Probing the Depths: Ignatian Lessons and Meditations Arranged According to the Liturgical Year

By John Paul Thomas

Do you know how to pray? Do you know how to discern the will of God? How do you best fulfill the mission of your life and give God the greatest glory? These are among the most foundational questions in life. One of the best ways to answer each one of these questions in your life is through the spiritual teachings of Saint Ignatius of Loyola.

Between the years of 1522–1541, Saint Ignatius of Loyola completed what has come to be known as one of the greatest spiritual masterpieces of all time: The Spiritual Exercises. This relatively short book is packed with deep insights and guidelines for one who wants to grow in holiness by encountering God on a 30-day retreat. In a sense, this retreat is the “mother of all retreats” on account of its length, method and depth.

In our day and age, within our fast-paced society, few people are able to go off and enter into silence and solitude for 30 days and to thus benefit from the fruitfulness of the full experience of Saint Ignatius’ retreat format. However, many people today are searching for ways to deepen their relationship with our divine Lord.

The goal of this current three-part book, Probing the Depths, is to present the wisdom and spiritual lessons set forth by Saint Ignatius in The Spiritual Exercises in a format you can incorporate into your daily life throughout the Liturgical Year. A summary of the three parts of this book is as follows:

Part One presents a brief introduction to the life of Saint Ignatius of Loyola, offers an introduction to his masterpiece The Spiritual Exercises, and gives an overview of ten lessons taught by Saint Ignatius in The Spiritual Exercises. These lessons provide a basis for his unique spiritual approach and will be exceptionally useful in a practical way, especially as it pertains to daily discernment and fulfillment of the will of God. These chapters should be read and re-read so that they become practiced in your daily life.

Part Two of this book contains sixty-nine guided meditations on the topics Saint Ignatius recommends for his 30-day retreat. These meditations were written using the methods of meditation, contemplation and application of the senses that are taught by Saint Ignatius. These meditations are arranged according to the Liturgical Year of the Church, which makes it possible to incorporate them into the daily rhythm of your life. A more detailed explanation of this arrangement of the meditations is found in the Introduction to Part Two.

Part Three of this book provides some additional prayer material that can be used throughout the year. Specifically, it provides three forms of examination of conscience, a daily and weekly examen format based on the five points of Saint Ignatius’ Daily General Examen, and some morning, afternoon and evening prayers.

In his initial instructions for the retreat, in the 18th and 19th Annotations, Saint Ignatius acknowledges that some people will need to adapt these exercises to their state in life. Thus, for those who live a busy life in the world, the Exercises may need to be extended over many weeks rather than completed within 30 days. Therefore, these meditations have been adapted to meet this need.

If you do not make a weekly holy hour of adoration, the meditations and prayers in this book can also be used on a regular basis during your daily and/or weekly prayer time in any quiet place. However, the meditations are written specifically with a holy hour of adoration in mind.

• Language: English
• Publisher: My Catholic Life Inc.
• Release date: Oct 5, 2020
• ISBN: 9781005231330

John Paul Thomas

"John Paul Thomas" is the pen name this Catholic priest chose in honor of the Apostles Saints John and Thomas and the great evangelist Saint Paul. This name also evokes the memory of the great Pope Saint John Paul II.John is the beloved apostle who sought out a deeply personal and intimate relationship with his Savior. Hopefully the writings in this book point us all to a deeply personal and intimate relationship with our God. May John be a model of this intimacy and love.Thomas is also a beloved apostle and close friend of Jesus but is well known for his lack of faith in Jesus' resurrection. Though he ultimately entered into a profound faith crying out, "my Lord and my God," he is given to us as a model of our own weakness of faith. Thomas should inspire us to always return to faith when we realize we have doubted.As a Pharisee, Paul severely persecuted the early Christian Church. However, after going through a powerful conversion, he went on to become the great evangelist to the gentiles, founding many new communities of believers and writing many letters contained in Sacred Scripture. His letters are deeply personal and reveal a shepherd's heart. He is a model for all as we seek to embrace our calling to spread the Gospel.

