Prayer in Mayfair

Shepherds Market

Claridges

A few months ago we decided to do one of those walks around London that are so popular.  We took the walk that goes around Mayfair, the most prosperous part of London. We went passed the American embassy and on to a fascinating area I had never visited, Shepherds Market.  Quite nearby is Claridges one of the most expensive and chic hotels in Europe.



We then went down Mount Street with its fashionable boutiques and on to the Burlington Arcade with its collection of expensive jewellers selling the most desirable and sought-after watches.  
Off Mount Street there is a small oasis of greenery and quietness in the midst of this busy area.  Mount Street Park is an attractive garden  with an fine assortment of trees, where office workers can eat their lunches and chill out on summer days.
Nearby is the Farm Street Jesuit Centre with its beautifully ornate baroque style church.  

 As I looked on the parish notice board I noticed a leaflet advertising monthly Ignatian Days, when a group would be introduced to the practice of Ignatian methods of prayer.  Although I am a protestant I have studied church  history and I am familiar with Ignatius Loyola and the foundation of the Jesuits.  


Ignatian prayer is really quite simple.  While Ignatius was recovering from a serious wound after the battle of Pamplona he asked for some novels to while away the time.  Instead he was given a life of Christ by Ludolph of Saxony.  Ludolph urged his readers to immerse themselves in the gospel narratives and to "hear and see these things being narrated as though you were hearing with your own ears and seeing with your own eyes."  Ignatius adopted this idea and used used intensively in the training of his followers.
 Ignatian  prayer is taking a passage from the Bible and immersing oneself imaginatively  in the text and meditiating on its content, ending with a personal conversation with Jesus.


The  best introduction to all this is The God of Surprises by Gerard Hughes