A journey with the spiritual exercises
MEETING WITH ST. IGNATIUS
SPIRITUAL EXERCISES

Guidebook leading to a destination
 To
the heart of God
 Which fills the hearts of all people
Leads our own life narrative into the story of
the life of Jesus Christ
 Both become more vivid and interconnected

SPIRITUAL EXERCISES

Increase awareness
 How
God guided me in the past
 How God labors in my life in the present
 How God calls me in the future

Awareness is gained as the Exercises help free
me of the interior clutter that gets in the way
SPIRITUAL EXERCISES

Demands much from us
 Intellectually
 Emotionally
 Memory
 Will

Two forms of praying
 Meditation
 Contemplation
MEDITATION
Use intellect to wrestle with basic principles
that guide our lives
 Think through scenarios
 Wrestle with concepts
 Challenge past assumptions

CONTEMPLATION
Combines feeling and thinking
 Stirs emotions and inspires deep, God-given
desires
 Use our imaginations to place ourselves in
gospel events

SPIRITUAL EXERCISES
Not a book for reading – a guidebook for a
director to lead one through a retreat
 Four weeks – four movements that Spirit leads
one through

FORMS OF EXERCISES
Twentieth annotation – Exercises over a 30-day
retreat
 Nineteenth annotation – Exercises over an
extended period of time (once a week)
 Eighteenth annotation – Parts of exercises on a
weekend retreat, weeklong retreat, or day of
prayer

PREPARATION
Begin slowly and gently (like marathon)
 Consider God’s gift of creation
 Pray for spirit of awe and gratitude
 Hope for deeply felt sense of God’s
unconditional love

FIRST WEEK
Face our own limited response
 Let God reveal our sinfulness and need for
conversion
 Do so with understanding

 of
God’s deep love
 that God wants to free us from hurdles to loving
God, others, and ourselves

Gaze becomes fixed on God’s mercy
SECOND WEEK
Desire to love and serve God and others more
 Pray through life of Jesus as presented in the
gospels
 Learn to appreciate Jesus’ values and vision of
this world
 Manifests in desire to follow with action in this
world

THIRD WEEK

Deepening personal identification with Jesus
 Want
to join him in his suffering and his death
 Spend time contemplating the Lord’s passion

Recognize it is consummate expression of
God’s faithfulness and love for us
FOURTH WEEK
Walk with risen Lord in the joy of the
resurrected life
 Learn from him as he consoles others
 Pray for a generous heart to find God in all
things
 Pray to love and serve God and others in
concrete ways and with great enthusiasm
(contemplation to attain divine love)

DISCERNMENT
Major aspect of exercises
 Notice interior movements of the heart

 Where
are they coming from?
 Where are they leading us?
Purpose is to act in a way that leads us to
greater faith, hope, and love
 Can help with decisions, but primarily a way of
being

CONCLUSION
Not a linear process
 God deals with each of us in a unique manner
 Important to work with a trusted spiritual
director
 Not for the faint of heart – Exercises demand
much from us!
