Spiritual Exercises
Ignatius of Loyola (1491-1556) grew up as a very worldly Spaniard, much drawn to courtly life, daring exploits and romance. Injured as a soldier in battle, he spent a long time recovering, during which he slowly and painfully underwent a conversion experience. That experience continued and deepened after his wounds healed.
During this period of his life, Ignatius began to notice how God was touching his mind and heart. Curious, he began to observe the process closely.
The lessons Ignatius learned about how God was dealing with him were, he discovered later, very helpful to others with whom he came to deal. These lessons he put in an orderly way in a book for retreat directors, called the Spiritual Exercises in the lives of countless persons in St. Ignatius' time, and since then, has been extraordinary.
Ignatius and his fellow Jesuits gave the Spiritual Exercise over a period of thirty days to retreatants who live apart away from home in an atmosphere of quiet and prayerfulness. But Ignatius found that many people could not, because of family or business reasons, take thirty days off, leave home and go away for the retreat.
So in his Note #19 (called Annotation Nineteen) of his book, Ignatius explained how people could make the retreat under a spiritual director while remaining at home. Thus this method, called the Retreat in Daily Life, is often referred to as a Nineteenth Annotation Retreat. Today, the use of this Retreat in Daily Life is widespread in many countries and is productive of great good.
In simple terms, the "Exercises" are a 'user-friendly' way to get a new sense of how God works in our lives, how to male wise choices, how to find God in the people and experiences that fill our days. While they require a time commitment and presume some prayer experience, they are open to anyone who seriously seeks to enhance the quality of their relationship to God.
There are many reasons that draw people to making these Ignatian Spiritual Exercises. For some it is a desire to grow in personal freedom so as to be able to make better choices and decisions. For others, it is simply to deepen their relationship with God in Jesus. Still others seek a more conscious experience of spirituality to support their desires to bring greater justice into the world about them.
Whatever the motives one might have for making the Exercises, the benefits of obtaining a clearer focus in one's life are not just personal. Those who grow in a confidence peace with themselves will be better persons at work, at home - every-where. Those who develop a more trusting relationship with God will necessarily deepen their concern for justice among all person.
Here at St. Ignatius, a six week preparation and pre-requisite for the Exercises known as "Lord Teach Us To Pray", is usually held on Wednesday evenings (7-8:30p) beginning in mid April and continues until the middle of June. There is no fee involved. The preparation is a "stand alone" prayer experience and everyone is most welcome to participate in the preparation even if they are unable to make the retreat in October.
For those continuing on in the fall, a significant time commitment is required on the part of the retreatment which includes prayer time each day over a 30 week period and weekly meeting with a director once the actual retreat begins.
We are a centre for the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius in Manitoba. If you are interested in becoming more familiar with this unique way of drawing closer to God, call Valerie at 453-9243.