during the Counter-Reformation and global missionary work (04:20).
Conversion Experience (04:37–05:49)
- In 1521, Ignatius was severely injured during the Battle of Pamplona. His recuperation led to a spiritual awakening after reading about Christ and the saints.
- These readings initiated his trajectory toward a life of prayer and discernment, eventually developing the Spiritual Exercises.

2. Ignatius’ Imagination and Mystical Experiences

Role of Imagination in Faith (05:49–06:16)
- Ignatius’ conversion leveraged his vivid imagination, shifting from fantasies of knighthood to contemplating the lives of Christ and the saints.
Mystical Signs (06:28–07:23)
- Reported to experience mystical phenomena like levitation during deep prayer, wrote over 7,000 letters, and had a reputation for exorcisms and miracles.

3. Ignatian Prayer — Foundations and Practices

Turning Point: Montserrat and Manresa (07:59–09:37)
- After his conversion, Ignatius abandoned his soldierly life, embraced poverty, and spent months in prayer and solitude at Manresa.
- Developed the concepts of consolation (spiritual joy) and desolation (spiritual heaviness) fundamental to his discernment of spirits.
Discernment of Spirits (09:37–11:11)
- Desolation: Feelings of sadness, regret, or separation from God—seen as coming from evil or temptation.
- Consolation: Sense of joy, peace, and closeness to God—viewed as coming from the Holy Spirit.
- These experiences underpin making decisions that align with God’s will.

"For Ignatius, we could easily make discernment…with respect to how whatever it is…makes us feel or makes us recognize the working of God in us… Is it a matter of desolation or is it a matter of consolation?"
— Father Tegan Jee (10:32)

4. The Spiritual Exercises of Saint Ignatius

Structure and Content (11:43–14:25)
- Divided into four “weeks” (stages, not literal weeks):
  1. Reflection on personal sinfulness.
  2. Meditation on Christ’s life, especially key Gospel events.
  3. Contemplation of the Passion and Eucharist as ultimate love.
  4. Focus on the Resurrection and living in service with love (“contemplation to attain love”).
The Take, Lord, Receive Prayer (13:49–14:25)
- Central Ignatian prayer expressing total self-surrender to God.
- Notable Quote:
  "Lord Jesus Christ, take all my freedom, my memory, my understanding and my will. All that I have and cherish you have given me. I surrender it all to be guided by your will…Give me these, Lord Jesus, and I ask for nothing more. Amen."

5. Legacy and Lasting Lessons

Total Surrender to God (14:42–17:29)
- Ignatius’ spirituality is rooted in a “radical conversion” and openness to God, illustrated by both his autobiography and the famous prayer.
- His way calls the faithful to love God with “all your heart, all your soul and all your mind” (cf. Mt 22:37).
Unity with Jesuit Motto
“Ad Maiorem Dei Gloriam — For the greater glory of God.”
Connections to Other Saints
- Parallels with St. Teresa of Avila: both emphasize that “God alone suffices.”

Practical Applications & Next Steps

1. Daily Examen and Spiritual Exercises (17:44–20:09)

Daily Examen:
- Find a quiet time each evening to review the day, reflecting on sinfulness, Christ’s call, the meaning of Christ’s Passion, and a petition for deeper love.
Contemplation and Action:
- Ignatius shows that contemplation does not conflict with active life; both should be integrated, even amidst a fast-paced world.
Adherence to Ignatian Principles:
- Collaboration with God’s will.
- Practicing spiritual discernment.
- Being generous in service.
- Seeking God in all things.
- Always acting for “the greater glory of God.”

