Ignatian Spirituality

By Eric Clayton

The trick to lighting a fire is to start by burning something small. In fact, you need lots of small things, preferably ones that catch fire easily: cardboard, sticks, broken branches, small bits of wood, and fire starters (storebought chunks of wood-like cylinders that catch and burn nicely). You need all these things, plus the […]

Click through to read the full article The Disposition That Sets the World Aflame, which appeared first on Ignatian Spirituality.

IgnatianSpirituality.com ® is a service of Loyola Press, a Jesuit ministry.

Sacred Space for Lent 2026 invites readers to develop a closer relationship with God during the upcoming season of prayer, fasting, and almsgiving.

By Gretchen Crowder

A colleague stopped me in the hallway. “Gretchen, glad I caught you! I’ve been invited to make dessert for the gathering this week, and I wanted to check with you,” she said. Before she finished speaking, I knew exactly what she wanted to check: my food allergies. Those who know me well know I would […]

Click through to read the full article The Intentional Kindness of a Dessert, which appeared first on Ignatian Spirituality.

IgnatianSpirituality.com ® is a service of Loyola Press, a Jesuit ministry.

Sacred Space for Lent 2026 invites readers to develop a closer relationship with God during the upcoming season of prayer, fasting, and almsgiving.

By Rebecca Ruiz

I do a lot of listening. I listen in my home, my work, in the market, and in my ministry of spiritual direction. Wherever I go, I am hearing fear and concern. Hearts are troubled. We feel compassion for the suffering in our nation and in the world, yet we are at a loss about […]

Click through to read the full article Answering Suffering with Love, which appeared first on Ignatian Spirituality.

IgnatianSpirituality.com ® is a service of Loyola Press, a Jesuit ministry.

Sacred Space for Lent 2026 invites readers to develop a closer relationship with God during the upcoming season of prayer, fasting, and almsgiving.

By Theresa Brotherton

I got to know St. Ignatius many years ago, at about 5:30 a.m., when a sopping wet Examen card was stuck to the side of the washing machine. Annoyed at myself for not staying up late to change loads nor checking pockets before doing laundry, I peeled the laminated card from the washer drum, wiped […]

Click through to read the full article The Wet Examen Card, which appeared first on Ignatian Spirituality.

IgnatianSpirituality.com ® is a service of Loyola Press, a Jesuit ministry.

Sacred Space for Lent 2026 invites readers to develop a closer relationship with God during the upcoming season of prayer, fasting, and almsgiving.

By Vinita Hampton Wright

We develop gratitude by paying attention. We make a point to review a day or a lifetime to identify all for which we can be grateful. In fact, with practice we can identify thankworthy things in the middle of sad or stressful situations. It’s almost as if gratitude were its own radio frequency. When we […]

Click through to read the full article The Choices of Gratitude and Hope, which appeared first on Ignatian Spirituality.

IgnatianSpirituality.com ® is a service of Loyola Press, a Jesuit ministry.

Sacred Space for Lent 2026 invites readers to develop a closer relationship with God during the upcoming season of prayer, fasting, and almsgiving.

By dotMagis Editor

Ash Wednesday is February 18, 2026, so today we’re highlighting just a few of the many Ignatian-inspired features designed to help you observe Lent. Encounter Grace Lenten Read-Along Join in the annual Lenten read-along with Loyola Press. We’ll be reading Encounter Grace by Becky Eldredge. Becky offers gentle, heartfelt reflections grounded in Ignatian spirituality, each […]

Click through to read the full article Getting Ready for Lent 2026, which appeared first on Ignatian Spirituality.

IgnatianSpirituality.com ® is a service of Loyola Press, a Jesuit ministry.

Sacred Space for Lent 2026 invites readers to develop a closer relationship with God during the upcoming season of prayer, fasting, and almsgiving.

