January 24, 2023 - In the Ignatian tradition, praying with the imagination is called contemplation. In the Exercises, contemplation is a very active way of praying that engages the mind and heart and stirs up thoughts and emotions.

June 16, 2025 - In Ignatian Contemplation, we first use our five senses to “enter into” the Gospel scene: seeing, hearing, tasting, touching and smelling.

September 14, 2025 - First our Catholic faith teaches that we can speak with the saints in prayer, and they with us. Ignatian contemplation helps us to see, hear, and walk with them, reminding us that the saints are real people who experience emotions like we do.

October 4, 2021 - Ignatian contemplation is a method of prayer that involves using our imagination to bring scripture to life. St. Ignatius promotes and instructs retreatants how to engage in this form of prayer in his Spiritual Exercises.

September 21, 2016 - Well, I’ll use contemplation in the broadest sense. So first, just try imagining yourself in God’s presence. Or sitting beside Jesus. And enjoy it. Then see what happens. What kind of emotions, feelings, memories, desires, insights arise? What might be God trying to tell you with these experiences? Or perhaps God just wants you to enjoy being in the divine presence. Or if you’re a more imaginative person, why not try Ignatian contemplation?

Then, after contemplating the scene with our imagination, enter into a heart-to-heart conversation with Jesus, making sure you allow time to listen and receive whatever the Lord wants to share with you. This is just one example of the Ignatian method of praying with Scripture.

February 11, 2022 - One of the most unique parts of Ignatian spirituality is Ignatian contemplation, an approach to prayer that engages one’s imagination and senses. Ignatius came to understand the value of his imagination when he was daydreaming in bed while convalescing from a battle would.

Think of the Ignatian Prayer Method—named after Ignatius of Loyola (1491–1556 CE)—as a virtual experience of the scripture where you read the scripture and then create in your mind a short video about what you read. Ignatius of Loyola’s remarkable imagination was responsible in large part for his conversion to Christianity.

January 24, 2023 - The Contemplation on the Incarnation invites the retreatant to imagine the Trinity looking down from heaven. Learn more about the Spiritual Exercises.

May 22, 2025 - There is a huge part of me that is ready to act, and I am working hard on the contemplative part right now listening to others and God, praying, and discerning what I am being called to do. Ignatius’ words of “love shows itself in deeds more than actions” are like a mantra as I watch the suffering in Texas, and I find myself praying the question from the First Week of the Spiritual Exercises, “What Ought I do for Christ, right now?” · I invite all my Ignatian friends, my fellow contemplative in actions to join me in this prayer.

Give to Ignatian Spirituality · Gospel Contemplation is a way of praying that St. Ignatius proposes quite frequently in his Spiritual Exercises. You are invited to use your imagination to enter the scene, to take part, to let the scene unfold.

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February 25, 2026 - This basic check–in helps ground ... intentionality. “Ignatian [practice] is all about contemplation and understanding by having a deeper understanding of ourselves,” Nichols says....

July 17, 2025 - Ignatian contemplation is a powerful method of prayer. It fosters a relationship with Jesus that illuminates the interior and allows us to live more fully and authentically, unencumbered by dissonant thoughts and feelings.

May 16, 2024 - Ignatian contemplative prayer begins with the “composition of place,” in which we use sensory details to immersively imagine ourselves in a scene from Scripture. When I’m getting to know a character, I do something similar: a composition of person. Before I can write a character, I need to know what it’s like to live in their skin.

Gospel Contemplation is a way of praying that St. Ignatius proposes quite frequently in his Spiritual Exercises. You are invited to use your imagination to enter the scene, to take part, to let the scene unfold.

May 22, 2025 - I am honored to accompany him in Contemplative and Imaginative Prayer, to walk his journey with him as I strive to be aware of his constant presence with me on my journey. I express my deep gratitude to Jesus in paraphrasing Ignatius’ Take Lord, Receive Prayer (which is actually the focus of next week’s post in this series): All I have is from you, Lord. I return it back to you. Your love and grace are enough. ... Pat traveled over 1000 miles to attend an Ignatian preached retreat.

April 1, 2025 - Home Ignatian Prayer The Spiritual Exercises Contemplation on the Love of God · The Contemplation on the Love of God is the concluding meditation of the Spiritual Exercises (Spiritual Exercises, 231–237). It presents a God who loves without limit and who invites us to make a generous response ...