Saint Ignatius of Loyola · 1491–1556
St Ignatius of Loyola Quotes
Ignatius wrote the Spiritual Exercises as a manual for a retreat director, not as a book to read, which is why it quotes awkwardly. The prayers inside it are another matter.
On surrender
The Suscipe closes the Spiritual Exercises and is the most quoted thing he wrote.
“Take, Lord, and receive all my liberty, my memory, my understanding and my entire will. Give me only your love and your grace; that is enough for me.”
On discernment
The Principle and Foundation opens the Exercises and sets the terms for everything that follows.
“Man is created to praise, reverence and serve God our Lord, and by this means to save his soul.”
“Let it be presupposed that every good Christian ought to be more eager to put a good interpretation on a neighbour's statement than to condemn it.”
Quotes wrongly attributed to St Ignatius of Loyola
These circulate widely under St Ignatius of Loyola's name and are not his. They are listed here so you do not put one in a homily, a bulletin or a citation.
“Pray as though everything depended on God. Work as though everything depended on you.”
Attributed to Ignatius, and to Augustine, and the wording belongs to neither. It comes from a later Jesuit summary of Ignatius's thought, and the two halves were reversed somewhere in transmission — the earlier form has the trust and the effort the other way round.
“Go forth and set the world on fire.”
A compression of something Ignatius may have said to Francis Xavier. It is not in his letters in this form, and the memorable version is modern.
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