FFP 101 NOTES People in authority didn’t like this and he
was thrown into jail. When he was released
Life of St. Ignatius de Loyola
 In our past experience and as we journey in
our life, we encounter people whom we look
up and see as a model in life. Just like here
in Ateneo and the other Jesuit community,
we look up to someone who is regarded as
our model. We are talking about Saint
Ignatius. Today we will continue to learn
about his life and some of our Jesuit
Characteristics.
 Ignatius was born in 1491 in Spain.
 He was the youngest of 14 children.
 At the age of 16 he was sent to work for the
treasurer of the Kingdom of Castile.
 He did not always lead a good life and
would drink and gamble too much. He
would also challenge people to sword fights.
 Ignatius still required time to recover and
the accident had left him with a limp.
 He was bored and asked for some books to
read to help pass the time.
 He was given a book about the life of Christ
and the lives of the Saints.
 This was the beginning of his conversion.
He left his bad ways behind and decided to
be more like Jesus and the Saints that he had
read about.
 He decided to travel to Jerusalem. This was
a long way away and there was no
transportation. Before leaving he visited a
church where he prayed all night at the altar
of Our Lady. There is left behind his sword.
He swapped his fine clothes for rags and
shoes for sandals and made way to the first
step on his journey, Barcelona.
 From Barcelona he went on to Rome where
he met the Pope who gave him permission to
visit the Holy Land including Jerusalem.
 When he arrived the situation there for
Catholics was very dangerous and he was
forced to return to Barcelona.
 He decided to study Latin so that he could
become a priest.
 While studying he talked to people and told
them gospel stories about Jesus Christ.
he was told not to teach anyone else about
Jesus.
 Ignatius moved to France to study at the
University of Paris.
 At the age of 33 he was ordained a priest in
Rome and the Pope put him to work
teaching scripture.
 He and some of his friends who were also
priest decided to get together and set up a
kind of club known as ‘The Society of
Jesus’. Today they are known as ‘The
Jesuits’.
 Ignatius wrote over 7000 letters to others
teaching about God’s love. He and the other
Jesuits visited the sick in hospital, taught
children and helped the poor.
 He died in Rome on 31st July 1556 of a
fever.
 He is remembered mostly today as the
founder of the Jesuit Order.
Ignatian Spirituality
 Spirituality involves the recognition of a
feeling or sense or belief that there is
something greater than myself, something
more to being human than sensory
experience, and that the greater whole of
which we are part is cosmic or divine in
nature.
 Spirituality is knowing who you really are
and connecting with something larger than
yourself. 
 A sense of connection to something bigger
than ourselves, and it typically involves a
search for meaning in life.
 Our lives become more meaningful and we
feel more peace when we know that we are
supported and held in times of difficulty and
ease. Part of why people get stressed is that
they’re looking for [an explanation] about
why these things are happening to them. 
 Spirituality or Religion? They have a
common subject-matter, but their
approaches are very different.
 Both religion and spirituality teach that there
is more to the universe than what meets the
eye, and more to our life than the physical
body.
 Religion presents you a set of beliefs,
dogmas and “holy men” as intermediaries
between you and Spirit (however you may
name it); while spirituality promotes your
individual autonomy in defining and
connecting to Spirit as it fits your heart and
mind.
 Ignatian spirituality is a spirituality for
everyday life. It insists that God is present in
our world and active in our lives.
 It is a pathway to deeper prayer, good
decisions guided by keen discernment, and
an active life of service to others.
 Our lives become more meaningful and we
feel more peace when we know that we are
supported and held in times of difficulty and
ease. Part of why people get stressed is that
they’re looking for [an explanation] about
why these things are happening to them.  and generally adapting to various
 Spiritual Exercises are a set if Christian
meditations, contemplations, and prayers
written by St. Ignatius de Loyola, a 16 th-
century Spanish priest, theologian, and
founder of the Society of Jesus (Jesuits).
Divided into four thematic “weeks” of
variable length, they are designed to be
carried out over a period of 28 to 30 days.
