Retreats at White House are based on the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius. Below you will find some basic information about St. Ignatius and what Ignatian Spirituality is.
The Life of St. Ignatius
1521 – Ignatius in his late 20’s and driven by worldly pursuits defends the Spanish fortress in Pamplona. He is wounded in the knees by a cannon ball. The fortress surrenders to the French. Ignatius is carried by the French to Castle Loyola to be with his family and recover.
August, 1521 – Ignatius receives last sacraments after two brutal surgeries. He is immobile for months and asks for books on Chivalry. Instead, he receives the book “A Life of Christ” and other books on saints. Ignatius undergoes a conversion and begins imaginative prayer and has a vision of Our Lady.
February, 1522 – Ignatius travels along the Camino Ignaciano to Montserrat. He stops at a Benedictine monastery and makes a confession of his whole life. He surrenders his sword to Mary, trades clothes with a beggar and dedicates his life to Christ.
March, 1522 – Ignatius travels to Manresa, where he often prays in a cave above the Cardoner River. He has many mystical experiences as he begins a new life of prayer and penance. He starts writing the “Spiritual Exercises” which he completes in 1540.
March, 1523 – Ignatius travels to Barcelona and then to Rome. He seeks the Pope’s permission to visit the Holy Land to walk in the footsteps of Christ.
September, 1523 – Ignatius spends time in Jerusalem. He is forced to leave due to political unrest with the Turks.
February, 1526 – Ignatius preaches the “Spiritual Exercises” in Barcelona which creates local interest. The Inquisition temporarily imprisons him. He is set free but told not to speak about matters of God. He begins his ten year educational quest, first studying Latin with grade-schoolers, then attending the University of Alcala.
1528 – Ignatius moves to Paris to study philosophy and theology. He rooms with St. Francis Xavier and Peter Faber and teaches them the “Spiritual Exercises.” After studying with the Dominicans, he receives his Master of Arts in theology in 1534.
June, 1537 – Ignatius is ordained to the Priesthood of Venice along with five others. They work in hospitals and teach the “Spiritual Exercises.” They decide to call themselves the “Society of Jesus” and Ignatius is elected their first General in 1540.
July, 1548 – Ignatius remains in Rome while his fellow Jesuits travel the world. Pope Paul III approves the “Spiritual Exercises.”
1556 – Ignatius dies. There are 1,000 Jesuits.
March, 1622 – Ignatius is canonized, along with St. Francis Xavier, by Pope Gregory XV.
Ignatian Spirituality
· Recognize God in all things.
· Develop a personal relationship with Christ and love for the Church.
· Live a life of reflection (self-awareness/discernment) leading to gratitude and a life of service (becoming a man or woman for others).
· Live a life of contemplation in action—not a monastic existence, but an active one that is, at the same time, infused with prayer.
· Live with an inner freedom (the result of self-awareness and discernment).
· Translate our faith into working for justice—the realization that there can be no true expression of faith where concerns for justice and human dignity are lacking.
· Recognize, like Jesuit Gerard Manley Hopkins, that “the world is charged with the grandeur of God”—the positive, energetic and engaged vision of God's constant interaction with creation.
· Live according to the maxim “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.
· Be flexible and adaptable, following the example of the 16th century Jesuits who wore Chinese robes and generally adapted to various cultures; respecting people's lived experience.
· Seek the 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.
The Prayer of Generosity – St. Ignatius Loyola
Lord Jesus, teach me to be generous. Teach me to serve you as you deserve; to give and not to count the cost, to fight and not to heed the wounds, to toil and not to seek for rest, to labor and not to ask for reward, save that of knowing that I will do your will. Amen.