Ignatian spirituality in the Church of Sweden,a qualitative study

ABSTRACTThe purpose of this qualitative research study is to investigate the meaning of Ignatian spirituality for some employees in the Church of Sweden. The method used in the study is individual, semi-structured interviews with five employees in the Church of Sweden. To meet the purpose, three questions have been asked:

1)     What has the meeting with Ignatian spirituality meant to the informants of the study?

2)    How do the informants integrate their experiences from the Ignatian spirituality in their parish practice?

3)    How do the informants relate to their ecumenical encounters?

The empirical material was then analyzed according to the three questions, mentioned above and in the relation to the thinkers within the field of Ignatian Spirituality. In the analysis, the material was organized according to three themes: the personal experience of Ignatian spirituality, the integration in the parish practice and ecumenical encounters. The results of the research show that the priests and deacons are indeed submitted to the Ignatian spirituality, in their whole life. They are familiar with the Ignatian tools and well informed about Ignatius of Loyola and his Spiritual Exercises. In their parish practice they tend to feel lonely, and they long for colleagues acquainted with the Spiritual Exercises, but since the Spiritual Exercises imbue their whole life, the Spiritual Exercises are evident in all their practices. They also dwell on how they can reach out, making the Gospel accessible also to those somewhat more resistant or not interested.

All informants are ecumenical and talk about experiences of ecumenical encounters. The study indicates a clear parallel between the Ignatian Spirituality and Receptive Ecumenism, both movements obviously grounded in an introspection that opens possibilities for true meetings.