"Am I doing any and all of this for the greater glory of God? That's a practical way to live the legacy of Ignatius of Loyola."
— Father Tegan Jee (19:40)

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

On Conversion and Enlightenment (14:42–17:29):
"[Ignatius wrote]…he sat down for a little while with his face to the river Kadona… The eyes of his understanding began to be opened… everything seemed new to him. It was as if he were a new man with a new intellect."
— Father Tegan Jee quoting St. Ignatius’ autobiography (15:15)
On the Relevance of Ignatian Prayer:
"We can make time to contemplate God, which does not detract or distant us from our daily activities."
— Father Tegan Jee (18:47)

Important Timestamps

03:26–04:37 — Biography and historical milieu of Ignatius
04:37–05:49 — Ignatius' injury and spiritual awakening
07:59–09:37 — Ignatius’ retreat to Montserrat and Manresa, early mystical practices
09:37–11:11 — Discernment of spirits, consolation and desolation explained
11:43–14:25 — Structure of the Spiritual Exercises and central Ignatian prayer
14:42–17:29 — Application of Ignatian spirituality, total surrender, and conversion
17:44–20:09 — Practical steps: daily examen and living Ignatian principles

Conclusions

This episode offers an accessible yet profound look at praying with Saint Ignatius of Loyola. Listeners are invited not only to admire his mysticism but to adopt his spiritual practices—discerning God’s will daily, uniting prayer with action, and seeking to surrender wholly to God’s love. Both newcomers and seasoned Catholics will find practical techniques adaptable to their own journey toward closer union with God, “for the greater glory of God.”

