St. Ignatius realized that we cannot talk about God’s abundant mercy and unconditional love for us without having us sit or stand or kneel before Jesus on the cross.
This is the love that transcends all sin. “What greater love does one have than to lay down his life for his friends?”
In the presence of such love, in the presence of Jesus on the cross, we talk with him as a friend talks to a friend.
Paragraphs 53 and 54 from the Spiritual Exercises
Imagine Christ our Lord suspended on the cross before you, and converse with him in a colloquy: How is it that he, although he is the Creator, has come to make himself a human being? How is it that he has passed from eternal life to death here in time, and to die in this way for my sins?
In a similar way, reflect on yourself and ask:
What have I done for Christ?
What am I doing for Christ?
What ought I to do for Christ?
In this way, too, gazing on him in so pitiful a state as he hangs on the cross, speak out whatever comes to your mind
What have I done for Christ?
What am I doing for Christ?
What ought I to do for Christ?
In this way, too, gazing on him in so pitiful a state as he hangs on the cross, speak out whatever comes to your mind
A Colloquy is made, properly speaking, in the way one friend speaks to another, or a servant to one in authority – now begging for a favor, now accusing oneself of some misdeed, now telling one’s concerns and asking counsel about them. Close with an Our Father.
Turn the questions around if that helps:
What has Christ done for me?
What is Christ doing for me?
What ought Christ to do for me?
