Practicing Ignatian Meditation is all about deepening our relationship with the Lord. This is so we can follow Him more nearly and love Him more dearly. We want to develop a relationship that is rooted in love allowing us to be who He made us to be without hindrance. This relationship is developed through conversations (prayer) with our Lord. St. Ignatius describes a simple prayer to help us grow in the wisdom of the Lord’s will in our lives, feel His love for us, and learn what we have done, are doing, and will do for Him.
On that note, this week I want to talk about another important part of St. Ignatius’ Spiritual Exercises: the Colloquy.
What is a Colloquy?
St. Ignatius describes the colloquy as meaning:
“Speaking as one friend speaks with another, or a servant with a master, at times asking for some favor, at other times accusing oneself of something badly done, or telling the other about one’s concerns and asking for advice about them.”
It is an intimate conversation typically conducted at the conclusion of your prayer time. It can be done between yourself and God the Father, or Jesus, or the Holy Spirit, or the Blessed Mother, or any of the Saints and Angels. It can also be conducted between yourself and any of the people found in scripture. One of the Apostles or one of the many people healed by our Lord in scripture.
I personally suggest conducting your colloquy with Jesus when you are first starting out then branching out to other people in scripture as time goes on.
What do we talk about?
If you are new to praying the Colloquy St. Ignatius instructs us to start by putting ourselves before Christ Crucified and asking Him three questions:
What have I done for you, Lord?
What am I doing for you, Lord?
What ought I be doing for you, Lord?
Then, listen intently for His response from the Cross. After praying through these three questions St. Ignatius advises that we “talk over whatever comes to mind.” You may want to stick to the grace you were praying for during you prayer time at first. I find that keeping things structured, especially in the beginning, helps me learn and grow more comfortable. When I get comfort I open it up and ask the Lord, what He wants to converse about specifically.
Making Three Colloquies
Once you have gotten comfortable with the single colloquy, you can move on to St. Ignatius’ Three Colloquies.
Colloquy One:
This colloquy is made to Our Lady. We will ask her specifically for three things:
1. “That I may feel an interior knowledge of my sins and abhorrence for them.”
2. “That I may feel a sense of the disordered in my actions, so that abhorring it I may amend my life and put order into it.”
3. “I ask for knowledge of the world so that out of abhorrence for it I may put away from myself worldly and aimless things.
Then, pray a Hail Mary.
Colloquy Two:
This colloquy is made in the same way to Jesus, the Son, that “He may obtain this for me from the Father.”
So, with the Holy Mother, go to her Son and ask Him for the three things:
An interior knowledge and sorrow for your sins, to amend you life and put it into order, and to release my attachments to things of the world.
Then pray an Anima Christi.
Colloquy Three:
This colloquy, is again, made in the same way to God the Father, so that “the Eternal Lord, Himself, may grant us these requests.”
In this colloquy we go to God the Father with the Holy Mother and her Son, Jesus, to request the three things:
For an interior insight into your sins combined with intense remorse for them, a strong desire to make reparations for them, and for removal of our attachments to all that is not of Him.
After this Colloquy recite an Our Father.
St. Ignatius developed his Spiritual Exercises to help us better understand the foundation of our lives. This is to “praise, reverence, and serve God, Our Lord, and by so doing to save his soul.” We grow in the ability to perform these tasks by developing an intimate relationship with the Lord. This is why the colloquy is an integral part of St. Ignatius’ exercises. It develops an ease and comfortable exchange between the Lord and ourselves over time. It allows us to learn to be comfortable in bringing all things to Him, even the shameful or hurtful things. This is how we learn and grow. By being completely open with the Lord and listening attentively to His voice.
Thrive in Jesus, My Friends!
Do you have experience praying the colloquy? Are you interested in trying it? Who else would you be interested in speaking with in a colloquy?
Leave me a comment and let me know!
New to Ignatian Spirituality? Check out these other posts to learn more!