Book preview

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Introduction: How to Use this Three-Part Book

Part One: Background of Saint Ignatius and Lessons From The Spiritual Exercises

Chapter One: The Life of Saint Ignatius of Loyola

Chapter Two: Overview of The Spiritual Exercises

Chapter Three: Mental Prayer

Chapter Four: Examining Your Conscience

Chapter Five: Discernment of Spirits—Part One

Chapter Six: Discernment of Spirits—Part Two

Chapter Seven: The Daily General Examen

Chapter Eight: Rules for the Distribution of Alms

Chapter Nine: Some Notes Concerning Scruples

Chapter Ten: Rules for Thinking with the Church

Chapter Eleven: Discerning the Will of God

Chapter Twelve: Three Additional Methods of Prayer

Part Two: Ignatian Meditations Arranged According to the Liturgical Year

Introduction to Part Two

Foundational Meditations

God, the Creator of All That Is

God, the Intimate Guide for Your Life

God, the Goal, Purpose and End of Your Life

Sin of the Angels

Sin of Adam and Eve

General Effects of Sin

Introduction to Meditations Seven–Nine

Personal Sin: In the Light of the Divine Sun

Personal Sins of My Life

Humiliation and Humility

Death

Judgment

Hell

Notebook Exercises

Meditations for Advent

New King

Christ the King

Total Surrender

Need for a Savior

Fiat of the Mother of God

Visitation of the Mother and the Son of God

Meditations for the Christmas Season

Birth of the Savior of the World

Humble Shepherds

Presentation in the Temple

Magi

Flight into Egypt, Massacre of Holy Innocents

Hidden Life, Finding in the Temple

Meditations for Ordinary Time

Baptism of the Lord

Two Standards

Three Classes of Men

Temptation

Calling of Apostles

Wedding at Cana

Cleansing the Temple

Sermon on the Mount

Calming the Storm

Walking on Water

The Apostles were Sent to Preach

Conversion of Mary Magdalene

How Christ Fed the Five Thousand

Transfiguration of Christ

Resurrection of Lazarus

Supper in Bethany

Three Ways of Humility

Meditations for Lent

Life Decisions and Resolutions

Palm Sunday

Leading up to Holy Thursday

Last Supper

Agony in the Garden

Jesus is Arrested and Brought Before Annas

Jesus is Brought Before Caiaphas

Jesus is Brought Before Pilate

Jesus is Brought Before Herod

Second Trial by Pilate

Jesus Carries His Cross and is Crucified

Jesus Speaks From the Cross

Jesus Dies on the Cross

Jesus’ Body in the Arms of His Mother

Jesus is Buried

Holy Saturday

Meditations for the Easter Season

Resurrection of Jesus and First Apparition

Second Apparition

Third Apparition

Fourth Apparition

Fifth Apparition

Sixth Apparition

Seventh Apparition

Eighth Apparition

Ninth Apparition

Additional Apparitions

Ascension of Jesus

Contemplation to Attain Divine Love

Part Three: Additional Prayer Materials for Use Throughout the Year

Introduction to Part Three

Format for Holy Hours

Examination of Conscience: Seven Capital Sins

Examination of Conscience: Ten Commandments

Weekly Examen for Holy Hour

Examination of Conscience: Faith, Hope & Charity

Short Examination of Conscience: Faith, Hope & Charity

Daily Prayers

Morning Prayers

Afternoon Prayer

Daily General Examen at Night

Introduction

How to Use this Three-Part Book

Do you know how to pray? Do you know how to discern the will of God for your life? What is the purpose of life? Are you living your life in such a way that you find the deepest fulfillment and meaning? How do you best fulfill the mission of your life? How do you give God the greatest glory? These are among the most foundational questions in life. One of the best ways to answer each one of these questions in your life is through the spiritual teachings of Saint Ignatius of Loyola.

Between the years of 1522–1541, Saint Ignatius of Loyola completed what has come to be known as one of the greatest spiritual masterpieces of all time: The Spiritual Exercises. This relatively short book is packed with deep insights and guidelines for one who wants to grow in holiness by encountering God on a 30-day retreat. In a sense, this retreat is the mother of all retreats on account of its length, method and depth.

