Ignatius designed the sequence of the exercises based on his own prayer experience. What happens within the rhythm of the four phases of the exercises is the awareness of interior feelings that suggest movements either towards or away from God:
He began to realize the difference between consoling feelings such as joy and peace, shame for his sins and the grace of sorrow and anguish at the sufferings of Christ and feelings of desolation such as complacency and despair. Consolation and desolation as used by Ignatius come to be two technical terms, which recur constantly in the texts of the Exercises... (P.Sheldrake, The Way of St. Ignatius Loyola, 1991, p.18)
These are some questions to consider when discerning spirits. It is recommended to consult a spiritual director to help you see God's role in your life.
What is the state of your Christian life?
How oriented to God are you?
What are you grateful for?
Ignatius used some images to determine the movement of spirits. A sponge represented the good spirit that gently absorbs the grace to pay attention to what is true, good and beautiful is called consolation.
Do you notice the signs of the Holy Spirit; i.e. "love, joy, peace, patience,
kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control."(Gal 5:22-23)
Does guilt cause you to pray more and seek counsel?
The evil spirit causes disturbing thoughts like water hitting a rock, scattering in all directions, that distracts good intentions for self and others is called desolation.
When there are feelings of apathy and neglect in prayer.
Times that you note more anxiety, fear or temptation in your spiritual life.
Avoid making major life decisions in these times. Rather look back to when consolation seemed to become disturbed.
In many ways, Ignatius helps retreatants paint a picture with the mind and senses. The aim of his manual was to inspire someone, so that they could enflesh the Gospel of Jesus Christ and live their lives for God and others. This methodology heightened one's awareness of weaknesses and strengths in order to know how best to serve others. The object is to undergo conversion in order to be free for God's sake.
For each prayer period of the retreat Ignatius would suggest at the beginning that people dispose themselves to God's revelation through a moment of quiet reverence. The next step is to name the desire that they wish to receive in prayer, followed by an exercise of the imagination called the "Composition of Place." As Hugo Rahner describes this exercise,
This Composition of Place ... uses pictures and images to present what is otherwise beyond all conceiving; it prepares the soul for the Application of the Senses ... and paves the way for the images, symbols and dispositions whereby the senses of the soul will be enabled to touch and savor spiritual truths. (Ignatius the Theologian; NY1968, p.189)
These directions do not guarantee divine favor. One is just becoming receptive to what God wants to reveal. The retreatant imagines interacting with the characters of the story or even becoming one of them and can thus enter into a scriptural scene, using all of the senses. This, in turn, helps one look at Jesus in scenes from the retreatant's own life.
The revelation of God through the stories of Jesus is made present through imaginative participation. The mind engages the heart. As Hugo Rahner comments, "... the aim of this mode of prayer is to make the events of salvation 'present' in the mind, and thus to attain that direct experience of love."(ibid.p.194) One notices this love through one's desires.
Desires in Prayer
Prayer in this context is the ability to notice feelings and desires inspired by an encounter with Jesus. Imagining, as Ignatius intended does not aim to seek truth based on concrete facts. Rather, contemplation helps to discover the truth of Jesus' heart in order to know how to live out the goodness that God desires for each person:
Ignatius expects that God will elicit the desires that are most for our good if we open ourselves and our hearts to God's tutelage and if we ask God to give us these desires.... If we have this desire (to be with Jesus), God must want us to have it, and for our good. (Barry, Finding God in All Things, 1991p.79)
We cannot force these desires. We are invited to notice desires to be with another by the very fact that we are social beings. Jesus is this other being to whom we become attracted when we desire to know God more. As Ignatius' experience indicated, the stories of Jesus and real persons who shared similar values sparked this curiosity about the spiritual life. Through greater intimacy with Jesus, Ignatius was led to serve him.
Application of the Senses
To deepen such encounters, Ignatius recommends 'savoring' the experience. This means to go back to those points in prayer that provoked the strongest reactions in order to experience the desire for intimacy with God more deeply. This is called the "Application of the Senses." Here, a retreatant can relish significant moments by envisioning the scene with more attention to the sensual responses felt in one's body.
The Colloquy
After each exercise, Ignatius suggests another prayer, called a "colloquy," a conversation in which the retreatant imagines that they were talking to a close friend. They address for example, a member of the Trinity, or Mary, and discuss what happened in the prayer period. This mode of conversation continues when the retreatant meets with a spiritual director.
The director can be helpful in pointing out particular experiences from where the Holy Spirit seems to be more active. The images provoke an affective response that can lead to greater generosity and availability for revelation of God's glory in ministry, for "... genuine meditation is only possible when a person is also prepared to put what he has contemplated into action."(Rahner 1968,p.182) The imagination can serve the heart.
Contemplation Leads to Action
The exercises progress to the point of exacting a total commitment to participate in the life of Jesus even unto his death. Contemplating such scenes as Jesus' passion invite believers to identify their own suffering lives with the suffering Body of Christ. In particular, death makes one focus on what is most meaningful in human existence. It spares no one. Confronting mortality and finitude can lead to enhancing each moment of life. Inspired by meeting God in these events moves one to return to daily life with enthusiasm and charity. These contemplative exercises are opportunities to be grateful for the gift of life. This felt response is the power to desire to help others.
Ignatius proposed a way to encounter God through the imagination. Such exercises provoke feelings of gratitude, which prompt one's desires to follow Jesus. Contemplating such scenes evokes courage and humility, which are virtues Jesus exhibited in his obedience to do God's will. These are values that characterize those who are called to proclaim God's intention for love and beauty to flourish in the world. The language of images inspires this and has been a tradition in the Church even before the time of Ignatius. This method has continued since then through those companions of Jesus, better known as Jesuits who followed Ignatius.
1. QUIET: Stop for a moment, breathe and simply relax. Perhaps recite a formal prayer.
2. INTENTION: What am I grateful for?
What do I want right now?
3. ATTENTION: Look over the entire image. Is there a figure, shape, color, texture or word that calls your attention?
4. NOTICE: What feelings, thoughts, or desires do you notice?
What could they reveal about God and your life?
5. RESPOND: Speak to God as you would one friend to another.
6. CLOSE: Offer a prayer or gesture as a way to end the experience.
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