Loading summary

Transcript35 lines

[00:01]
A
Hi, I'm James Prothero, Associate professor at the Augustine Institute Graduate School of Theology. We hope you've enjoyed listening to and learning from our professors on this and all our podcasts. The Augustine Institute Graduate School exists to make Christ and his church better known and loved through the exercise of academic study. With St. Augustine as our guide, we focus on the narrative of Scripture and the evangelization of the culture. Faculty and students alike immerse themselves in the rich sources of the Catholic faith, drawing upon sacred Scripture, the catechism of the Catholic Church, and the writings of the fathers and doctors of the church. We have 550 students and over a thousand alumni serving the church in parishes, dioceses, schools, the academy apostolates, the domestic church, and even the secular world. With master's degrees in theology, past Pastoral Theology, Catholic Education, and Biblical Studies. Our programs are for anyone looking to go deeper in their faith. Are you interested in studying theology with the professors of this podcast? Earn your degree online or on campus in St. Louis, Missouri. Apply now for the coming term of study. Learn more at augustine. Edu.
[01:15]
B
You're listening to a podcast on Catholic Saints. This podcast is produced by the Augustine Institute, an apostolate helping Catholics understand, live and share their faith.
[01:33]
C
Hello and welcome to Catholic Saints, the podcast about the lives of the saints and their legacy for the church and for us. I'm Dr. Jessica Ewell, and joining me today is Father Tegan Jee. Welcome, Father. It's great to have you.
[01:47]
D
Thank you, Jessica. It's a pleasure to be here with you.
[01:52]
C
Today we're going to be trying something a little different. One way that the saints help us is through modeling a life of prayer that brought them closer to God. By learning from the ways they prayed, we too can grow in our relationship with God. During this episode, we're going to learn from Saint Ignatius of Loyola about prayer. Before we jump in today, can you tell us, Father, a little bit about the favorite course that you teach in the graduate school? Do you have a favorite course and what is it?
[02:22]
D
Yes, My favorite course so far has been A Mystery of God. It's a course on the Trinity, and it invites us into an intellectual and prayerful contemplation of the very life of God and himself. And this has been revealed to us in Scripture, probed over the centuries through intellectual pondering and search of the saints and martyrs and scholars. And it has been so exciting teaching this course, especially hearing of and witnessing the immense transformation and experiences of my students. So I love teaching.
[02:55]
C
It sounds fascinating. Today is the feast of St. Ignatius of Loyola, July 31st.
[03:02]
D
Yes.
[03:02]
C
And we're going to be talking about what we can learn from him about prayer. But before we do that, maybe we can do a little bit of a recap of who he was when he lived. And by the way, for those of you who are interested in learning more about his life, you can find another episode on St. Ignatius just by typing St. Ignatius into the search when you're on the Augustine Institute channel. So, Father, where shall we start with his life recap?
[03:27]
D
Yes, Ignatius of Loyola was born in the year 1419, and he was the youngest of 13 children. And he lived, of course, in Spain and is often referred to as the Spanish soldier, tent mystic because of his earlier background as a soldier and later on becoming a mystic of the Catholic Church.
[03:50]
C
So he probably saw a lot of action, a lot of events. Can you tell us a little bit about some important things going on in history during his life?
[03:59]
D
Yes, there are quite a lot of things going on around the time of Saint Ignatius or Ignatius, who becomes a saint. The first is the Protestant Reformation, which started in the year 1517, just around when he was a young man. And of course, we know how that unfolded in church history leading up to the Council of Trent, the Counter Reformation. And Ignatius, interestingly, is going to found an order, the Society of Jesus or the Jesuits. And a good number of these Jesuits will become very instrumental in the Counter Reformation, the life of the Church. A good example being Robert Bellarmine and even so many missionaries who were sent into the New World when explorations went on, when European explorers went to Asia, especially Francis Xavier. He also was a Jesuit. So he was very important, Ignatius was very important in the life of the church around the 16th century. And one of the most important or life changing experiences around that time of his life was in 1521, you know, in the Battle of Pamplona. And legend goes that he actually was fighting in that battle when he sustained an injury and he feared he was going to die. And this was a crucial moment for the future saint. He was bedridden for almost a year. And when he was, when he asked for reading material in his normal way of just debauchery lifestyle, he asked for romantic stuff or things about the knights and conquest and power. He was rather given material on the life of Christ and of the saints. And when he read that, it was the moment when he had this tremendous transformation which will later on lead him to talk about a discernment of spirits, when he experienced consolations and desolations. And eventually this will become the foundation for what has come down to us as a spiritual exercise of St. Ignatius.
[05:49]
C
So we start with a book or two books, as it were, and the great power of literature and the imagination. And I'm sure you're going to talk more about his imagination in his prayer life. But it's really neat to think about how his imagination was really the leader in his conversion experience. Right. Instead of another, you know, thinking about facts that are removed from the imagination. He entered through that. It's really neat.
[06:17]
D
Yes.
[06:18]
C
What else would you like to tell us about his life before we move on? Any big miracles or any works or any other things that you want to make sure we cover before we move
[06:28]
D
