Growth in Christ The Spiritual Exercises of Saint Ignatius Loyola An Introduction

Growth in Christ The Spiritual Exercises of Saint Ignatius Loyola History –Written by Saint Ignatius Loyola Ignatius’ personal conversion led him to several conclusions and many insights which include –God is in ALL things » in the activities and concerns of everyday life as much as in prayerful contemplation. –The need to discern God’s will in one’s life »Good Spirit (Spirit of Light) »Evil Spirit (Spirit of Darkness) –The Good Spirit brings feelings of peace, happiness and contentment to the soul –The Evil Spirit brings feelings of sadness and disturbs the soul –Inspired by the lives of the Saints

Growth in Christ The Spiritual Exercises of Saint Ignatius Loyola –The experience of God - His own conversion was not without inner conflict. But his struggle showed him how you can learn from the emotions and feelings that move you. His own spiritual development became a guide in helping others to seek their way in life. Ignatius’ Spiritual Exercises are an invitation to seek God and follow Jesus in a life of service and devotion to others. –What really matters - From the very beginning Christians have sought to do what is good, but found themselves to be confronted by their limitations and torn by evil as well. On his sickbed Ignatius discovered these two movements in his own mind and soul. It is his central intuition that you can learn to discern these movements and move towards what is good, by deciding to chose the things that really matter in life. Applied to all matters that concern us - trivial and vital - discernment becomes a way of life. –Embodying the Spirit - During his studies Ignatius gave his Spiritual Exercises to a circle of ten friends, who - after long debate - decided to found a new order. As a result, the Spiritual Exercises are the core of Jesuit Spirituality. All Jesuits make a 30 day silent retreat in which they make the Exercises. Every year, Jesuits are to make an 8 day retreat.

Growth in Christ The Spiritual Exercises of Saint Ignatius Loyola The Exercises is a structured way of utilizing meditation and contemplation to draw closer to God –It is more of a total experience and less of a technique –The goal is to get you spiritually fit and strong

Growth in Christ The Spiritual Exercises of Saint Ignatius Loyola Requirements –Openness to Growth –Ability to write about spiritual matters –Ability to pray using your mind for meditation and contemplative reflection upon Scripture –Perhaps more than other assignments a significant degree of maturity –Belief that God wants to communicate with you

Growth in Christ The Spiritual Exercises of Saint Ignatius Loyola Goals –It is important at the beginning to have some idea of what you would like to gain from the Exercises –In part the goal of the experience is to help you develop the vocabulary to speak about spiritual experiences

Growth in Christ The Spiritual Exercises of Saint Ignatius Loyola Purposes –To order one’s life according to God’s will –To understand that one is a loved sinner –To know Jesus Christ personally and intimately and thus desire to follow Christ –To strengthen one in accepting Christ’s cross and to accept the implications that come with truly being a Christian with all of its demands and burdens –To celebrate with great joy the resurrection of Christ and to allow that joy to move one into action –To help one discern how God is speaking to us through different life events –To grow in spiritual freedom and the ability to find intimacy with God in the midst of our every day busy lives How many of the above do you desire?

Growth in Christ The Spiritual Exercises of Saint Ignatius Loyola Why make the Spiritual Exercises? –Mr. Borrow believes that it is virtually impossible to live a satisfying life without a strong spiritual life –Our modern society and culture affronts us with images and ideas that lead to isolation, depression, and ultimately death of the soul –Mr. Borrow wants you to be able to live life fully –To understand the false dichotomy between the sacred and the secular (God is in all things and God desires our happiness)

Growth in Christ The Spiritual Exercises of Saint Ignatius Loyola Introductory Questions –Who is God for you? –Who is God to you? –What do you expect from God? –What does God expect from you? –How do you deal with pressure? –What pressures are placed upon you? By whom?

Growth in Christ The Spiritual Exercises of Saint Ignatius Loyola With quiet comes stillness which may at first seem unsettling or uncomfortable but ultimately allows us to see ourselves more clearly

Growth in Christ The Spiritual Exercises of Saint Ignatius Loyola The Exercises –Not easy, but difficult –Not passive, but active –God desires to reveal God’s self to us God’s initiative not ours –We put ourselves on God’s time, on God’s terms (not ours) –Not intellectual, but affective (feelings) Scola afectus (“school of the heart”) –Initially, you may do more reading and less reflecting; however, eventually you should move towards more reflecting and less reading

Growth in Christ The Spiritual Exercises of Saint Ignatius Loyola The experience of making the Spiritual Exercises has many formats –30 day silent retreat –18 th Annotation – Adaptations made for age, education, and talent of the one making the Exercises –19 th Annotation – Making the retreat over an extended period of time (like the Creighton University Online Retreat)Creighton University Online Retreat –We will use a format spread out over both semesters and gradually work our way deeper We start with warm-up exercises before getting into the intense workouts

Growth in Christ The Spiritual Exercises of Saint Ignatius Loyola The Spiritual Exercises in the 30 day format is composed of 4 thematic weeks –The 1 st Week prepares one for the Exercises by focusing on God’s love and our own human sinfulness –The 2 nd Week focuses on the life of Jesus –The 3 rd Week focuses on the passion and death of Jesus –The 4 th Week focuses on the resurrection of Jesus –The “5 th Week” focuses on how to live out the graces that one has received from the Exercises so that the light of Christ may be seen in you

Growth in Christ The Spiritual Exercises of Saint Ignatius Loyola As we prepare for an experience of the Spiritual Exercises let us pray that we may be open to God’s grace, that we settle into the quiet space of our self to fully discover all that God desires for us and to see more clearly God’s loving presence in our life.