In our day and age, within our fast-paced society, few people are able to go off and enter into silence and solitude for 30 days and to thus benefit from the fruitfulness of the full experience of Saint Ignatius’ retreat format. However, many people today are searching for ways to deepen their relationship with our divine Lord.

The goal of this current three-part book, Probing the Depths, is to present the wisdom and spiritual lessons set forth by Saint Ignatius in The Spiritual Exercises in a format you can incorporate into your daily life throughout the Liturgical Year. A summary of the three parts of this book is as follows:

Part One presents a brief introduction to the life of Saint Ignatius of Loyola, offers an introduction to his masterpiece The Spiritual Exercises, and gives an overview of ten lessons taught by Saint Ignatius in The Spiritual Exercises. These lessons provide a basis for his unique spiritual approach and will be exceptionally useful in a practical way, especially as it pertains to daily discernment and fulfillment of the will of God. These chapters should be read and re-read so that they become practiced in your daily life.

Part Two of this book contains sixty-nine guided meditations on the topics Saint Ignatius recommends for his 30-day retreat. These meditations were written using the methods of meditation, contemplation and application of the senses that are taught by Saint Ignatius. These meditations are arranged according to the Liturgical Year of the Church, which makes it possible to incorporate them into the daily rhythm of your life. A more detailed explanation of this arrangement of the meditations is found in the Introduction to Part Two.

Part Three of this book provides some additional prayer material that can be used throughout the year. Specifically, it provides three forms of examination of conscience, a daily and weekly examen format based on the five points of Saint Ignatius’ Daily General Examen, and some morning, afternoon and evening prayers.

Rationale of this Adapted Approach

In his initial instructions for the retreat, in the 18th and 19th Annotations, Saint Ignatius acknowledges that some people will need to adapt these exercises to their state in life. Thus, for those who live a busy life in the world, the Exercises may need to be extended over many weeks rather than completed within 30 days. Therefore, these meditations have been adapted to meet this need.

It’s important to note, however, that this weekly approach is certainly not a replacement for an actual 30-day retreat given under the direction of a well-trained spiritual director. But for those who feel drawn by God to enter into this extended endeavor, be assured that the spiritual fruit awaiting you is abundant.

If you do not make a weekly holy hour of adoration, the meditations and prayers in this book can also be used on a regular basis during your daily and/or weekly prayer time in any quiet place. However, the meditations are written specifically with a holy hour of adoration in mind.

Recommended Structure for Holy Hours

It is recommended that you first read Chapters One to Five in Part One of this book prior to incorporating the meditations into your weekly holy hour. When you are ready to begin, use the proposed structure below for the weekly holy hour. The following outline is also included in Part Three, along with the various examinations of conscience, for quick and easy reference during your holy hour.

5 minutes—Begin by kneeling before the Blessed Sacrament in silence and calming your thoughts. Then meditate on the following preparatory prayer and continue your silence:

My precious and divine Lord, Jesus. I kneel before Your hidden majesty and adore Your sacred presence with my mind and heart. I believe You are here, present in this most Holy Sacrament.

As I begin this hour of prayer, I say Yes to all that You wish to do in my soul. Speak to me, console me, consume me, enlighten me. Remove all distractions from my wandering mind and help me to be attentive only to You, my God and my All.

10–15 minutes—Weekly Examen with Examination of Conscience

During the Foundational Meditations, use the examinations of conscience on the Seven Capital Sins and the Ten Commandments.

During the rest of the year, focus especially upon the details of the examination of conscience on faith, hope and charity, returning from time to time to the previous two examinations at your discretion.

5 minutes—Meditation on Suscipe Prayer

Take, Lord, and receive all my liberty,

my memory, my understanding,

and my entire will,

all I have and possess.

You have given all to me.

To you, Lord, I return it.

Everything is Yours; do with it what You will.

Give me only Your love and Your grace.

That’s enough for me.

