Accompaniment for the Spiritual Exercises
I ask for an interior knowledge of all the great good that I have received, in order that stirred to profound gratitude I may become able to love and to serve God in all things.
Ignatius Loyola developed the Spiritual Exercises to help people become more sensitive to the action of God in their lives and through that to make better decisions about where to go and what to do with their life.
Spiritual Exercises
The full Spiritual Exercises of Ignatius of Loyola are a creative and flexible programme of prayer and reflection centred on the life of Christ. The person who receives the Exercises is encouraged to open themselves generously to God so that they might move into a deeper affective and active relationship with God and the world and become more aware of what can get in the way of their commitment to Christ and his kingdom.
The Exercises are often made by people who are at a time of decision and who want to see more clearly how God draws them. The full Exercises can be made in a number of ways. Ignatius thought the Exercises would ordinarily last about 30 days if people did nothing else, that is on a silent, individually guided retreat.
Some therefore choose to make the Exercises as a 30 day residential retreat or in blocks as three 10 day residential retreats. As the Centre is not a residential centre we are not able to offer the opportunity to make the Exercises in this way. However the 30 day retreats are regularly offered by two other Jesuit retreat centres in the UK, Loyola Hall and St Beuno’s. People who are new to silent, individually-guided retreats may be encouraged to make a shorter silent retreat in preparation for this experience.
Exercises in Daily Life
The other popular way of making the Spiritual Exercises is alongside one’s normal life. The person making the Exercises in this way commits to pray and reflect for a certain amount of time each day and meet regularly with the retreat guide. These meetings usually take place once a week, at a time convenient to the retreatant and their guide over a period of between seven and 12 months. The retreatant shares with their spiritual director their experiences of the Exercises over past week and the director then offers material for the coming week.
People often begin making the Exercises in Daily Life in the Autumn. However, it is possible begin the retreat at other times if a director has availability.
If you are interested in making the Spiritual Exercises in this way, please contact us for further details and application forms.