into prayer with a figure like Ignatius? There's just so much out there that you can learn about, you know. But one of the things which I find interesting when we talk about miracles, it's the mystical experiences he had, which will begin right from the moment of his conversion. And we're going to see a little bit more about that. And also he was known for his levitations during prayer and some of the exorcisms and deliverance associated with him, and even after his death, when he was involved in those cases. And, of course, when it comes to works or letters, he wrote more than 7,000 letters during his lifetime, especially when he was the leader or the leader of the Society of Jesus, which he himself founded. And also, the Spiritual Exercises are about the most widely known and beautiful of all the works that have come down to us from Saint Ignatius of Loyola.
[07:23]
C
We could do a whole series of podcasts on St. Ignatius. And when you talk about levitations, you mean that he was raised above the ground in prayer, right?
[07:32]
D
Yes, raised above the ground in prayer. And there are so many saints, Joseph, Cupertino, and many others who are known for such interesting mystical phenomena.
[07:41]
C
Wow. So in those mystical phenomena, the. The source of those is his prayer. So let's talk a little bit about that. What do we know about this saint's prayer life, especially about how it relates to his own life and experience?
[07:59]
D
Yes, we know quite a lot, Jessica. In March of 1522, which is around when Ignatius had his accident or his injury during battle in 1521, and he was sick for almost a year. And 1522, he was recovering, and by the time he recovered, he went to Montserrat and spent the whole night in prayer at the shrine there, often known as the Shrine of the Black Madonna, where he spent almost the whole night in prayer, actually. And in this moment, he abandoned, or at this Shrine abandoned his sword and all the noble garments and cloaks and everything that came with his prestigious position in the military. And also his family.
[08:40]
A
He.
[08:40]
D
He was from a minor noble family. He abandoned everything there and took on a life of poverty and pilgrimage, which brought him to Manresa that same year. And he lived there in a cave outside of the town. And it was here that he took to serious prayer and meditation and reflection, which shaped the rest of his life. He would think through his own emotions. His imagination was very active. And all of this in relation to the love of God and. And how God was impacting his life. And the two most important things which come out in this way of prayer by Ignatius at this point of his life were the two feelings of, on the one hand, desolation and on the other hand, consolation, which became foundational for his exercise or practice of the discernment of spirits. And broadly speaking, or even more broadly speaking, the spiritual exercise of Ignatius. So that was very important for him at that point.
[09:38]
C
Can you, for those who aren't as familiar with Ignatian prayer, what does he mean by desolation and what does he mean by consolation? How are those really important? And can you talk a little bit about what discernment of spirits is?
[09:52]
D
Yes, yes. So with desolation, it has to do with a feeling of sadness, of sorrow, a feeling of regrets, and all the negative feelings you may think of, which arise from a sense of one's own sinfulness, brokenness and unworthiness. Basically, it's a feeling that arises from evil when you think of an evil thought or an evil experience or something which is opposed to the will of God. That's desolation. And consolation is a spirit of affirmation, the feeling of affirmation of love, of gratefulness, of gratitude, which arises from the Spirit of God, basically, or from goodness or that which is good. For Ignatius, we could easily make discernment or discern between good and evil with respect to how whatever it is that is the object or subject of discernment makes us feel or makes us recognize the working of God in us or the working of the Spirit in us. Is it a matter of desolation or is it a matter of consolation? So if it's desolation, you can know that it is something which is of evil origin or which leads to evil or lends more to evil, of consolation. Is something of God or leads to
[11:11]
C
God something that is really important? We are faced with a lot of choices in our daily lives, some of which are more serious than others. And so this is a really important tool that we have for us today. And we can build on our knowledge of this, of course, with a director, a knowledgeable spiritual director. Right. What other unique aspects of his prayer life have we adopted widely in the Church today?
[11:43]
D
Yes, the most famous is the Spiritual Exercises, which, like you rightly mentioned, is preferably undertaken with the help of a wise and learned spiritual director. But anyone can actually practice exercises, and there's a lot from these that we can learn, even for our daily prayer life and our daily existence or experience. And the Spiritual Exercises are basically a series of prayers, meditations, and contemplative practices in seeking God. And they are structured around four weeks and weeks here do not mean chronological weeks, basically like four stages, if you wish. And the first of it is meditating or reflecting on our lives of sin or our sinfulness. And the goal of this is such that we may be able to follow Christ. It ends on a note of following Christ. And the second is, how then do we follow Christ? And here he calls on us to reflect on Scripture from Christ's birth and baptism, his sermons on the Mount, his ministry of healing and teaching, rising of Lazarus from the dead. And the end or goal of this is to reach the point of decision to change our lives. You can see how this is flowing from his own experience, you know, his own conversion. And when we change our lives, we commit to doing God's will and to love him more intimately. And the third stage in these Spiritual Exercises is to meditate on the Lord's Passion, the Last Supper, the Lord's Passion, death. And for him, we see suffering in this stage and the gift of the Eucharist as the ultimate expression of God's love for us. And this brings us to the fourth stage in these Exercises, which is that of meditating on the resurrection of Jesus Christ and his apparitions to the disciples. We walk with the risen Christ, and we set out to love and to serve in concrete ways as Christ would have us do, and to live our lives for him. And the most beautiful thing is the way this particular section or stage of the Exercises ends. It ends with the contemplation to attain love. And it is in this context that we have the famous Ignatius Prayer, which many persons think of today when they hear St. Ignatius the prayer which goes thus, Lord Jesus Christ, take all my freedom, my memory, my understanding and my will. All that I have and cherish you have given me. I surrender it all to be guided by your will. Your grace and your love and wealth are enough for Me. Give me these, Lord Jesus, and I ask for nothing more. Amen. So those are the beautiful words of prayer, or the famous St Ignatius prayer, which are situated or located within the fourth week on the last section of the spiritual exercise.
