Ignatian Spirituality: Characteristics & Elements

  •   Thu, Jul 23 2026
  •   By Fr Richard Mascarenhas SJ

July 23, 2026 

Introduction: Every year the Society of Jesus (Jesuits) all over the world celebrates the feast of St Ignatius Loyola on 31 July. There are so many priests, religious (both men and women) and lay faithful follow the Ignatian Spirituality in their life, mission and apostolic journey. As we are approaching the feast soon, here is a small article on Ignaian Spirituality and its Charecteristics.  

The Ignatian Spirituality sees life and the whole universe as a gift calling forth wonder, amazement and gratefulness. It gives ample scope to imagination and emotion as well as intellect. The spirituality seeks to find the divine in all things - in all peoples and cultures, in all areas of study and learning, in every human experience, and (for a Christian) especially in the person of Jesus. It invites us to cultivate a critical awareness of personal and social evil, but points to God’s love as more powerful than any evil. There is no evil greater than God’s love and mercy! No doubt, it stresses freedom, need for discernment, and responsible action and finally, it empowers people to become good shepherds, able spiritual animators and dynamic leaders in service of men and women for and with others, whole persons of solidarity, building a more just and humane society.

Basic Characteristics of Ignatian Spirituality:

1. It begins with a wounded and broken man: Ignatian spirituality is rooted in the experiences of Ignatius Loyola (1491–1556). Ignatius gained many insights into the spiritual life in the course of a decade’s long spiritual journey during which he became expert at helping others deepen their relationship with God. It is to have a deepest possible union and familiarity with the Divine.

2. The creation is enveloped with the Glory of God: God is at work everywhere and in every person’s - work, relationships, culture, the arts, and the intellectual life and finally in the entire creation. As Ignatius put it, all the things in the world are presented to us “so that we can know God more easily and make a return of love more readily.” Ignatian spirituality places great emphasis on discerning God’s presence in the everyday activities of ordinary life. It sees God as an active God, always at work, inviting us to an ever-deeper journey.

3. It’s about Divine Invitation and my availability: Ignatian spirituality focuses on God is at work here and now. It fosters an active attentiveness to God joined with a prompt responsiveness to God. God calls; we respond. This call-response rhythm of the inner life makes discernment and decision making especially important. Ignatius’s rules for discernment and his astute approach to decision making are well-regarded for their psychological and spiritual wisdom.

4. Emphasis on the affective life: Ignatius Loyola’s conversion occurred as he became able to interpret the spiritual meaning of his emotional life. The spirituality he developed places great emphasis on the affective life: the use of imagination in prayer, discernment and interpretation of feelings, cultivation of great desires, and generous service. Ignatian spiritual renewal focuses more on the heart than the intellect. It holds that our desires, choices and decisions are often beyond the merely rational or reasonable. Its goal is an eager, generous, wholehearted offer of oneself to God and to His work.

5. Interior freedom and self-detachment: Ignatian spirituality emphasizes interior freedom. To choose rightly, we should strive to be free of personal preferences, superfluous attachments, and preformed opinions. Ignatius counseled radical detachment: “We should not fix our desires on health or sickness, wealth or poverty, success or failure, a long life or a short one.” Our one goal is the freedom to make a wholehearted choice to follow God.

6. Daily Examen or the review of the Day: The Ignatian mind-set is strongly inclined to reflection and self-scrutiny. The distinctive Ignatian prayer is the Daily Examen, a review of the day’s activities with an eye toward detecting and responding to the presence of God. Three challenging, reflective questions lie at the heart of the Spiritual Exercises, the book Ignatius wrote, to help others deepen their spiritual lives: “What have I done for Christ? What am I doing for Christ? What ought I to do for Christ?”

7. A down to earth spirituality: Ignatian spirituality is adaptable. Adapted to the disposition of the persons who desire to make them, that is, to their age, education, and ability? In this way, someone who is uneducated or has a weak constitution will not be given things he or she cannot well bear or profit from without fatigue. It is to make one what he or she meant to be.

8. Emphasis on collaboration and teamwork: Ignatian spirituality places great value on collaboration and teamwork. Ignatian spirituality sees the link between God and man as a relationship - a bond of friendship that develops over time as a human relationship does. Collaboration is built into the very structure of the Spiritual Exercises; they are almost always guided by a spiritual director who helps the retreatant interpret the spiritual content of the retreat experience. Similarly, mission and service in the Ignatian mode is seen not as an individualistic enterprise, but as work done in collaboration with Christ and others.

9. To seek God in everything and everything in God: Those formed by Ignatian spirituality are often called “contemplatives in action.” They are reflective people with a rich inner life who are deeply engaged in God’s work in the world. They unite themselves with God by joining God’s active labour to save and heal the world. It’s an active spiritual attitude - a way for everyone to seek and find God in their workplaces, homes, families, and communities.

10. Men and women for and with others: The early Jesuits often described their ministry as simply “helping souls.” Most of the time we are good at getting in touch with our own wounds, movements within – they could be of spiritual, physical or psychological. But what about the wounds and movements of our people outside of us? Ignatius the founder of the Society of Jesus having received a special grace from the Divine and from the very beginning of the birth of the Society, he sent his companions on a mission to heal the broken and wounded world. Even till date he continues to inspire his companions/sons to go to the places where there is greater need to prepare our men and women for and with others.    

 

 

 

 
By Fr Richard Mascarenhas SJ
Fr Richard Mascarenhas SJ is a Jesuit priest from Karnataka Jesuit province. Currently he is on the staff of Dhyanashrama Retreat Centre -Mt St Joseph, Bangalore - 560 076. E-mail: frrichiesj@gmail.com.
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