Four centuries before Jung and the beginnings of depth psychology, Ignatius of Loyola had already recognized the importance of delving into the depths of the psyche as a necessary condition for spiritual health. His way of approaching the human being as a whole—embracing affects, fantasies, symbols, images, the body, dreams, and one’s life history—was pioneering and marked by a refined psychological insight. Ignatius understood the need to integrate the deepest aspects of the self in the search for a full life, acknowledging the mutual influence between the spiritual and the psychological in human maturity and in the formation of personal identity.

It may even be that the Jungian process of individuation—which involves the gradual union of the ego with the Self over the course of a lifetime—bears certain similarities to the possibilities opened up by the exercitant’s loving dialogue with the Creator in the Ignatian Spiritual Exercises. Insofar as these exercises are oriented toward being conformed to Christ, they can offer a remarkable way of living out the process of individuation, as both theologians and analysts have noted. It is along this line of inquiry that we work, and to it we will return in future reflections.