The Spiritual Exercises

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SnowAngels

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Hi everyone!

I am curious as to if any of you have ever completed the 30-day Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius of Loyola? If you have, what was you experience? Thank you for sharing, and God bless!
 
I’ve done the 19th Annotation. That’s where you do the Exercises in everyday life over a period of 9 months to a year. I’m sure the 30 day retreat is much more intense but I got a lot from the 19th Annotation.
 
I did one over 70 days. Completely changed the way I pray and even the way I read Scripture. I learned a lot about discernment of spirits also, which has been incredibly helpful.

All in all, I definitely think every Catholic should do the Exercises at least once in their life. They’re that good. 👍
 
Is there a book or resource that has more information about these exercises?
 
RuthTherese said:
Is there a book or resource that has more information about these exercises?
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Sure! The book that I am using as a supplement is this one: amazon.com/The-Ignatian-Adventure-Experiencing-Spiritual/dp/0829435778
I also found this awesome site that has all the exercises printed out on it: jesuit.org/jesuits/wp-content/uploads/The-Spiritual-Exercises-.pdf

The site the other poster put up is another one I found, and it really has everything you need on there!!

Hope this helps!
 
Robyn_p said:
I did one over 70 days. Completely changed the way I pray and even the way I read Scripture. I learned a lot about discernment of spirits also, which has been incredibly helpful.

All in all, I definitely think every Catholic should do the Exercises at least once in their life. They’re that good. 👍
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Thank you for the feedback! If I may ask, did you do them on your own, or with the help of a spiritual director? I also was reading about how some of the Jesuits would go into seclusion, and fast during the time of exercises. Since I am in school, I can’t go into seclusion, but I wonder if it would be beneficial to add some kind of penance during the duration of the Exercises. Thanks again!
 
Are you not to do these with a spiritual director or mentor who will help you? I have the Ignatian Adventure, but I have not had the chance to look much at it yet.

Peace,

John
 
KD8TZC said:
Are you not to do these with a spiritual director or mentor who will help you? I have the Ignatian Adventure, but I have not had the chance to look much at it yet.

Peace,

John
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I was wondering the same thing.
 
KD8TZC said:
Are you not to do these with a spiritual director or mentor who will help you? I have the Ignatian Adventure, but I have not had the chance to look much at it yet.

Peace,

John
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Ideally, yes, you have a director to guide you. Creighton University offers a do-it-yourself version of the Exercises at onlineministries.creighton.edu/CollaborativeMinistry/cmo-retreat.html

I’m sure the online version is better than nothing, but having a director is better still. I know that when I was talking with the Jesuit priest who was directing me, he would see things in my prayer that I hadn’t necessarily noticed or appreciated. I would walk away from our meetings feeling so blessed. And when I hit points where I was struggling with my prayer it was perfect to have someone to offer guidance and help me move forward.
 
I cracked open that book last night for a quick look and it might as well have been written in Greek to me. I’ll save that for a later time I think. I’m sure it is very fulfilling, but at this stage in my prayer life, I think it may be way over my head.

YBIC,

John
 
KD8TZC said:
I cracked open that book last night for a quick look and it might as well have been written in Greek to me. I’ll save that for a later time I think. I’m sure it is very fulfilling, but at this stage in my prayer life, I think it may be way over my head.

YBIC,

John
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If you’re talking about the book with the Spiritual Exercises themselves, they are intended for the director, not the person making the retreat. They’re intended for someone who has already completed the Exercises and is familiar with them.

When I did the Exercises, my director gave me two or three pages each week that were meant for me to read and follow. They were written in contemporary language and aimed at 21st century non-experts.

It’s similar to trying to understand a medical issue by reading a scholarly medical journal versus something aimed at patients. If you don’t have the background and expertise, the scholarly journal will be a bunch of gibberish.
 
SnowAngels said:
Thank you for the feedback! If I may ask, did you do them on your own, or with the help of a spiritual director? I also was reading about how some of the Jesuits would go into seclusion, and fast during the time of exercises. Since I am in school, I can’t go into seclusion, but I wonder if it would be beneficial to add some kind of penance during the duration of the Exercises. Thanks again!
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I did it through my parish, so I was with a group of people, with a priest leading the meditation. So I guess you could say I had a spiritual director, though I didn’t have any one on one meetings with him or anything.

I think you could certainly do them on your own, but it would be a lot easier with a guide if you can get one. For me, I have a hard time staying commited, so having some sort of support group really helped.
 
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