In this section we are going to look at the principal Methods of Prayer that St. Ignatius recommends in his Spiritual Exercises. These constitute a veritable education of the soul for those who want to learn to pray.

There are many methods of prayer outlined in St. Ignatius’ Spiritual Exercises. Contrary to the legend, there is no such thing as an “Ignatian method”. St. Ignatius borrowed from a number of different spiritual writers who were popular at the time what he considered to be the most teachable methods for introducing the soul to a true union with God. He made no philosophical reflections on these methods, but little by little they eventually found their way into the Exercises, and he taught his retreatants how to use them. Moreover, he realized that, once the “parameters” were mastered, the retreatant could employ them while considering the matter contained in other meditations. It is not unusual—at least when he is dealing with important topics—for St. Ignatius to ask the retreatant to apply several methods successively to the same “mystery” or even to the same “virtue” in order to penetrate more deeply into the truth of the mystery or virtue. The person who desires to unite himself with God might use one or another of these methods extensively outside the retreat, depending on his state of soul, the subject matter of his prayer, and his physical or psychological state. Furthermore, during the course of the same prayer, he might even mix these methods together. What is essential is finding God in his prayer.

We shall not here go back to commenting on the matter we have already touched on in the section entitled “Common Fea …tures of Every Prayer”. We assume these topics have already been sufficiently explained for our purposes.

The first time St. Ignatius introduces this method of prayer on the three powers—a method that was in vogue before his time and that was a traditional way of praying in the Church—is in connection with the Meditation on the Three Sins. Ignatius did not invent this method, and he certainly does not recommend it for anyone who finds it a detriment to prayer. Also, in the Spiritual Exercises there are many more “contemplations” than “meditations”. As for the method of prayer on the three powers of the soul, the retreatant

• puts himself in the presence of God,
• makes his preparatory prayer,
• makes his composition of place,
• asks what he wants and desires.

He then uses the following procedure during the course of his meditation on a given subject or on some particular aspect of that subject.

First, he will call on his memory. Let us take for example the meditation on original sin. The person who sets out to consider this mystery will briefly recall to mind the story of the creation of our first parents, the gifts God gave to the first man, what he was prohibited from doing, his temptation, and finally his fall.

Second, he will focus his understanding on the subject. Every intellectual process that enables the person to take a better account of the theme at hand can be used: reasoning, reflection, a fortiori argumentation, comparisons, analogies, contrasts, etc. St. Ignatius uses certain phrases to identify the work of the intellect such as “to wander about the matter” or “to think over [it] in more detail”. Meditari means “to be ruminated upon”, “chewed over”. St. Francis de Sales gives understanding the same emphasis: a person should make “one or a number of considerations” on the matter at hand.
Third, the effort on the part of the memory and understanding should end up moving the will or, better, moving the heart by means of the will. Let us note this carefully because it is what is essential in a meditation. If this factor of moving the heart is not present, the meditation will not really be a prayer. It might be a beautiful consideration, a profound reflection, but it will not be a prayer. Let us again listen to what St. Francis de Sales says on the subject. Considerations of the understanding are made “to raise your heart to God and to the things of God. This is where meditation differs from study and from considerations which are made to become learned. . . .” “As long as you are gaining light and help from any one consideration stay there without passing on. . . .” “It may happen that you find your heart raised up to God from the very beginning of your prayer, in which case there is no need to follow the method I have suggested, for though considerations usually come first, if the Holy Spirit has already brought this about they would be to no purpose.”St. Francis de Sales, Introduction to the Devout Life, trans. Michael Day, Cong. Orat. (Westminster, Md.: Newman Press, 1956) 57, 58, 61.

The “affections” should lead to firm, precise, sincere resolutions. To some degree the fruit of meditation is always a conversion to a more fervent love.

The meditation should end with one or more colloquies. These colloquies gather up all or part of what has been meditated upon. By their nature and from their results they are intimate conversations, special moments when the retreatant “applied his will to move his heart”. This does not mean, however, that they are expressions of sweet sentimentality. On the contrary, they speak of a realistic commitment to God by the most sincere and total gift of self.

The word contemplation has a manifold meaning in spiritual language, and different authors give different connotations to it.
St. Ignatius defines it very precisely in his Spiritual Exercises. (He explains it when he treats the contemplation on the Incarnation [see p. 98].)

— After the retreatant has placed himself in the presence of God and has made his preparatory prayer, St. Ignatius asks him to call to mind the history (as it is described in the Bible or by one of the Evangelists) of the mystery. This is a most important directive because the contemplation that follows will depend to a great extent on the quality and distinctness of this recall. However, this exercise of the memory need not be a lengthy process, provided that it is precise and vivid and that it casts a spell, so to speak, on the retreatant, immersing him completely in the reality of the scene.

