Jesuit Journeys
Fall 2003

This is irrefutable about the Spiritual Exercises: They were not written by a priest nor a Jesuit.

Whoa . . . the word not must be a typo in that sentence! After all, everyone knows that the Spiritual Exercises were written by St.
Ignatius of Loyola, not only a priest but the very founder of the Jesuits. True enough, yet Ignatius recorded and organized the exercises many years prior to his ordination and the beginnings of the Society of Jesus. Hence the bedrock document for Ignatian Spirituality was not written to tell Jesuits how to be spiritual, but to provide anyone with a means to enter into a more intentional relationship with God.

In many ways, Ignatian Spirituality, with its focus on finding God in all things, is particularly well-suited for the faith experience of the lay person enmeshed in the world’s everyday toss-and-tumble. It is not surprising, therefore, that key aspects of Ignatian Spirituality have
been disseminated to the laity through all sorts of channels – often through streams that start with a Jesuit influence but which then cut new banks into the ground of the spiritual life.

A good example is St. Francis de Sales (1567-1622). While his most important work, An Introduction to the Devout Life, spawned its own spiritual tradition called Salesian Spirituality, it is clearly undergirded with Ignatian principles that were instilled in Francis while he was a student at a Jesuit university. For example, Francis reflects the
Ignatian desire to create contemplatives-in-action by providing the average lay person with certain prayer practices that can be integrated into one’s busy day -- and thereby create what he calls a “spiritual alertness and vivacity which enables us to cooperate with love promptly and wholeheartedly” throughout the day.

Further, Francis reiterates Ignatius’ belief that God is present to each of us in distinct ways, for each of us is a unique being created by God. Thus, Francis is not attempting to create a “cookie cutter” spirituality. Rather, like the Spiritual Exercises, his goal is to outline prayer methods and devotional practices that might help individuals awaken to the presence of God in their lives. As Francis expresses it:

“ At the creation God commanded the plants to bear fruit each according to its kind and he likewise commands Christians, the living branches of the vine, to bear fruit by practicing devotion according to their state of life… [and] their particular strengths, circumstances
and duties.”

These lines could almost come directly out of the Annotations, the introductory instructions of the Spiritual Exercises, as Ignatius makes the same point about molding the Exercises to an individual’s temperament and situation. Francis learned well from his Jesuit teachers that since our very being has been uniquely shaped by God
through our past experiences and present circumstances, the Holy Spirit contours itself within the distinctive crevasses and mountains of our individual souls. Thus, the ultimate goal of both the Introduction and the Exercises is to become a more authentic you – to become even more the glorious reflection of God’s love.

Both Francis and Ignatius instruct us to focus on one thing: loving God. Both point out that our personal desires provide the primary means by which we are drawn to fall in love with God. In Francis’ mind, the very search for God is an act of love. As Francis talks about our ultimate
purpose as becoming better lovers of our God, our spouses, our children, our co-workers, our neighbors, and all of God’s creation and people, you can almost hear the words of Ignatius’ Contemplation on Love being hummed in the background! 

Profile: St. Francis de Sales