Loading...
Loading...
Click here if you don’t see subscription options
Matt Malone, S.J.November 08, 2015

America Media is going on an Ignatian pilgrimage to Spain, from Nov. 1 to 10, with Editor in Chief Matt Malone, S.J., and Senior Editor Ed Schmidt, S.J., as our guides. They’ll walk in the footsteps of St. Ignatius and visit Loyola, Aranzazu, Xavier, Manressa, Montserrat and Barcelona, seeking to find God in all things. 

Here Matt Malone, S.J. offers a reflection from Manresa. Visit our special pilgrimage web site to follow their trip, watch videos, and submit prayer requests.

When he left Montserrat, Ignatius had hoped to set out for the port at Barcelona so as to embark for Italy and from there continue his pilgrimage to the Holy Land. He learned, however, that there was a plague in Barcelona, so its gates were closed to travelers. He went instead to a nearby town, Manresa. Ignatius would remain in Manresa for 11 months. This place became a real school of his own spiritual and growth, and, as he later wrote, “God treated him as a schoolmaster treats a child whom he is teaching.”

During the day, he attended Mass and Vespers (usually at the cathedral), begged for his food and then spent seven hours in a cave where he could be alone in prayer. The Cave of Ignatius was a natural grotto facing Montserrat in the distance. Over time, a church, a Jesuit residence and center for spirituality were built over the cave. In the late 17th and early 18th century, an elaborate alabaster altar and other decorations were added to the cave.

He also sought out people for spiritual conversations, so that he could learn more about God and the spiritual life. The months in Manresa were a time of great grace and a deepening of his relationship with God, but it was not without its temptations and struggles. In his fervor, he went to excesses in fasting and penances and did damage to his health. He had to learn from others and from his own experiences. He wrote down his experiences and these notes became, in large part, the basis for his classic work, theSpiritual Exercises. 

 
Comments are automatically closed two weeks after an article's initial publication. See our comments policy for more.
L J
9 years 8 months ago
Thank you for the wonderful reminder of what San Ignacio experienced in his formative years: plague, begging, cave, solitary life, graces and temptations and struggles If we could only embrace such a journey knowing we are not the only ones! Others far holier have traveled our present circumstances Pray for us San Ignacio. Keep us posted on your journey Fr Matt. You and the rest are in our prayers AMDG

The latest from america

Father Robert Prevost’s early years in Peru shaped his ministry and vision for the church—but few know the brutal reality he encountered there in the 1980s and 1990s.
Inside the VaticanJuly 09, 2025
A Homily for the Fifteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time, by Father Terrance Klein
Terrance KleinJuly 09, 2025
A Palestinian man stands next to a burned car after an attack by Israeli settlers in Kafr Malik, in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, June 26, 2025. (OSV News photo/Ammar Awad, Reuters)
On July 7, settlers carried out a daytime arson attack on the Church of St. George and a Byzantine Christian cemetery. The fifth-century church is “one of the oldest and most venerated places of worship for Christians in Palestine.”
Kevin ClarkeJuly 09, 2025
Pope Leo XIV met with Ukrainian President Zelenskyy today and reaffirmed the Vatican's willingness to host peace talks between Russia and Ukraine.