SPIRITUAL EXERCISES
Spiritual Exercises of Ignatius Loyola

First Principle and Foundation

Man is created to praise, reverence and serve God, our Lord, and by this means to save his soul.
The other things on the face of the earth are created for man to help him in attaining the end for which he is created.

Hence, man is to make use of them in as far as they help him in the attainment of his end, and he must rid himself of them in as far as they prove a hindrance to him.
Therefore, we must make ourselves indifferent to all created things, as far as we are allowed free choice and are not under any prohibition. Consequently, as far as we are concerned, we should not prefer health to sickness, riches to poverty, honor to dishonor, a long life to a short life. The same holds for all other things. Our one desire and choice should be what is more conducive to the end for which we are created.

Contemplation to Attain the Love of God

Note. Before presenting this exercise it will be good to call attention to two points:
1. The first is that love ought to manifest itself deeds rather than in words.
2. The second is that love consists in a mutual sharing of goods, for example, the love gives and shares with the beloved what he possesses, or something of that which he has or is able to give: and vice versa, the beloved shares with the lover. Hence, if one has knowledge, he shares it with the one who does not possess it; and so also if one has honors, or riches. Thus one always gives to the other.

Ignatius offers four points to contemplate:
First Point: This is to recall to mind the blessings of creation and redemption, and the special favors I have received.

I will ponder with great affection how much God our Lord has done for me, and how much He has given me of what He possesses, and finally, how much as far as He can, the same Lord desires to give Himself to me according to His divine decrees .

Then I will reflect on myself, an consider, according to all reason and justice, what I ought to offer the Divine Majesty, that is, all I possess and myself with it. Thus, as one would do who is moved by great feeling, I will make this offering of myself.

TAKE, LORD, AND RECEIVE
Take, Lord, and receive all my liberty, my memory, my understanding, and my entire will, all that I have and possess. Thou hast given all to me. To Thee, O Lord, I return it. All is Thine, dispose of it wholly according to Thy will. Give me Thy love and Thy grace, for this is sufficient for me.

Second Point: This is to reflect how God dwells in creatures: in the elements giving them existence, in the plants giving them life, in the animals conferring upon them sensation, in man bestowing understanding. So He dwells in me and gives me being, life, sensation, intelligence; and makes a temple of me, since I am created in the likeness and image of the Divine Majesty.
Then I will reflect upon myself again in the manner stated in the first point, or in some other way that may seem better.
The same should be observed with regard to each of the points given below.
 Third point: This is to consider how God works and labors for me in all creatures upon the face of the earth, that is, He conducts Himself as one who labors. Thus, in the heavens, the elements, the plants, the fruits, the cattle, etc., He gives being, conserves them, confers life and sensation, etc.

Then I will reflect on myself.

Fourth Point: This is to consider all blessings and gifts as descending from above. Thus, my limited power comes from the supreme and infinite power above, and so, too, justice, goodness, mercy, etc., descend from above as the rays of light descend from the sun, and as the waters flow from their fountains etc.

Then I will reflect on myself as has been said.

(Taken from The Spiritual Exercises of Ignatius Loyola, a translation by Louis J. Puhl, S.J.)

Retreat Journey

The spiritual journey of the person making the Spiritual Exercises lies between the First Principle and the goal to attain God’s love. Some spiritual exercises can be given in one-to-one directed/guided retreats of eight days. Frequently they are presented in very brief form to groups over a weekend. The Exercises have been adapted to help busy people make what is known as a retreat in everyday life.

The goal of the Exercises is to draw the retreatant closer to God that she/he come to know herself/himself better and be free to follow Jesus more closely. She accomplishes this by addressing all disorder in her life that attach him inordinately to the things of this world.

Prayer --What Is It, and How Do We Do It?

What is prayer? Libraries have been written to describe what it is and how to do it. I think I can remember the answer my two-penny catechism gave me years ago: Prayer is an elevation of the soul to God, to praise him, to adore him, to bless his holy name, and to thank him for his goodness.

This little definition of prayer contains much to reflect upon. That's the advantage of having to memorize an answer as a child: it gives one something to reflect upon for the rest of one's life. The definition has some content. God exists. The pray-er must believe this. The real believer goes further. S/he believes in God --better than simply believing that God exists.

