Ignatian ways have a drift

Ignatius of Loyola organises our many ways of praying into a purpose that is traditionally known as the purgative, illuminative and unitive ways.

He calls his ways 'exercises'. As physical exercises give the body the opportunity to be healthy so spiritual exercises dispose a person to collaborate with the Spirit of God, though in spiritual exercises it is not so much what the person does as what the person allows the Spirit of God to do.

Ignatius provides a basic framework for our praying as we make our pilgrimage through life as God's chosen People led by the Spirit of God out of Egypt into the freedom of the Promised Land.

The Christian responding to the inspiration of the Spirit of God is called to imitate in some way the response of Mary Mother of God given to us at the beginning of the Gospel according to Luke. Behold the handmaid of the Lord. Be it done unto me according to thy word.

Ignatius' 'framework' is rather a 'springboard' to Christian living.  He calls it 'The Principle and Foundation'. It is an expansion of that Preliminary Prayer mentioned on the previous page. It requires chewing over and getting properly digested. It runs:

The human person is created to praise, reverence and serve God our Lord and by so doing save his or her soul; and it is for the human person that the other things on the face of the earth are created, as helps to the pursuit of this end.

It follows from this that the person has to use these things in so far as they help towards this end, and to free of them in so far they stand in the way of it.

To attain this we need to make ourselves indifferent toward all created things, provided the matter is subject to our free choice and there is no prohibition. thus for our part we should not want health, more than sickness, wealth more than poverty, fame more than disgrace, a long life more than a short one - and so with everything else; desiring and choosing only what conduces more to the end for which we were created.