Prayer, Pt. 1

Ignatian Spirituality is the heartbeat of life at Georgetown. I knew about this tradition intellectually, but I’ve experienced the prayer practices of the Society of Jesus (the Jesuits) in profound ways over the last 9 months.

Saint Ignatius of Loyola is considered the founder of the Jesuit order, although he would resist this framing. St. Ignatius left the Church many spiritual practices and approaches to prayer, which we call “Ignatian Spirituality.” His spirituality was deeply personal; he strove to see God in all things. You can read more about St. Ignatius here.

My most profound experiences with Ignatian Spirituality have been through the Examen and imaginative prayer. Both the Examen and imaginative prayer can take many forms, but the heart of each is experiencing God personally in prayer through your imagination. Each practice can be done alone or lead by another. There is nothing uniquely Catholic about this practice; the Examen is accessible and appropriate for all Christians to explore.

In one experience with the Examen, a Jesuit priest encouraged a group of us to close our eyes, slow our minds, and picture the divine looking at us lovingly and us looking lovingly back at the divine. We were in an interfaith context, so his language was broad. In a specifically Christian context you would be encouraged to picture Jesus looking lovingly at you, and you returning his gaze. We were then guided through a reflection of the prior months to express gratitude for the summer, notice where God was with us, and prepare for the fall semester to come. I was surprised how picturing Jesus looking lovingly at me and thanking him for the many blessings in my life moved me. I encourage you to explore this practice too. What does Jesus say to you? How does he look at you? How does this feel?

The Examen encourages the prayer to reflect with gratitude on the time past and prepare for the time to come. A daily Examen reflects on a single day with gratitude and prepares for the day ahead. You can read more about the Examen here.

Imaginative prayer encourages you to read a Biblical story and let your imagination carry the story. You may be surprised where you find yourself when you bring the story to life in your mind. Do you take on a role? Do the characters greet you? What do they say to you? After the story comes to life, you’re encouraged to reflect on the experience with God in prayer. There’s a childlike quality to this kind of imagination, and it can be both silly and profound. The Jesuits I’ve spoken with about imaginative prayer describe it with overwhelming joy. You can learn more about imaginative prayer here.

Let me know if you experiment with either of these prayer practices!

Text copyright © 2023 Grace Woodward. All rights reserved.