This God has a name
God told Moses that his name is "I Am." Moses was to go and speak to the Israelites in captivity in the name of "I Am he who is" (Ex. 3:14). By this name they would know their God sent Moses. He would be God’s representative to the people and would represent the people before God. Here we have an example of intercessory prayer between God and his people. Moses became unpopular because of his role, but it helps us understand the beginning of God revealing himself to his people --the Jews and later to all. God is revealing himself to his creatures and He takes his time. His reasons for that are simple. He has lots of time, and his creatures are slow learners.

Many years later Jesus will reveal that "I AM" is really more personal and is actually "Our Father." His disciples asked him how they should pray, and He told them.

Our Father in Heaven
So you should pray like this: Our Father in heaven, may your name be held holy, your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as in heaven. Give us today our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we have forgiven those who are in debt to us. And do not put us to the test, but save us from the Evil One (Mt. 6/9--13).

Jesus tells us that God is our Father. He really is Jesus' Father, but Jesus is here telling his apostles that God is our real Father because He is now our brother in the flesh. Through the Incarnation of the Second Person in God, Jesus, we are now adopted sons and daughters of God. This is true because Jesus has the Holy Spirit of truth in him. The apostles did not understand this at the time because they were new to this spiritual life, but they accepted it in faith because they knew Jesus. He only did good and was true to his word!

Note the human person's stance before God which Jesus is showing us. We are being taught how to be before God the Almighty. It's personal. He is Our Father in Heaven, so we should reverence Him because Heaven is beyond our reach. His name is holy, and if his name is holy, He is Holy. He has a kingdom, so He is King, but He has given it to his Son, Jesus. We are his subjects. His will is lovingly accomplished in Heaven, and we should try to do it here on earth as it is in Heaven. He gives us our daily bread; we should thank him and ask that He continue to do so. We also ask God to forgive us our trespasses against him first, and then against others whom we have offended. They are God's children too, and we offend God by not honoring them. He forgives all sins, and He asks us to forgive like He does. This is a request to help us be more like him. Sometimes our forgiveness isn't too deep, so we have faith and hope and pray that God will forgive us even if our forgiveness is not as great as his. He is good because all his actions are good and loving of himself and others.

Not Just Vocal Prayer --Reciting Words
Jesus did not want us to just say the words of the Our Father. He wanted us to see the relationship between God and us and then develop it. How do we do that? We do it by reflecting on the words; meditate on them --contemplate them. Our passive stance helps here. Allow the words to "wash" over us. Let them touch our sentiments, affections. Christ's words are full of personal meaning as are many texts in the Bible. Do we have matching affections, emotions. feelings; can we get in touch with them? Will we allow that to happen in us? Will, can, we allow ourselves to feel the sentiment in Christ's words, in the apostles' word, in the prophet's words? Can I allow myself to be taken to a "place" within myself I have never been before? Can I allow God's word to take me deeply within - to an intimate spiritual place without being afraid. It is usually a fear within us that prevents us going deep. It may be fear itself, or fear of anger, intimacy, sexuality, depression, trust, memories. It's all very natural to have these fears, but if we would grow and develop --personally, we should meet these fears. Asking God's help will make it easier than first thought.

Some people below give their views on prayer and praying. St. Francis de Sales was a great director of souls and an expert on the interior life. Ruth Burrows is a Carmelite sister living the contemplative life in a convent in England. She has written several successful books on prayer.


A Short Method of Meditation
"Two points are always used to prepare oneself for the mediation" place yourself in the presence of God, and ask for his help in praying.

"The presence of God" means a lively, attentive realization of God's absolute presence --God is everywhere, in all place, in all things in all people. Wherever birds fly, they encounter the air; so wherever we go or wherever we are, we find God present.

When a prince walks among blind men, they do not see him so they do not honor him. When told about him, they acknowledge him, but soon forget him, because they do not see him. Unfortunately, we do not see God, so we often forge he is there, or hold back on the honor due him. We are like that with God. We know the theology that God is here, right now. What we have to do is put our whole heart into acknowledging that he really is with us, now.