By Denise Gorss

We all have specific gifts given to us by God. These are Our Treasures Within. Inspired by the book of that title by Pope Francis and Peter H. Reynolds with Paul A. Reynolds, pray the Treasures Within Examen. Take a deep breath, and notice God’s presence. As you inhale and exhale, thank God for these […]

Click through to read the full article Treasures Within Examen, which appeared first on Ignatian Spirituality.

IgnatianSpirituality.com ® is a service of Loyola Press, a Jesuit ministry.

Sacred Space for Lent 2026 invites readers to develop a closer relationship with God during the upcoming season of prayer, fasting, and almsgiving.

By dotMagis Editor

There’s nothing complicated or mysterious about making the examen part of your life. The subject matter of the examen is your life—specifically the day you have just lived through. The examen looks for signs of God’s presence in the events of the day—lunch with a friend, a walk in the park, a kind word from […]

Click through to read the full article Nothing Trivial in the Examen, which appeared first on Ignatian Spirituality.

IgnatianSpirituality.com ® is a service of Loyola Press, a Jesuit ministry.

Sacred Space for Lent 2026 invites readers to develop a closer relationship with God during the upcoming season of prayer, fasting, and almsgiving.

By Loretta Pehanich

My husband and I sat mesmerized by waves at Alki Beach. Our camp chairs were comfy as we watched children play, lovers stroll, and runners pass. My eyes were drawn to a woman lugging a fully loaded ice chest down to a picnic table. After struggling to get it situated, she disappeared briefly, only to […]

Click through to read the full article Daring to Talk to Strangers, which appeared first on Ignatian Spirituality.

IgnatianSpirituality.com ® is a service of Loyola Press, a Jesuit ministry.

Sacred Space for Lent 2026 invites readers to develop a closer relationship with God during the upcoming season of prayer, fasting, and almsgiving.

By Marina Berzins McCoy

Many of us find it helpful to talk through an idea with another person when we are trying to make a decision or process the meaning of something significant that has happened. For example, when I was younger and applying to graduate schools, I decided to shift in my career plans from psychology to philosophy. […]

Click through to read the full article Talking Through Discernment, which appeared first on Ignatian Spirituality.

IgnatianSpirituality.com ® is a service of Loyola Press, a Jesuit ministry.

Sacred Space for Lent 2026 invites readers to develop a closer relationship with God during the upcoming season of prayer, fasting, and almsgiving.

By Tim Muldoon

It is good to remember that spirituality is a series of practices that allow us to pay attention to God. God’s always there, but we get easily distracted. And the more we get distracted, the easier it is to get distracted. Distraction itself has become our practice. The answer, of course, is the opposite practice […]

Click through to read the full article Attention, which appeared first on Ignatian Spirituality.

IgnatianSpirituality.com ® is a service of Loyola Press, a Jesuit ministry.

Sacred Space for Lent 2026 invites readers to develop a closer relationship with God during the upcoming season of prayer, fasting, and almsgiving.

By Theresa Brotherton

My husband asked me why I was being nice instead of sharing the snarky comment the expression on my face expressed. Looking at him, I announced that I was trying to “will the good” of others in my life, and I had thought it would be a simple thing to do. “It’s hard,” I reluctantly […]

Click through to read the full article Willing the Good, which appeared first on Ignatian Spirituality.

IgnatianSpirituality.com ® is a service of Loyola Press, a Jesuit ministry.

Sacred Space for Lent 2026 invites readers to develop a closer relationship with God during the upcoming season of prayer, fasting, and almsgiving.

By Lisa Kelly

My 84-year-old father, a former Air Force fighter pilot who traveled around the world, now spends his days mainly confined to his recliner. His liberty to get up and walk to the refrigerator, let alone travel or even run an errand, is gone. He has lived in the same room for three years now, yet […]

Click through to read the full article The Only True Identity, which appeared first on Ignatian Spirituality.

IgnatianSpirituality.com ® is a service of Loyola Press, a Jesuit ministry.

Sacred Space for Lent 2026 invites readers to develop a closer relationship with God during the upcoming season of prayer, fasting, and almsgiving.

