IgnatiAn Meditation
Ignatius Loyola, the creator of Ignatian meditation, believed that God can speak to us through our imaginations. In the Ignatian tradition of the Spiritual Exercises of Ignatius Loyola, the word “contemplation” has a very particular meaning and is a very active way of praying that uses visualization to invite us into a gospel story. We allow ourselves to be very present to the events of Jesus’ life. We pay attention to all the details, the sights, sounds, smells, tastes, and sensations of the scene taking place around us. We engage with the story in creative, often surprising ways, allowing the story to unfold anew. The scene does not have to play out the way it did in the gospel reading, and we don’t have to worry about historical accuracy or physical plausibility.
When you engage in an Ignatian meditation, you can allow yourself the freedom of imagination to let the meditation play out in whatever way you wish. Offer your prayer time to the Holy Spirit and trust that your imagination and the Spirit will collaborate to create something that is meaningful and illuminating for you. If your imagination seems to be going “too wild,” ask yourself whether it is leading you closer to or farther away from God.
The term apophatic prayer comes from the Greek apophatikos, which means “without images or concepts.” Centering prayer is a form of apophatic prayer that takes us beyond words, images or concepts. In contrast, kataphatic prayer comes from the Greek kataphatikos, which in essence means “with images or concepts.” This kind of prayer utilizes our faculties for reason, imagination, feelings, and will. Ignatian guided meditation takes us deep into the realm of kataphatic prayer. Some people may enter very easily into Ignatian meditation while others may find this kind of imaginative prayer difficult. You may not be able to picture the scene easily, yet you may have some intuition or gut reaction to the story, or you may be drawn to pray with the story in a different way than the instructions describe. Allow God to speak to you in the way that is right for you.
Find instructions for Ignatian meditation here.
Find videos of centering prayer sessions that incorporate Ignatian meditations here:
John 13:1-11, Jesus Washes the Disciples’ Feet
John 20:11-18, Do Not Hold Onto Me
John 20:19-29, Doubting Thomas
Find shorter videos of Ignatian meditations that have been excerpted from longer centering prayer sessions here:
John 13:1-11, Jesus Washes the Disciples’ Feet
John 20:11-18, Do Not Hold Onto Me