The next way to place yourself in the presence of God is to remember that he not only is in this place with you, but in a very true way he is in your heart in the very center of your spirit. St. Paul reminds us that "we live and move and have our very being" in God. (Acts 17: 28) Excite in your heart every real reverence for the God who is present to and in you.

A third way to practice this is to imagine that Christ in his sacred humanity is gazing at us from Heaven, on all humanity; on Christians, who are his special children, but especially on us when we are in prayer.

Finally, we can imagine that Christ in his sacred humanity is drawing close to us, as a friend might. If the most Blessed Sacrament of the Altar is present, then Christ's presence is real, not just imaginary. The real presence the Risen Christ in the Eucharist is a most sacred item of our theology .

Use one or other of these methods, whichever you find most useful that day.

(Introduction to the Devout Life, St. Francis de Sales, Edited and abridged by Msgr. Charles Dollen, pp. 45-46.)

"I do not think I will be alone in finding that one of the biggest difficulties in prayer is knowing what to do with the mind, and the following considerations may help others as they have helped me."

In the first place we have to accept that thinking is the function of the mind as hearing is the function of the ear. My mind cannot but think unless I am in a state of stupor or unconsciousness. God can suspend our thought but this rarely happens. The mind must think but the point is that its thinking has different degrees of importance. In the early stages , that of the first island and to a considerable extent on the bridge, thinking is very important, and on the whole there is no problem simply because the mind is occupied in a way proper to it. The trouble really begins with the onset of mystical prayer and increasingly so.

In the state we are considering now, thinking will have no importance at prayer time, indeed it would hinder God's work, but we cannot stop the thinking process. The thoughts won't be of God --these hold no attraction --they will be what we call distractions. St. Teresa has a great deal to say on this subject and expressed vividly the distress and anxiety the activity of the mind can cause in the contemplative state (Guidelines for Mystical Prayer, Ruth Burrows, p. 94),

Burrows has three stages of prayer which she represents as three islands connected by two bridges. Beginners start on the first island and gradually move across the island to the bridge and across the bridge to the second island where mystical prayer begins. Do not be intimidated by the word "mystical." All of us are to some degree mystical, intuitive, poetic. The progression is natural. Note that in prayer the person is mostly passive --listening to, receiving, God's promptings in us.

There will be a great temptation to abandon or curtail prayer, or to give the mind something to occupy it. There would be no harm in giving it something to quieten it --a vocal prayer perhaps --provided we give this no attention. Our energy must be concentrated on surrendering to God, just as we are, bearing the weight of helplessness and poverty. 'Let the mill clack on while we grind out wheat' says St. Teresa. It is intention not attention that is all-important. Intention is within our power; attention is not. It takes courage and trust to pursue this path and the assurance of a guide would be a great help. Yet whatever reassurance is given will have a temporary effect only..." (Ruth Burrows, p.94).

We can see how those who have practiced prayer for a long time have had to struggle from time to time. Prayer is a challenge, but they made progress because they persevered; they trusted God and his goodness to them. It takes some humility and some moral fortitude; it is not for the faint hearted. Those who try to pray are agreed on this. They also agree that it is worth the effort in terms of inner peace and joy in Christ. These brief excerpts and comments are that the readers may look into the "deep" of themselves and begin to meditate and contemplate the reality of their life in God.

Pope John Paul II Encourages Meditation and Contemplative Prayer
Some might feel fearful of leaving, or thinking about leaving, oral prayer. They may want to cling to the rosary and their books with their favorite prayers. Attempting to meditate during this little retreat does not mean that one forsakes saying prayers. In many instances those who say their prayers reflect on the words and their meaning and in doing so are reflecting or meditating. One can move easily from oral prayer to meditation and Pope John Paul encourages making progress in prayer. At first one might think they "are doing nothing." Their mind may wander a little and then they get nervous and wonder if this is okay. Yes, it is. Distractions and a wandering mind are part of trying to meditate. Part of the reason Pope John Paul II wrote the Luminous mysteries of the Rosary is to encourage meditation on the illumination of earth by Christ in his revelations. The Holy Father wants us see in mind Jesus in all his fullness as seen in those mysteries. We are to reflect and contemplate as Mary did, by turning all these things, mysteries, over in her heart. The Pope sees Mary as the model of contemplation. "On the Most Holy Rosary," he says :

