The Spiritual Exercises of
Saint Ignatius of Loyola

More than 500 years ago, Saint Ignatius of Loyola shared his spirituality with the first members of the Society of Jesus (the Jesuits) by accompanying them through a series of prayer experiences now known as The Spiritual Exercises of Saint Ignatius of Loyola.

For Ignatius, the gospels were the door to entering a personal, heart-based relationship with Jesus, with God. His Spiritual Exercises, in the little book which evolved from his own prayer and which he used to guide others, are overlaid on the life and teachings and healings of Jesus. For centuries, they have been a path to finding the nearness of God in daily life, discerning God’s desire, and experiencing a contemplative relationship with Jesus. The full thirty-day exercises are a prayer journey – a pilgrimage – home to God, guided by Ignatius, by the Pilgrim.

This Long Retreat of the exercises can be transformative for anyone who enters into them searching for a deeper life with God. And, like Ignatius himself, they have a strong pragmatic side, with guidance for making choices and commitments for life and work and love. And very specific instructions on how to pray, on discernment. They are treasured because at their heart is an authentic, heart-centered practice and discipline for finding and loving God, and letting yourself be found and loved by God.

The exercises are a manual for a month-long retreat spent meditating on the life of Jesus, guided by a spiritual director. The exercises are structured to parallel the path into God that Ignatius observed first in himself, and then in others whom he guided. They incorporate also his world view of a world perfused by the presence of God seeking conversation and love with each of us. Remember the Christmas message of Pope Francis: “Allow God to love you.”

If you are making the exercises on the Thirty-Day or Long Retreat, you spend your entire day in silence, with several lengthy periods of prayer. Your silence is broken only for Eucharist, and for your daily meeting with your director, with whom you discuss your prayer of the past twenty-four hours – its gifts, its challenges, and the movements of your heart.

The Thirty-Day Retreat, sometimes called the enclosed retreat, may sound paradoxical: entering an enclosed, structured prayer experience and finding freedom to be with God in endless, ever-deepening love. Yet this is a gift which unfolds. Ignatius offers several exercises for making decisions about how to act in in the world, how to practice your faith in a practical way, how to see in every place and event an invitation from God. His is a spirituality for everyday life: discerning how to live your faith in the real world, and moving into God’s desires for you. Ignatian spirituality helps us to seek detachment from “disordered attachments” so that we might realize freedom: freedom to be more able to give and receive love. Ignatian spirituality is a way of finding freedom to become the person God created you to be.

There are several ways to experience the retreat of the Spiritual Exercises of Saint Ignatius of Loyola:

· You might choose the thirty-day enclosed retreat described above;

· The Nineteenth Annotation is another option, created by Ignatius for people who cannot be away from their everyday lives for a month. For this approach, called the Spiritual Exercises in Everyday Life, I offer to meet with you weekly, and you move through the Exercises over several months, setting aside time each day at home for prayer and reflection, and then meeting each week with me for review and conversation.

· A variation on the Nineteenth Annotation is possible for a small group to share the experience, meeting weekly together, and also individually with me for direction.

· Another option is to make several eight-day retreats, each focused on one of the four progressive parts of the exercises. For any of these approaches, I augment the exercises for you with creative approaches to prayer, including art and poetry.

Each of these approaches is an invitation to you if you desire to develop, renew, and deepen your relationship with God. Saint Thomas Aquinas said, “A human is a certain capacity for God.” God is longing for you, too! In this twenty-first century world with all its complexities and temptations and confusions, how do we respond to God from the heart? “Follow me.” When Jesus speaks these words to me, to you, what does he mean? How do we move into God’s desires for us? How do we come home to God?

The last lines of beloved Psalm 139 have been translated in this way:

Search me out with shovel and torchlight, God;

know my heart by means of compassion.

See the road that brings me sadness,

and lead me instead on the path of eternal life,

the ancient paths that lead me home to You.

Are you interested in knowing more about exploring the Spiritual Exercises of Saint Ignatius? I would be glad to speak with you.