“Now, Master, you can dismiss your servant in peace; you have fulfilled your word. For my eyes have witnessed your saving deed displayed for all the peoples to see: A revealing light to the Gentiles, the glory of your people Israel.”
- Luke 2: 29-32
INTRODUCTION:
Saint Ignatius of Loyola popularized the method of prayer that uses imagination as a major vehicle. He makes extensive use of this method in the Spiritual Exercises. It is therefore called Ignatian contemplation. In ordinary parlance it is generally known as the method of imaging. While Ignatius used the term ‘contemplation’, the method is a discursive form of prayer, meaning that the disciple engages in the use of words, images, symbols, gestures, feelings, and primarily imagination in his/her contact with God. It is not to be confused with contemplative prayer as understood by Saints John of the Cross and Teresa of Avila.
IMAGING AS A METHOD OF PRAYER:
Saint Ignatius begins using this method in the Second Week of the Spiritual Exercises. He asks you to use your imagination in creating the Scriptural scene on which you are praying. For instance if you were praying on the Nativity of Jesus, you would begin by seeing the persons in the mystery as though present before you, and “you would look upon them, contemplate them, and serve them in their needs with all possible homage and reverence” (Spiritual Exercises, paragraph 114). Next, you would consider, observe, and contemplate what the persons are saying, and then to reflect on yourself and draw some fruit from it. Lastly, you would see and consider what they are doing, for example, “making the journey and laboring that our Lord might be born in extreme poverty, and that after many labors, after hunger, thirst, heat, and cold, after insults and outrages, He might die on the cross, and all this for me” (Spiritual Exercises, paragraph 116). Briefly, the method engages our imagination to better see God’s mystery and to observe what is being said and done.
BENEFITS FROM USING THE METHOD:
The method works best for those who have arrived at internal solitude and quiet in their relationship with God. Scripture is becoming God’s living word, being spoken to them personally, and Jesus is establishing an intimate presence in their lives. Because Jesus has become a very significant focus of their thoughts and desires during the day, it does not take them long to enter God’s presence when they come to prayer. Their visits with God seem to be a continuation of the prayerful relationship they have established during the day.
Ignatian contemplation is an affective method. It engages all the human faculties. What starts out as pure imagination as one tries to engage God’s mystery, ends up in imaginative faith. Many who use this method will say quite categorically that they experienced God’s presence and mystery and were awed and subdued by it. For those who enjoy using the imagination in prayer, this method can be restful and productive.
In the Spiritual Exercises, Saint Ignatius seems to presume that this method could lead to a greatly simplified form of discursive prayer or even contemplative prayer where God’s mystery is experienced in silence and awe. After he asks the retreatant to make several repetitions of say, the Nativity Scene, he invites him/her to do the Application of the five senses. Using the same method he invites you to experience the mystery through hearing what “they are saying, or what they might say,” through smelling “the infinite fragrance,” and tasting “the infinite sweetness of the divinity.” He asks you to apply the sense of touch as well, “by embracing and kissing the place where the persons stand or are seated, always taking care to draw fruit from this” (Spiritual Exercises, paragraphs 123-125). The application of the five senses generally happens to the person who has learnt to ponder things in his/her heart the way Mary did, and is favored by the Holy Spirit to “sense” God’s mystery.
DIFFICULTIES WITH THE METHOD:
This method does not seem to work too well for some. Saint Teresa of Avila did have difficulty using her imagination in presenting God’s mystery to herself. Those with a logical and intellectual bent, or “left-brainers,” might experience frustration with this way of praying. To each his/her own is the rule of thumb. If the method works for you, use it. If it doesn’t, find one that does. It is important not to assume that something is wrong with you because you cannot use this method effectively.
I have made this observation in spiritual direction that some have difficulty imaging God’s mystery because they are trying too hard. It is important not to force the method on God and yourself. Rather, it does well to remember that the Holy Spirit is in charge. The right disposition would be to wait on the Holy Spirit to produce the images in you. You are like a canvas on which the Holy Spirit is painting God’s mystery for you to observe, participate in, and relish.
Lastly, some have found to their relief and delight that when they have stopped trying to paint God’s mystery on the canvas of their hearts, paradoxically, the images started to appear and they could enter into God’s mystery through this method.
HELPFUL ATTITUDES FOR PRAYER:
· You can use this method whenever you wish. It seems to work well when the noise in your being has abated and your heart has become the Holy Spirit’s temple. Practicing the Presence of God during the day enhances the chances of this method working well.
· Imagination can be an effective help to our prayer if utilized well. On the other hand, it can be a great source of distraction if it is not harnessed properly. This method is a good way of using imagination in the service of prayer.
· Imaging is a method that children and adolescents would take to rather easily. It could be used effectively for family prayer.
· Saint Anthony of Padua used this method very effectively and often it led him into the contemplative depths of God’s mystery. He would image himself at the manger where he would receive the baby Jesus. He would cradle the infant in his arms and let his heart and being speak and be spoken to.
· Advent, Christmas, and Lent are liturgical seasons that lend themselves very effectively to this method of prayer.
GUIDELINES FOR PRAYER:
- Be faithful to your time of prayer, and make it between 20 and 30 minutes daily.
- Begin every prayer session with an earnest prayer to the Holy Spirit like the one I have composed for you: Come, Holy Spirit, and overshadow me with your gentle wisdom and power as I endeavor to sit at the feet of Jesus during this period of prayer. Purify my mind and heart as I seek to make the teachings of Jesus my priority in life, thinking, speaking and doing as He desires. You are the keeper of my soul, leading me into God’s heart. May I be docile and submissive to your wisdom and guidance. May my life be a pleasing offering in your sight. Amen.
- Take one of the passages suggested for prayer. During the week you might want to ponder the question, “What does it mean for you to know Jesus as Emmanuel, God-with-us? Have you seen, heard, and touched Him?”
- Lastly, during your prayer make sure you also address God directly and listen for the Holy Spirit’s responses.
- You can end your prayer with the following: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, I thank you for your gracious companionship. I praise you for being my Creator, Savior and Lord. May I take your blessings to my day, and may your presence envelop and permeate all my thoughts and actions. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.
PASSAGES FOR PRAYER:
Luke 2: 1-40: The Birth of Jesus
Matthew 2: 1-23: The Astrologers and Flight into Egypt
Luke 10: 25-37: The Good Samaritan
Luke 18: 1-10: Zacchaeus the Tax Collector
John 9: 1-41: The Man born Blind
Luke 22: 39-53: The Agony in the Garden
Matthew 28: 1-15: The Women at the Tomb
Luke 24: 13-35: Emmaus
SPIRITUAL READING:
The Imitation of Christ:
After the Bible, this classic is the most widely read. There are four books and 114 chapters in all. You could savor this book three times over if you read a single chapter each day of the retreat. For this week choose some of your favorite chapters.
The Bible:
It would be even more important for you to become familiar with the Bible, especially with the New Testament. Similarly, beginning with the New Testament you can choose to read a few chapters on a daily basis, and/or the ones recommended during this week.
New Testament:
Read the Acts of the Apostles, chapters 1-12.
JOURNALING:
- Journal for a few minutes daily about your experience with God in prayer and during the day.
- Your journal will help you with your sharing in spiritual direction
- Gradually patterns of insights, themes, consolations, and resistance to God’s promptings will emerge.
- Your journal will help you appreciate the Holy Spirit’s action in your being.
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