Mary as Model of Contemplation
"The contemplation of Christ has an incomparable model in Mary. In a unique way the face of the Son belongs to Mary. It was in her womb that Christ was formed, receiving from her a human resemblance which points to an even greater spiritual closeness. No one has ever devoted himself to the contemplation of the face of Christ as faithfully as Mary. The eyes of her heart already turned to him at the Annunciation, when she conceived him by the power of the Holy Spirit. In the moths that followed she began to sense his presence and to picture his features. When at last she gave birth to him in Bethlehem, her eyes were able to gaze tenderly on the face of her son, as she "wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger" (Lk. 2:7).

Mary lived with her eyes fixed on Jesus, treasuring his every word. " She kept all these things pondering them in her heart" (Lk. 2:19; cf. 2:51). The memories of Jesus, impressed upon her heart, were always with her, leading her to reflect on the various moments of her life at her Son's side. In a way those memories were to be her "rosary" which she recited uninterruptedly throughout her earthly life ( Pope John Paul II, "on the most holy rosary," p. 8).

Meditation Makes for the Mature Person
Mary constantly sets before the faithful the "mysteries" of her Son, with the desire that the contemplation of those mysteries will release all their saving power. In the recitation of the Rosary the Christian community enters into contact with the memories and the contemplative gaze of Mary.

In fostering meditation and contemplation the Holy Father is encouraging Christians to be more like Mary and enter into reflecting, contemplating, the mysteries of Christ's life. Through the use of the Sacred Scriptures we can enter into his public life and passion and be with him and Mary in his most trying moments. Once we have made the transition and come to know the benefits of meditation we chose it because of the quite it brings to us and the quite needed for union.

As Mary meditated on the mysteries of God in her life through her Son and the Holy Spirit, so we can meditate on God in our lives through the mysteries of Christ's life in the Sacred Scriptures. The graces attached to this kind of prayer can help us grow spiritually and become more fully integrated persons in Christ. (Quotations are taken from Pope John Paul's Apostolic Letter On the Most Holy Rosary, pp. 7-8.)
Suggestions on How to Pray with Scripture Texts

Preparation
Read over the Scripture passage for five or ten minutes. That sentiment in the text which strikes you or holds some meaning for you and which you would like to spend some time thinking about or reflecting on may be the subject of your prayer. Why? Because it seems to be saying something to you. It holds your attention; it moves you.

Meditate
To pray this way means to reflect, to think, to imagine, is to meditate.
To reflect on a scene in the Gospel or Psalms is to meditate, e.g.. the Nativity of our Lord. One would picture the Christmas Crib, the scene of Jesus’ birth and those involved in it. One could see the shepherds coming and adoring, hear Mary thanking them, etc.
One could reflect on a saying which they like and which means something to them. e.g.
"I have loved you with an everlasting love." That's a pretty long time.

What touches you personally is what is important to you. Everyone is different so you learn what you like in prayer -- that's between you and God.

My Spirituality
How I pray and how God relates to me is then the development of my spiritual life. My personality is part of my spirituality and vice versa. I express my spirituality through my personality, as my personality reflects my strengths and weaknesses, so too my spirituality. I begin to integrate the Catholic teaching that I believe in and how I relate with God personally through that teaching. God and I are personally involved and I am slowly growing more consciously

Prayer -- Time and Method
I ask you to make a quarter hour of prayer daily. Make the effort; God will reward it. One may spend more time if s/he feels so inclined.
Read over the text you have chosen a few times and note the things in it which strike you. What you like about the text is what you reflect, meditate on.
Do not go "text shopping!" When you choose to pray on a text and start the prayer, stay with that text until the end of the prayer. There are no right or wrong answers to praying, that is, whether it is pleasant or boring, good or bad. What time of the day, you pray is up to you. What is a good time for you and God to converse?

Be sincere with God and He will be sincere with you. In the fifth annotation Ignatius asks the exercitant to enter upon the Exercises with "magnanimity and generosity toward his Creator and Lord...."

End of Prayer Time
If you feel you were speaking with Mary, end the time by thanking her for your gifts and say a Hail Mary.

If you were praying to Jesus or the Father, thank them for life and any gifts you have received. End with an Our Father.