Six Characteristics of Ignatian Spirituality

St. Ignatius Loyola at desk

George W. Traub, SJ, has spent his career in Jesuit education. He tells students and colleagues that Ignatian spirituality has these characteristics:

  1. It sees life and the whole universe as a gift calling forth wonder and gratefulness.
  2. It gives ample scope to imagination and emotion as well as intellect.
  3. It 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 the Christian) especially in the person of Jesus.
  4. It cultivates critical awareness of personal and social evil, but points to God’s love as more powerful than any evil.
  5. It stresses freedom, need for discernment, and responsible action.
  6. It empowers people to become leaders in service, men and women for others, whole persons of solidarity, building a more just and humane world.

From An Ignatian Spirituality Reader, edited by George W. Traub, SJ.


Related Links
Ten Elements of Ignatian Spirituality
Pray with Your Imagination by David L. Fleming, SJ
The Ignatian Way