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DYNAMICS OF IGNATIAN PRAYER

Guidelines from the Spiritual Exercises

Hedwig Lewis SJ

Foreword

The Ignatius Year, which commemorates the 500th year of the conversion of St Ignatius of Loyola, with the theme, “to see all things new in Christ”, unconsciously takes us to the all-time spiritual classic, The Spiritual Exercises, a unique pathway to the person of God. The different methods of prayer mentioned in the Spiritual Exercises, born out of his own experience of encountering and experiencing the divine, and of growing in familiarity with Jesus, were popularized by St Ignatius among people with an irresistible urge “to help souls”.

 During these five centuries of lived Ignatian Spirituality, a plethora of books and articles have been written on the Spiritual Exercises and on Ignatian Prayer. Would one more such book be necessary and useful? Browsing through these pages one would surely be moved to answer with an emphatic YES, because of the sheer uniqueness of this opus.

Fr Hedwig Lewis, a Jesuit in the Ignatian mould, an ardent lover of Ignatian Spirituality, who has a vast treasure trove of publications to his credit, has authored this book, 'Dynamics of Ignatian Prayer'. He has indeed attempted to help the readers to see Ignatian Prayer with a new perspective. And, what is important is that the author largely succeeds in his attempt. What is more striking is that this book is highly scholarly without seeming so. That is the brilliance of the author, and is a clear sign that he has thoroughly mastered his subject and assimilated his sources. I thank Fr Hedwig Lewis for this great gift to the Society and to the Church at large during this Ignatian Year.  

Fr Arun Kumar SJ, the Conference Secretary for the Service of Faith, is the one who requested Fr Hedwig Lewis to undertake this work, proactively providing him with materials on Ignatian prayer and getting the required permission for publishing it in Gujarat Sahitya Prakash. I thank Fr Arun for this great initiative.

At a time when prayer appears to be largely missing from the lives of many busy people, including the apostolic men and women, a book like this comes as a bright shaft of light in an enveloping darkness. Therefore, it is with the greatest of appreciation and gratitude that I recommend this book because I am convinced that it will touch many a heart with the ardour of love leading to a relationship with God so that all of us may steadily forge ahead along that unique pathway to God.

Fr Stany D’ Souza SJ

POSA

President of the Jesuit Conference of South Asia (JESA)

Preface

The Spiritual Exercises of Saint Ignatius of Loyola is broadly referred to as a ‘school of prayer’. Ignatius’ main intention in writing the retreat manual was to call the attention of the retreatants to transform their entire lives into a journey towards God: ‘to find God in all things and all things in God’. The Spiritual Exercises provides a number of different ways of approaching God in formal prayer.

Though these methods are contextualized in the Exercises, they contain fundamental elements of formal prayer and can be used outside of a ‘closed’ month- or week-long retreat. They are, in fact, particularly applicable to those making an ‘open retreat’, the ‘retreat in daily life’, with set-times daily for formal prayer.

There is a proliferation of guided ‘retreats’ on social media and in print, which outline the steps for Ignatian meditation and contemplation. This book is unique in that it provides the grid which underpins Ignatian prayer. It puts together the variety of prayer-forms that Ignatius presents in the Exercises and unravels the dynamics involved in using them effectively, based on and paraphrasing Ignatius’ instructions, intent and inspiration. It contains the essence of Ignatian spirituality as practiced today. It serves both as a reference to the different suggestions for prayer that Ignatius proposes in the Exercises, and to check if one is doing them precisely, as directed.

The author is deeply indebted to and gratefully acknowledges the numberless Ignatian scholars, whose ideas, reflections, insights, and inspiration are embedded in these pages. He also thanks Arun Kumar SJ, Secretary, Secretariat of Faith-JCSA, upon whose initiative and request this book was produced.

May ‘Dynamics of Ignatian Prayer’ enkindle the dynamism of Ignatian spirituality in many a heart and home. May it accompany those following the Ignatian Way to God.

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