First Method of Prayer (St. Ignatius)
From Spiritual Exercises for an Eight-Day Retreat, compiled by Bonaventure Hammer, 1895 Tools
II
Source
| Printed in | Spiritual Exercises for an Eight-Day Retreat |
|---|---|
| Imprint | St. Louis, Mo., B. Herder (printed: 'Published by B. Herder, 17 South Broadway'); printed by Becktold & Co., Printers and Binders, 1895 |
| Scan | leaf 1, leaf 2 of the Internet Archive copy |
| Approval | Imprimatur: + John Jos. Kain, Archbishop-Coadjutor and Administrator. St. Louis, May 20th, 1895. Nihil obstat: Fr. Petrus Bapt. Englert, O.S.F., Minister Provincialis. Cincinnati, O., die 11. Martii 1895. |
| So printed | Kept as printed on the page. |
| Rights | Public domain in the United States. |
- Prayers for
- forgiveness of sins, amendment of life, faith, trust in God, love of God
Noël Bellemare, King David in Prayer, leaf from a book of hours, about 1530–35. Cleveland Museum of Art.
Three Methods of Prayer, recommended by St. Ignatius in his Book of Spiritual Exercises.
First Method.
This method consists in an examination, interspersed with aspirations, expressions of contrition, and purposes of amendment. The examination may relate to the commandments of God, or to the capital sins, or to the powers of the soul, viz., memory, understanding and will; or to the senses of the body, to seeing, hearing, etc. The examination is made as follows:
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Recollect yourself, and ask, What am I about to do? I am about to meditate on . . . .
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Ask pardon of God for the sins which you have committed, for instance, against the commandments; promise Him to follow His inspirations.
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Begin your examination. Make it not as for confession, but in the form of a meditation, and so as to render an account to yourself before God on the subject under consideration. Thus: ‘In what have I offended God against the first commandment? — In what against faith, hope, charity, religion? — Let your examination be very brief. Then ask pardon of God for your faults, and promise Him to amend them. Add aspirations, for instance, I believe, O God, strengthen my faith! Pardon my want of confidence in Thee! O God, may I love Thee ever more and more!” — After examining yourself on the first commandment, proceed to the second, and so on.
After the time you have set apart for prayer is over, finish it at whatever point you may happen to be, reserving the rest for the next day.
If you take for the subject of your exercise the capital sins, or the five senses, or the powers of the soul, the method remains the same, but you will ask yourself: In what manner have I offended by pride, envy, etc.? Or, How have I sinned with my eyes, my tongue etc.? — Or, have I sinned with my memory, my understanding, etc.? — Close with an Our Father.
It is also an excellent exercise to consider what use Our Divine Saviour and His Blessed Mother made of their senses: How pure, how modest they were in their looks; how circumspect, how charitable in their words; how mortified in their senses.—Then ask yourself how you have used your senses: Have you followed the example of Jesus and Mary? — If you have in any way offended, resolve to be more careful in future.
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