“Our only desire and our one choice should be this: I want and I choose what better leads to God's deepening life in me” (St Ignatius of Loyola).

In Catholicism, we call decision-making “discernment.” St. Ignatius Loyola, whose feast day we celebrate today, is the king of discernment in the Catholic tradition.

The word “discernment” implies not coming up with a new idea out of our own creativity but, rather, clarifying things so that we can see and understand something that’s already in place: what God wants us to do.

St. Ignatius began thinking about his technique of discernment during a difficult yet pivotal time in his life. In 1521, he had his leg shattered by a cannonball in the Battle of Pamplona. While on bed rest during his lengthy recovery, he was bored and wanted to read books about the glory and romance of knights. However, the only books available to him were the lives of the saints and the life of Jesus Christ. Studying these books caused a deep conversion.

While he never fully recovered from his injury, when he was mobile, Ignatius made a pilgrimage to Jerusalem. He rode on horseback to Manresa, Spain, where he lived in a cave for almost a year. There, he had mystical experiences and began writing the Spiritual Exercises.

Based on his own experience, the Spiritual Exercises are a series of steps that Ignatius advised Christians to follow in order to dedicate themselves to the discernment of God’s will and deepen their personal relationship with Christ. They are a compilation of meditations, prayers, and contemplative practices. For centuries, the Exercises were most commonly given as a silent retreat of about 30 days. In recent years, there has been a renewed emphasis on the Spiritual Exercises for lay people.

The most common method for the Exercises now is a “retreat in daily life,” which involves a program of daily prayer and meetings with a spiritual director. There are also many books and podcasts written about the practical application of the Spiritual Exercises.

However, you do not need to set aside 30 days to start applying the wisdom of St. Ignatius to your life. Here are two Ignatian gifts from the Spiritual Exercises that you can apply into your career and life right now.

Gift No. 1: Praying the Surrender Prayer

This prayer was one of the last elements that St. Ignatius included in his Spiritual Exercises. It asks for complete openness to God’s love and is called “Suscipe” (Latin for “take”). In English, we often call it “the Surrender Prayer,” as it is a wonderful prayer of surrender to God.

When spoken or written prayers feel stale to me, I turn to prayers put to music, which move me in new ways. Here is a beautiful video recording of the Georgetown University Gospel Choir singing Dan Shutte’s version of “The Surrender Prayer.” (Our choir sang it during Communion at our wedding!)

Gift No. 2: Praying the Daily Examen Prayer

The full version of my favorite Examen prayer is in “In God’s Arms,” a collection of writings by the late Father Armand Nigro, S.J. I have summarized the prayer below. There are many versions of St. Ignatius’ Examen, and I have tried many of them over the years! None has struck me quite as deeply as this version. Maybe it is because our retreat leader at a life-changing weekend marriage retreat gave it to us on a wallet-sized card, or maybe it was just time for me to discover it. I urge you to give it a try and see how your relationship with our Lord grows.

1. Relax in the presence of God; be aware of His loving presence all around you.

2. Thank Him for everything He has put into your life since yesterday’s Examen.

3. Ask Him to give you “the mind and heart of Christ,” to see reality as Jesus sees it.

4. Reflect prayerfully over your day with our Lord, using “we” (what you and Jesus experienced together) rather than “I.” The focus of your attention should be on God to help you become more aware of His presence and work and rest with Him.

5. Renew in love your sorrow for offending our Father, and offer yourself to Him. If you let Jesus redeem your day—and your whole life—He will.

6. Accept an invitation from our Lord to spend some time alone with Him in prayer tomorrow. Make it a date, with a definite place and length of time. Accept any invitation He gives you to repair any damage or behave better the next time you face the kind of situation that caused you to sin.

7. End by slowly praying the “Our Father.”

Aimee Arnold owns multiple small businesses, and her professional experience in marketing, operations, and hospitality spans a handful of industries. Depending on the season, she can also be found foraging wild mushrooms with her husband for homemade pizzas, latin dancing to live music, cross country skiing off the grid, or stand up paddleboarding with her gordon setter. While active in the church in her youth, in college she started to fall away from Catholicism. Later in her life, after a series of unexplainable events, she was drawn back to the church, and she now encounters Christ in a personal way she’d never before experienced. Connect with Aimee directly on Instagram, LinkedIn, or at AimeeArnold.com.