Category: Ignatian Basics
The First Virtue: St. Ignatius on the Power of Gratitude
by andyotto | Mar 24, 2025 | Ignatian Basics, Spiritual Practices | 2
Gratitude forms the cornerstone of Ignatian spirituality, establishing the proper relationship between the gift-giver God and humans as recipients rather than takers. This fundamental orientation shapes our entire spiritual life, fostering virtues like humility and generosity whilst providing a powerful antidote to anxiety and negativity.
Read MoreCura Personalis
by andyotto | Dec 6, 2021 | Ignatian Basics, Spiritual Practices | 1
How do we practically understand and live the Ignatian concept of ‘cura personalis’? This is a talk I recently gave for the Ignatian Spirituality Center of Seattle.
Read MoreIgnatian Contemplation: Praying with Your Imagination
by andyotto | Jul 30, 2021 | Ignatian Basics, Prayer | 2
Think you don’t have an imagination? Here’s why Ignatius felt imagination was so important to our prayer. Also, try our new Memory Recollection audio meditation.
Read MoreWhat is Ignatian spirituality?
by andyotto | Feb 8, 2021 | Ignatian Basics | 0
An overview of five important contributions of the Ignatian spiritual tradition.
Read MoreJesus’ Paradoxical Life-Giving Tactics
by andyotto | Mar 2, 2020 | Ignatian Basics, Scripture Reflections | 1
The evil spirit uses the tactics of riches, honour, and pride to control us. Jesus has a different way.
Read MoreThe World of Sin
by andyotto | Nov 11, 2019 | Ignatian Basics, The Tough Questions | 2
It’s much broader and deeper than you think.
Read MoreConsolation & Desolation
by andyotto | Oct 14, 2019 | Discernment, Ignatian Basics | 1
Consolation and desolation are key to discerning God’s movement in your life, but these terms are easily misunderstood.
Read MoreThe Principle & Foundation: Ignatian Spirituality in a Nutshell
by andyotto | Mar 4, 2019 | Awareness, Discernment, Ignatian Basics | 3
Ignatian spirituality can be summed up in the few paragraphs at the beginning of the Exercises: sharing life with God and responding in gratitude to God’s gifts in freedom.
Read MorePraise, Reverence, and Serve
by andyotto | Jan 7, 2019 | Ignatian Basics, The Tough Questions | 8
Ignatius says our purpose is to praise, reverence, and serve God. But this sounds like a rather selfish God.
Read MoreIgnatian Spirituality and Memory
by andyotto | Jul 23, 2018 | Awareness, God In All Things, Ignatian Basics, Prayer | 6
It is human nature to engage memory in bettering ourselves. Memory is an integral part of Ignatian spirituality and a primary way God speaks to us.
Read MoreThe Discernment of Spirits – Part 1
by andyotto | Jun 11, 2018 | Discernment, Ignatian Basics | 4
How do we know the voice of God from the voice of the evil one? This is the first part of a three-part series on Ignatius’ Rules for the Discernment of Spirits.
Read MoreElection (The Ignatian Kind)
by andyotto | Nov 1, 2016 | Discernment, Ignatian Basics | 4
Why do we treat important decisions like products, as if we’re “buying” an “add-on” for our life? True Christian discernment ought to be about “selling” and casting off false masks.
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This guide will offer you a process and framework for discerning a particular decision using the approaches and prayer methods in the Ignatian tradition.