10 Characteristics of Ignatian Spirituality
1. Finding God in all things
2. Personal relationship with Christ and
love for the Church
3. Reflection (Self-awareness/
Discernment) leading to Gratitude which
leads to Service (linked to becoming a
“man or woman for others” – big
Ignatian buzzwords.)
4. Contemplation in action – not a monastic
existence, but an active one that is, at the
same time, infused with prayer.
5. Inner Freedom (the result of self-
awareness and discernment.) God wants
us to be our treselves-joyous. When we
are free, we have freedom to love, to do
service and to have a good relationship
and dialogue with God.
6. Faith that does justice – the realization
that there can be no true expression of
faith where concerns for justice and
human dignity are missing.
7. “The World is charged with the grandeur
of God” – the positive, energetic and
engaged vision of God’s constant
interaction with creation.
8. Ad Majorem Dei Gloriam (For the
greater glory of God) – praising God and
dedicating oneself to participate in
God’s healing work in the world.
9. Union of minds and hearts – as brothers
and sisters, we listen for the God who is
present among us, admitting no division
based on ethnicity, nationality,
background, age or gender.
10. Flexibility and adaptability – (e.g.,16th
Century Jesuits wearing Chinese robes
cultures; respecting people’s lived
experience.)
Consciousness Examen
 Lawrence Kohlberg (1927-1986) –
(1) The child/individual is good in
order to avoid being punished. If a
person is punished, they must have
done wrong. (2) Good boy/The
child/individual becomes aware of
the wider rules of society, so
judgments concern obeying the rules
in order to uphold the law and to
avoid guilt. (3) People at this stage
have developed their own set of
moral guidelines which may or may
not fit the law. The principles apply
to everyone.
 The examen is a prayerful reflection
from the Spiritual Exercises which
has become a key part of Jesuit life
and which can have a powerful
impact on the lives of those who use
it.
  It consists of setting time aside each
day (for Ignatius twice a day, at
midday and the end of the day) to
reflect prayerfully on the events of
the day and where God has been in
those events.
 The “Prayer of Examen” is a
traditional way to encounter God in
the everyday circumstances of life.
5 Steps to Examen
1. Give thanks
Spend a few moments in gratitude for the
gifts and blessings of the day.
2. Ask for light
Ask God to enlighten you, showing where
he has been at work and present in your day
through events, people and places.
3. Examine the day
Review the moments of the day, noticing
what has led to consolation and what has led
to desolation and my reactions to these
events, people and places (see below
on consolation and desolation).
4. Seek forgiveness
Ask God's forgiveness for the times when
you have acted, spoken or thought contrary
to his grace and calling for you.
5. Resolve to change
Decide what in your behavior or attitude you
will try to improve tomorrow.
Ignatian Contemplation
 It is a prayer with Scripture. It is meeting
God through story. The prayer develops as
you “live into” a Scripture story with all
your senses and imagination.
 In Islamic tradition, it is said that the
Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) would go into
the desert, climb a mountain known
as Mount Hira, and seclude himself from the
world. While on the mountain, he would
contemplate life and its meaning.
 You become a participant in the story, and
you continue in the story in your heart,
mind, imagination, spirit and body after the
reading ends.
 In the Ignatian tradition, praying with the
imagination is called contemplation.
 In the Exercises, contemplation is a very
active way of praying that engages the mind
and heart and stirs up thoughts and
emotions.
 Note that in other spiritual
traditions, contemplation has quite a
different meaning: it refers to a way of
praying that frees the mind of all thoughts
and images.
 Contemplating a Gospel scene is not simply
remembering it or going back in time.
 AN ANCIENT PRACTICE - self-directed
practice for relaxing the body and calming
the mind. “A state to be aware of God’s
presence, and it makes you better able to hear
God’s voice correcting, guiding, and directing
you.”
 SILENCE - St Ignatius of Antioch once
said, “It is better to be silent and real than to
talk and be unreal.” Jesus seems to be in
agreement: “In praying, do not babble like
the pagans, who think that they will be heard
because of their many words” (Matthew 6:7)