[14:25]
C
It's one of my favorite prayers. It is gorgeous.
[14:28]
D
I love it.
[14:28]
C
It's one of my favorite ones. Yes. Looking at this great legacy, what are some specific things that we can take with us and meditate upon from this very famous prayer of St. Ignatius?
[14:42]
D
It's a prayer of radical conversion. Jessica. A prayer of radical conversion because it springs forth even from his own personal life and experience of encountering God and of converting, of turning away. It is a prayer of finding new love and a new mind, basically. And there is this famous line from the autobiography of Saint Ignatius. When he encountered God at the time of his conversion, we came to this river at Cardona, which is near Manresa in northern Spain. And as he sat there, just piercing into this river, he came to this awakening. And he writes about this in his autobiography. And he also writes in the third person. So I'm going to read it. As he wrote it, he sat down, which would mean I sat down, basically. He sat down for a little while with his face to the river Kadona, which was running deep. While he was seated there, the eyes of his understanding began to be opened. Though he did not see any vision, he understood and knew many things, both spiritual things and matters of faith and learning. And this was with so great an enlightenment that everything seemed new to him. It was as if he were a new man with a new intellect. This was so foundational for Ignatius. And even in this prayer he's expressing that conversion means taking on a new mind, a new intellect. He reiterates in a very beautiful way what we can live every day. The command of Christ in the gospel of Matthew 22:37, 40, where Jesus is asking us or inviting us to love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul and all your mind. And if you look at this prayer of Ignatius, what is happening? He is asking us to surrender all these faculties to God. Our freedom, our memory, our understanding, our will. These are all faculties rooted in heart, mind and soul. So it is a deeply biblical prayer rooted in the tradition of radical discipleship and in Ignatius own life, which invites us to surrender everything completely to God. And it's a prayer of total openness. So it really reminds me that we all are called to this total openness to God, seeing God in all things and doing all things for the glory of God. And of course we know the motto of the Jesuits, which comes from Ignatius himself at Maiorem DEI Gloria for the greater glory of God. And he's not unique to Ignatius, of course. You know, it reminds us also of St Teresa of Avila, another great saint, another great Spanish saint who tells us that God alone suffices in her famous prayer. So these are all different ways by which we can learn from this prayer of Ignatius and apply it to our individual lives and experiences.
[17:30]
C
If we wanted to take next steps, somebody's listening and they're like, I really want to know more. I want to learn how to pray the Spiritual Exercises. I want to find out more. What are next steps for them?
[17:44]
D
Yes, Jessica, the very first thing I would say is to begin the practice of daily examine. Daily examining simply means we find quiet time each day to go through our life that day, preferably at the close of the day before we go to bed. And why is this so important? And how does this fit into this legacy of St. Ignatius is because in our daily examine, we can literally go through these four steps, of course, an abbreviated version of Ignatius Spiritual Exercises. The first, we could think of our sinfulness and ask for forgiveness and commit to following Christ more. And then we could reflect on how God's love is calling us through the ministry of Jesus Christ to follow him. That will be the second. And then we can now reflect on the Last Supper or the Passion of Christ that love manifested for us in a special way. And of course we can now ask for the grace to attain this kind of love which unites us with God. And these are myriad off of the Spiritual Exercises of Saint Ignatius of Loyola. And in these Exercises too, the very next big step which we could think about is just the fact of making time for prayer. These Exercises show us that we have to combine, or we can combine contemplation with active life. It's an important thing which we are losing our world to. A fast paced and kind of consumerist or work driven world. We can make time to contemplate God, which does not detract or distant us from our daily activities. And lastly, I would think it's a matter of living by the principles of Ignatian spirituality. You want to follow this example of ignorance, Ignatius, which are basically principles of collaboration with God's will in everything we do. Spiritual discernment in making our choices. Do we go to God to make our daily choices every day or do we just choose and then feed God in generosity in responding to God's will, just surrendering ourselves to God and of course, disposition to find God in all things. And my favorite of all of this is that surrendering here and now, asking the question, in my choosing, in my living, in my acting, am I doing any and all of this for the greater glory of God? That's a practical way to leave the legacy of Ignatius of Loyola so relevant,
[20:09]
C
so relevant for us. We can start acting on that right away. And St. Ignatius has much, much to teach us. So if you're interested, those of you who are listening can do more. Looking into St. Ignatius, we have, as I mentioned earlier, an episode on his life and legacy. If you search that in the Augustine Institute Channel and if you enjoyed this episode with its special focus on praying with the Saints, please let us know by subscribing or by leaving a review. Thank you Father for joining me on Catholic Saints. Saint Ignatius of Loyola pray for us.
[20:44]
D
And thank you Jessica.
[20:47]
B
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