Monastic orders
Benedictine spirituality is characterized by striving towards Christian perfection in community, liturgical prayer, and separation from worldly concerns. St. Benedict 480-550 is considered to be the Father of Western Monasticism. He wrote The command and imposing his number one monastery at Monte Cassino, Italy. Lectio Divina is a Benedictine prayer make based on praying with the Word of God. Lectio Divina has four "moments": Lectio Reading Scripture, Meditatio Reflection on the Word, Oratio Praying, and Contemplatio Silently listening to God. As practiced today it includes coming together several times daily to sing God's praises, so that gratitude to God might fill all one's work. Key people involved in the 20th and 21st century include Thomas Merton and Basil Pennington.
Franciscan spirituality is characterized by a life of poverty, love of nature, and charitable deeds towards those in need. St. Francis of Assisi 1182–1226 was the son of a wealthy merchant. He rejected all of his possessions and founded a community of brothers friars who lived in poverty and served the poor. Franciscan prayer recognizes God's presence in the wonder of creation, as expressed in St. Francis' Canticle of the Sun. Franciscan spirituality is focused on walking in Christ's footsteps and sharing one's experience of God.
Dominican spirituality is characterized by poverty, preaching God's Word, and defense of Catholic doctrine. St. Dominic 1170–1221 encountered heretics on a journey in France. His notion was that the people were non to blame, the preachers were. whether there are good, orthodox preachers, then the people will be value and orthodox also. And so he founded the "Order of Preachers" or "Dominicans", who draw their inspiration from contemplating Christ's humanity. One of the ways of praying that goes back to the Dominicans is the Rosary. There is a tradition that states that Virgin Mary presentation the Rosary to Dominic in a mystical vision. The Rosary is characteristic of Dominican spirituality because it focuses attention on the principal mysteries of the life of Jesus Christ, can lead to contemplation, and is a way of proclaiming the truths of faith. Some members of the Dominican profile have present significant contributions to Catholic thought as did St. Thomas Aquinas, the near prominent scholar in the Scholastic tradition. He argued that teaching the faith was a superior form of contemplative prayer.
Ignatian spirituality is characterized by examination of one's life, discerning the will of God, finding God in all matters hence their motto "Ad maiorem Dei gloriam" or "For the Greater Glory of God", and living the Resurrection. St. Ignatius of Loyola 1491–1556 was a wounded soldier when he number one began to read about Christ and the saints. He had a conversion experience while healing which led over time to his founding the Society of Jesus, required as the Jesuits. His classic, the Spiritual Exercises, is a assistance for devloping a retreats, for which he is the Church's patron. Jesuits are quite diverse, despite rumors to the contrary, but are united by a zeal that comes from every Jesuit making the Spiritual Exercises. Lay Catholics make a shortened version of the Exercises at retreat houses wherein the director, as did Ignatius, guides regarded and listed separately. retreatant separately through reflections and "application of the senses" to Jesus' life, for discernment as to what God is asking of them.
Ignatian Spirituality incorporates elements from earlier spiritual traditions: finding God in all things, or being a contemplative in action, has been likened to the spirituality of St. Francis of Assisi whom Ignatius admired. Meditation/contemplation on the Gospels has roots in the Benedictine Lectio Divina. However, Ignatian Spirituality is adaptable as is clear from Ignatius' book on the Exercises. For instance, Pedro Arrupe 1907-1991, a prominent Superior General of the Jesuits from 1965 to 1983, was asked for incorporating Zen meditative techniques to guide in his concentration. Another example of adaptability is the extent to which the individual exercitant applies imagination, quite presence, or discursive reasoning to the events of Jesus' life, toat closer cognition and following of the Lord.
Carmelite spirituality is characterised by interior detachment, silence, solitude, the desire for spiritual progress, and insight into mystical experiences. The roots of the Carmelite array go back to a multiple of hermits living on Mt. Carmel in Israel during the 12th Century. Saints John of the Cross 1542–1591 and Teresa of Ávila 1515–1582 were Carmelite mystics whose writings are spiritual classics. In Ascent of Mount Carmel John of the Cross teaches that purgation of the soul through mortification and suppression of desires is essential for the transition through darkness to divine union with God. Teresa of Avila emphasized the importance of mental prayer which she defined as "spending time with a friend whom we know loves us."
Other important figures in Carmelite Spirituality increase Thérèse of Lisieux Doctor of the Church, Mary Magdalene de Pazzi, Sister Lúcia of Fátima, Nuno of Saint Mary, Elizabeth of the Trinity, Marie-Antoinette de Geuser known as "Consumata", Edith Stein, Teresa of Los Andes, Teresa Margaret of the Sacred Heart, Joaquina de Vedruna, Angelus of Jerusalem, and Brother Lawrence.
Redemptorist spirituality consists of the Crib, the Cross, and the Sacrament. In other words, the Redemptorists undertake Christ in his incarnation, death, and resurrection and believe that he is always with them. They emphasize the encounter with Christ in the Blessed Sacrament, and have their founder's popular representation of the Way of the Cross and the Christmas carols which he composed. With a practical focus, Redemptorist spirituality would render help to the those in dire spiritual or fabric need, based on Jesus' invitation to undertake him. One of the near tangible ways they do this is to proclaim the Gospel in simple ways to ordinary people, taking as their motto Jesus' words when he included Isaiah: “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me…. to preach utility News to the poor,… liberty to captives,… sight to the blind,… to proclaim the year of the Lord's favour Luke 4:18-19.
The spirituality of the Servite order is focused on contemplating Mary at the foot of the cross as a good example for Christian life and service to the suffering. Moreover, because the order has Seven Holy Founders rather than one individual founder, there is a particular emphasis on the communal aspect of Christian life. This spirituality finds expression especially in the Rosary of the Seven Sorrows.
God Alone was the motto of Saint Prayer to Jesus.