By dotMagis Editor

One of the most important characteristics of Ignatian prayer is the use of imagination. Ignatius recommends practices of meditation, consideration, and contemplation as ways for humans to open themselves to the work of God’s Spirit, who prays within the bodied spirit of the human person. Each of these practices requires the person of prayer to […]

Click through to read the full article Imagination and Creativity, which appeared first on Ignatian Spirituality.

IgnatianSpirituality.com ® is a service of Loyola Press, a Jesuit ministry.

Sacred Space for Lent 2026 invites readers to develop a closer relationship with God during the upcoming season of prayer, fasting, and almsgiving.

By Gerri Leder

Any given day, our activities might be driven by one big to-do list: pick up and drop off; get where we need to be; see who we arranged to see; work on projects; prepare and clean up; contact the people in our lives. We put one foot in front of the other most days without […]

Click through to read the full article What Am I Living For?, which appeared first on Ignatian Spirituality.

IgnatianSpirituality.com ® is a service of Loyola Press, a Jesuit ministry.

By discerning our deepest desires, we discover our truest selves. Read Tim Muldoon’s Living Against the Grain.

By Jim Manney

Everywhere these days, we’re told that the best policy is “no surprises.” Our world is obsessed with control, planning, and risk management. Parents of small children, coaches, managers, therapists, spouses, and friends are advised to be steady and predictable, to avoid sudden changes, to be transparent, and to explain expectations clearly. Much counsel in spiritual […]

Click through to read the full article The God of Surprises, which appeared first on Ignatian Spirituality.

IgnatianSpirituality.com ® is a service of Loyola Press, a Jesuit ministry.

By discerning our deepest desires, we discover our truest selves. Read Tim Muldoon’s Living Against the Grain.

By dotMagis Editor

Fr. Venâncio Da Costa Pereira, SJ, works in retreat ministry in Timor-Leste. He addresses serving people in a predominantly Catholic country and explains how the Ignatian Spirituality Center tries to promote two things in particular: spiritual conversation and discernment.

Click through to read the full article Retreat Ministry in Timor-Leste, which appeared first on Ignatian Spirituality.

IgnatianSpirituality.com ® is a service of Loyola Press, a Jesuit ministry.

By discerning our deepest desires, we discover our truest selves. Read Tim Muldoon’s Living Against the Grain.

By dotMagis Editor

Writer Alli Bobzien uses a yearly Examen as a way to gain perspective and practice prudence. She notes in “Everyday Ignatian: Practicing Prudence in the Examen”: When we are in the midst of daily life, it’s easy to miss the signposts pointing us to that which helps and away from that which hinders. Our family […]

Click through to read the full article New Year and the Examen, which appeared first on Ignatian Spirituality.

IgnatianSpirituality.com ® is a service of Loyola Press, a Jesuit ministry.

By discerning our deepest desires, we discover our truest selves. Read Tim Muldoon’s Living Against the Grain.

By dotMagis Editor

Let’s approach the new year with some encouragement to organization. Do you ever feel like this? There’s so much to do that I don’t know where to start. I think of everything I’m responsible for and everything I’d like to accomplish, and I panic—and sometimes I cope by doing nothing at all. Time to make […]

Click through to read the full article An Act of Creativity: Make a List, which appeared first on Ignatian Spirituality.

IgnatianSpirituality.com ® is a service of Loyola Press, a Jesuit ministry.

By discerning our deepest desires, we discover our truest selves. Read Tim Muldoon’s Living Against the Grain.

By dotMagis Editor

Writer Catherine Anne Sullivan presented a webinar on Ignatian journaling through Ignatian Young Adult Ministries. The advice is helpful for beginning journal writers of all ages, however. Sullivan suggests two centering questions to address in writing: What is one good thing I can thank God for today? What is one hard thing I can invite […]

Click through to read the full article Ignatian Journaling, which appeared first on Ignatian Spirituality.

IgnatianSpirituality.com ® is a service of Loyola Press, a Jesuit ministry.

By discerning our deepest desires, we discover our truest selves. Read Tim Muldoon’s Living Against the Grain.