What is ignatian spirituality?

Posted in Worth Readiing

The word 'spirituality' can be a real stumbling block! Don't spend too much time trying to define it, but think of it as 'relationship'. Relationship is a word that implies life; life between persons. Marriage and friendship can't be defined, nor can our relationship with God, but what is implied is life between two persons.

No words are big enough to capture the mystery of what goes on in a relationship, and if this is true for marriage and friendship, how much more true when one of the partners is divine.

Spirituality is concerned with the person in relation to God. It concerns our experience of God, not our experience of ideas, rules or obligations. What differentiates it from theology is its focus on the actual, living, moment by moment relationship between the person and God in real life situations. So we are back to the idea of relationship! This relationship is meant to be one of ever growing awareness of God's presence and involvement in each person's life. It covers the whole of life.

The shortest of all definitions of Ignatian Spirituality is 'Finding God in all things'. This is also Ignatius' preferred statement of what his life was about.