— St. Ignatius of Loyola

25–30 minutes—Reflection on one to three meditations

5 minutes—Further reflection upon that which moved you most in the holy hour; make notes if using a journal

5 minutes—Interior silence, being present to God without thinking, reading or saying prayers

Detailed Explanation of the Structure of the Holy Hour

For those who choose to follow the recommended structure presented above, it is best to carefully study this structure and understand it prior to making your first holy hour using this book. That way you will be able to make prayer your focus rather than use up time figuring out the structure during the holy hour. It’s also important to understand that the most important part of a holy hour is not the slavish following of this or any other structure; rather, it’s the encounter with our living God. Therefore, if you sense a clear and certain inspiration from God to savor some meditation, then do so in peace, as long as it is drawing you closer to our divine Lord.

When you are ready to begin incorporating the meditations of this book into your holy hours, use the following more detailed suggested structure for your holy hour:

Preparatory Silence (5 minutes): Kneel before our Lord in the Blessed Sacrament in silence. Gaze at Him for a while until your mind is calm. Then close your eyes and acknowledge His hidden presence in the Sacred Host by faith. Make an act of faith interiorly, acknowledging His true Presence and professing your wholehearted belief in His Presence. Then remain silent, intentionally acknowledging His divine Presence for one to two minutes. Dispel distractions and wandering thoughts immediately when they come to you as you kneel in silence. After some silence, pray a preparatory prayer acknowledging the divine Presence of Christ in the Eucharist and then return to silence for a short while. A recommended Preparatory Prayer for the Holy Hour can be found in the Introduction to Part Two.

Weekly Examen (10–15 minutes): At your discretion, the first 10–15 minutes designated for the Weekly Examen will follow the same method as the Daily Examen that is explained in Chapter Seven of Part One. The only difference is that rather than examining only your day, you will examine your past week along with any notes you have made in your daily journal (if you use one). A practical guide for the Weekly Examen is found in Part Three of this book.

One important goal of these spiritual exercises is to grow, change, resolve, and amend—and grow and change and amend some more. One week should build upon another, and progress in the spiritual life should be made. For that reason, it’s important to regularly refer back to the insights and experiences of the previous weeks. The simple and clear goal of this fifteen minutes each week is to ensure that you do not just go through the motions without changing. If you do notice that you have failed to change or to incorporate the various words God has spoken, ponder why and make your resolution anew. If you have been able to see changes, then prayerfully express your gratitude to God. To thank and praise God for the good He has done in your life is essential and will help to solidify that change as the weeks move on.

Additionally, during the initial Foundational Meditations, you will want to slowly work your way through the examination of conscience on the Seven Capital Sins and the Ten Commandments as a way of doing a thorough inventory of your life and to prepare for a general confession. Throughout the rest of the meditation sections for the Liturgical Year, you should primarily focus on the Examination of Conscience: Faith, Hope and Charity. This will help you to continually and methodically go deeper into the imperfections with which you struggle. However, if at any time you find yourself struggling with more serious sin, just return to the first two examinations for help and insight.

Meditation on Suscipe Prayer (5 minutes): Prepare for the meditations you will use in each holy hour by praying what is referred to as the Suscipe Prayer. The word suscipe is Latin for receive. It is the prayer written by Saint Ignatius for use in his meditation on the Contemplation of Divine Love but is ideally prayed regularly as a guide for all of your prayers.  Upon the completion of this prayer, seek to allow your mind and your will to engage its meaning and make it your own prayer as fully as you can.

One–three Meditations (25–30 minutes): After spending sufficient time with your designated prayer of surrender, begin the meditations. Remember that the one and only goal of these meditations is to draw you into an encounter with Christ so that He can speak to you, lead you and guide you into His perfect will. Therefore, be very attentive to any stirrings of the Holy Spirit within you as you read the meditations, stopping and savoring anything that strikes you for as long as it seems to bear good fruit for your prayerful encounter with our divine Lord. Try not to use more than three meditations in one holy hour. At times, you may only need to use one if the meditation is producing good spiritual fruit in your prayer.

