The Principle and Foundation : Lectio Divina : Teachings of St Ignatius

Contemplative at Home

A 19-minute audio guided meditation on the Ignatian ‘Principle and Foundation,’ using Lectio Divina.

In his “Spiritual Exercises”, Ignatius invites us to consider who God is, who we are, and how we therefore invited to relate to God and all of the created order.

In the Principle and Foundation, with which you are invited to pray in this meditation, Ignatius assumes that the pilgrim is already comfortable with the fact that God is the source of all love, life, goodness and flourishing.

With this in mind, he infers that the path to human flourishing is to be as free and open to relationship with God as possible.

Therefore, he invites us to consider how our other relationships might be helping or hindering us on this path to flourishing. He invites us to be ‘indifferent’ to all created things – not with a lack of care – but with a mindfulness about our attachment, and how our attachment may be encouraging an increase in the flow of Divine Love in our lives, or hindering this flow.

Ignatius is big on discernment, and here we get one of his keys to good discernment: does it help or hinder the growth of my true aim: the love, service and praise of the Source of Life?

As you pray with this text, I’m not asking you to agree with it all, or even to fully wrap your head around it today. I’m simply offering these words to you as a potential vessel through which the Holy may have something to say to you.

I invite you to pray with an open heart.

Every blessing.

Today’s text:

“Human beings are created to praise, reverence and serve God our Lord, and by means of doing this to save their souls.

The other things on the face of the earth are created for the human beings, to help them in the pursuit of the end for which they were created.

From this it follows that we ought to use these things to the extent that they help us towards our end, and free ourselves from them to the extent that they hinder us from it.

To attain this it is necessary to make ourselves indifferent to all created things, in regard to everything which is left to our free will and is not forbidden. Consequently, on our own part we ought not to seek health rather than sickness, wealth rather than poverty, honor rather than dishonor, a long life rather than a short one, and so on in all other matters.

Rather we ought to desire and choose only that which is more conducive to the end for which we are created.”

The Spiritual Exercises of Saint Ignatius, SE23: Translated by George E Ganss SJ

Contemplative at Home offers guided meditative prayer – space to slow down and listen to the truth that is being born out of God’s love for you today – drawing on Ignatian spirituality and at times, Lectio Divina.

Sign up for Lissy’s monthly-ish newsletter “The Contemplative Window”

You can support the show by sharing it with a friend, rating it on your preferred podcast platform, making a one-off donation or becoming a member. Thank you so much!

All music by Pete Hatch.

Photo by Evgeni Tcherkasski on Unsplash

The post The Principle and Foundation : Lectio Divina : Teachings of St Ignatius appeared first on Contemplative at Home.