— Next the retreatant makes a mental representation of the place or the places where the mystery unfolds itself, and then he asks for what he wants and desires.

After this we have the following sequence:

(1) The one who is praying will look at the persons involved.
(2) He will listen to and savor their words.
(3) He will look closely at their actions.

Each time, he will try to ‘draw spiritual profit’ by reflecting on how these persons, words, and actions affect himself.

At the beginning of the Third Week, St. Ignatius introduces some new elements into the contemplation. These are, as it were, a framework of the themes that should be rediscovered during all the contemplations of that week. These themes are more allied to meditation than to contemplation:

Third Week: consider what Christ our Lord suffers in his human nature
Third Week: consider how his divinity is hidden
Fourth Week: consider how the Divinity now appears
Third Week: consider how Christ suffers all of this for my sins
Fourth Week: consider the office of consoler that Christ our Lord exercises Ignatian contemplation consists, then, in reliving the mystery with a great deal of faith and love; that is, the one who is praying relives the Gospel account as if he were present there and had a part to play in the unfolding mystery. For example, at the Nativity: “I will make myself a poor unworthy slave and look upon them [Jesus, Mary, Joseph], contemplate them, and serve them in their needs, as though I were there present, with all possible homage and reverence.” Contemplation also requires some of the elements of reflection and meditation. In this sense it is distinct from that method called “Application of the Senses”.

Like meditation, contemplation should terminate with the colloquies, where affections intermingle with resolutions.

St. Ignatius explains this method in connection with the Meditation on Hell (see pp. 78–81).

— After placing himself in God’s presence, saying the preparatory prayer, calling to mind the history of the mystery, making the composition of place, and asking for the grace he wants, the retreatant is ready to employ this method. It consists of exploring the mystery, so to speak, with the aid of each of the five senses.

First with seeing: The one making the prayer sees with the imagination the persons who are involved in his Exercise, and he meditates and contemplates in detail on the circumstances in which they find themselves. Then after what he has seen, he endeavors to draw spiritual profit by reflecting on himself.

Next with hearing: The person making the prayer hears what the persons say or what they could be saying. As a result of what he hears, he endeavors to draw spiritual profit by reflecting on himself.

Then with smelling and tasting: For example, at the Nativity: “To smell and taste with the interior senses of smell and taste the
If, however, the retreatant who follows the schema contained in this book wishes to make use of the repetitions, let him do so with complete freedom.

Whatever the retreatant decides, it is essential that he know something about this excellent method of meditation. It is through the repetitions that the soul steeps itself more and more in the mystery or the truth upon which it has been meditating. Each person has his favorite mysteries from the Gospels and the particular words of Christ he savors most. For him there is a grace connected with scenes of these particular mysteries, something that “sings in him” when he contemplates them. It is most profitable, therefore, to return to them frequently in perfect freedom.

The repetition begins the same way as all of the Exercises: with the placing of oneself in the presence of God, the preparatory prayer, the history of the mystery, the composition of the place, and the asking for grace.

After this, the retreatant repeats the preceding exercise or exercises. But he does so with this important difference: he says, “I will return to where I dwelt upon those points in which I experienced greater consolation or desolation or light or greater spiritual appreciation.” In addition to giving this advice, St. Ignatius also recommends developing “colloquies”, which are important in the development of these points, for it is the heart that always forges ahead in meditating on a particular Gospel event.

It is not a question, therefore, of merely repeating our consideration of ideas or reflections. What is essential is the spiritual experience we had during our meditation, and now what we want to do is relive those motions within our soul, those times when God was experienced in clearer way. In short, we want to return to the “warmest”, the most effective, and most meaningful points in those meditations we have already made.

It should be noted that St. Ignatius includes “desolations” among these experiences that he asks the retreatant to go back and relive. We will only draw attention to the importance of this piece of advice without giving it a long treatment here. But at least we should remark that, in Ignatian spirituality, confrontations with …what pains the soul are precious indeed because they are the “nights” when faith is made more pure, hope more ardent, and love more sincere.

There are times when St. Ignatius seems to envisage a type of repetition that is more objective and seems to be more like a resumé. “The intellect, without distractions, will turn over assiduously the remembrance of the matter contemplated in the preceding exercises.” So what was contemplated the first time is made more real, is better integrated, and becomes more internalized. It is even possible that, due to this “perseverance”, God’s will for the retreatant will become manifest to him.