The body in the spiritual exercises of Ignatius of Loyola

The return to the original sources of spiritual traditions advocated by the Second Vatican Council has resulted in a radical reappraisal of the aims and methods of Ignatius of Loyola's manual of ascetical training, the Spiritual Exercises. This article summarises and comments on references to the body in the text of the Exercises and, using the tradition of interpretation given by the original Directories, focuses on the last exercises in the book—the three methods of prayer.