Creating Alongside the Creator: The Role of Creativity in Ignatian Spirituality
reflection by Ashley Brooks
What do you think of when you hear the word “creativity”? Does it conjure up an image of artists working on the masterpieces that now hang in museums? Or maybe you think of learning a skill, like spending hours plunking away at the piano. Yet creativity is so much more than a skill, hobby, or profession. It’s a sacred gift given by God, one that God invites us into alongside him.
The opening lyrics of “Luminous Night of the Soul” by Charles Anthony Silvestri and Saint John of the Cross read:
Long before music was sung by a choir, Long before silver was shaped in the fire,
Long before poets inspired the heart, You were the Spirit of all that is art.
Ignatian spirituality finds God in all things, trusting that God is at work in the ordinary moments of each day. God is not only sustaining the world in the here and now, he is co-creating alongside us as we engage with his creation. When we practice creativity, we join our unique gifts and ways of being with the rest of creation—and we are invited into new ways of seeing and participating in the world.
Creative acts invite us to experience the world more deeply and in different ways. It opens space for encounter. From an Ignatian perspective, imaginative exercises allow prayer and reflection to move beyond words alone and into a spiritual experience that engages all of our senses. Through creative practice, we may discover desires we didn’t know how to name, receive insights that arrive quietly, or experience God’s love and grace in new, unexpected ways.
By approaching creativity with a posture of curiosity and openness, rather than performance or skill-building, we can enter into a new way of noticing God’s movement within and around us, and a way of responding with what we have to offer, right now.
Explore Creativity and Spirituality at Sacred Ground
We invite you to join us for two upcoming events that invite us to use creativity to deepen spiritual growth.
On Tuesday, January 20, Rev. Kathy Colwey will be presenting on “Artful Grief” for this month’s Groundings lecture. Through discussions of poetry, sacred texts, clay work, and other healing modalities, we will explore how grief can become more faceted and meaningful when it is viewed through a creative lens. This presentation is available in person at Saint Thomas More or via Zoom. Learn more and register here.
Our upcoming Spiritual Directors Development Series on Monday, January 26, features Peggy Thompson speaking on “The Power of Creativity in Spiritual Direction.” Join us to experience how creativity empowers our spiritual journeys and the journeys of those we companion. This meeting will take place via Zoom. Learn more and register here.
Ashley Brooks is a writer and editor with a heart for seeking the sacred in ordinary days. She will graduate with a spiritual direction certificate and a master's degree in Christian Spirituality from Loyola University Chicago in Spring 2026. She lives in St. Paul, Minnesota with her husband and their four children.