A Hermeneutics of Ignatian Mystique: Creation in Christ

Abstract

It has become commonplace among scholars of Ignatian mysticism to establish a dialogue between the theme of creation and modern or postmodern ecological sensitivity in order to update the practice of the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius of Loyola. The trajectory of this essay leads the reader through some aspects of the debate that this attempt to update has raised. The dual objective of this reflection is to show that the theme of creation in Ignatian mystique is in­separable from the idea of creation in Christ, and that the neglect of Christology structuring Ignatian mystic of Spiritual Exercises often leads to practices that no longer deserve the adjective of Christian neither Ignatian. This article is a descrip­tive and interpretative investigation based on a bibliographic study that is divided into four parts: the specification of the terms hermeneutic and mystical, the context of the Spiritual Exercises’ text, its elaboration, and finally the contemplation of the life of Christ as Creator.