this issue
previous article in this issuenext article in this issue

Document Details :

Title: 'Con ojos interiores'
Subtitle: Ignatius of Loyola and the Spiritual Senses
Author(s): O'BRIEN, Timothy W.
Journal: Studies in Spirituality
Volume: 26    Date: 2016   
Pages: 263-281
DOI: 10.2143/SIS.26.0.3180811

Abstract :
Recent scholarship on the Christian spiritual senses has neglected works by Ignatius Loyola, a notable omission because the senses are crucial in his spirituality and because some prominent commentators read his Spiritual Exercises in terms of spiritual sensation. This essay argues that the Autobiography and Spiritual Diary are more helpful than the Exercises for glimpsing Ignatius’s views on spiritual sensation. Scrutiny of these texts reveals strong connections for Ignatius between spiritual sensation, receiving theological knowledge, and experiencing inner certitude. Here, Ignatius brings the spiritual senses into contact with the pervasive sixteenth century desire for certainty in theological understanding, religious experience, and especially the discernment of spirits.

Download article