Further Reflection (5 minutes): Upon the completion of the meditation(s), spend about five minutes reviewing anything that affected you the most in this holy hour. This could be either from the Weekly Examen, the meditations or something else God communicated to you. Savor that insight a bit more and briefly write down any insights you have so that you can return to them during the week.

Interior Silence (5 minutes): It’s always useful to conclude your holy hour with a brief period of interior silence. Silence can be difficult, but it is often in silence that God speaks most clearly. If you find silence difficult, try to use a repetitive prayer, such as the Rosary or Chaplet of Divine Mercy.

Daily Prayers and Exercises During the Week

To help keep the fruit of each holy hour alive throughout the week, it is very beneficial to continue to ponder the inspirations you received during the previous week’s holy hour. Therefore, the second essential method of engaging The Spiritual Exercises over an extended period of time is to establish a daily habit of prayer that is connected to and flows from the weekly holy hour. Below are four recommendations for the week that follows each holy hour:

By the end of each holy hour, especially during the Further Reflections period, hopefully you have written down some of the spiritual inspirations, insights, realizations, etc., that came to you. Reflect upon these insights for a few minutes every day each week so as to recall the ways God spoke to you in that holy hour. Any notes you take will also be used for your Weekly Examen period of your holy hours throughout the year.

Each day, pray the morning, afternoon and evening prayers. It is also ideal to pray the Rosary and/or the Chaplet of Divine Mercy if you are able. Establishing a habit of daily prayer will be a tremendous blessing if you can form and continue the habit for the rest of your life.

In some way, examine your conscience during the week. The three examinations of conscience will help with this.

Central to Ignatius’ own conversion and to the wisdom of The Spiritual Exercises are regular acts of penance and mortification. In Lent each year, you are asked to give something up. Additionally, you should abstain from meat on Fridays of Lent. The spiritual fruit of fasting, abstaining and other forms of mortification are very beneficial to the spiritual life. Therefore, some form of weekly and daily mortification should be chosen. A weekly mortification could be, for example, choosing to fast and abstain from meat every Friday, not just during Lent. A daily mortification could be any form of self-denial, such as giving up television or a favorite food, taking a cold vs. a hot shower, drinking cold coffee, etc. Anything that is done as a small and personal sacrifice each day of the week will have a direct benefit on the spiritual life far more than you may realize.

Part One:

Background of Saint Ignatius and Lessons from The Spiritual Exercises

Chapter One

The Life of Saint Ignatius of Loyola

Íñigo López de Oñaz y Loyola (who later began using the name Ignatius) was born at the Castle of Loyola in the municipality of Azpeitia (current day Gipuzkoa, Spain) on October 23, 1491. In his youth, Ignatius was an enthusiastic man who had dreams of being a great military officer. But that all changed when he had a profound encounter with Christ. After being wounded in battle, Ignatius was bedridden for months as his wounded leg healed. In his boredom, in order to pass the time, he asked for some books to read. He had hoped to receive some books on chivalry and romance for entertainment, but none such books were in the house where he was recovering. Instead, he was given two books: The Life of Christ by Ludolph of Saxony, a Carthusian monk; and the Flowers of the Saints. As he read and re-read these books, he began to be inspired and began to imagine himself living a saintly life.

Ignatius, however, also spent much time daydreaming about romance, chivalry and other worldly endeavors. But since he was only in possession of these two books, his imagination would wander between the two: Christ and the saints, then romance and chivalry. But there was a difference. Ignatius eventually noticed that even though both of these trains of thought left him excited while thinking about them, the worldly thoughts eventually left him feeling dry and sad, whereas the thoughts about Christ and the saints left him inspired and enthused long after he had ended his daydream. It was this realization that first compelled him to intensify his conversion, and it was this insight that led to much of the wisdom contained in The Spiritual Exercises.

After his recovery, Ignatius desired to make a pilgrimage to the Holy Land. However, before completing that trip, he first made a journey to the town of Montserrat. Two powerful influences on him during that time were his penitential practices and his thorough confession. For penance, he wore clothing that was rough and uncomfortable, tied a cord below his knee and only wore one