The Spiritual Exercises grew out of Ignatius Loyola’s personal experience as a man seeking to grow in union with God and to discern God’s will. He kept a journal as he gained spiritual insight and deepened his spiritual experience. He added to these notes as he directed other people and discovered what “worked.” Eventually Ignatius gathered these prayers, meditations, reflections, and directions into a carefully designed framework of a retreat, which he called “spiritual exercises.”

The Spiritual Exercises are a compilation of meditations, prayers, and contemplative practices developed by St. Ignatius Loyola to help people deepen their relationship with God. For centuries the Exercises were most commonly given as a “long retreat” of about 30 days in solitude and silence. In recent years, there has been a renewed emphasis on the Spiritual Exercises as a program for laypeople.  The most common way of going through the Exercises now is a “retreat in daily life” called the 19th annotation retreat, which involves a months-long program of daily prayer and meetings with a spiritual director.  

Especially appropriate for those with experience of Ignatian Spirituality, e.g.: The Examen, Everyday Discernment, or involvement in other forms of spiritual direction and those comfortable with small group faith sharing. Directed on an individual basis or in a small group.  

If you would like to know more, please contact Fr. John Michalowski, S.J. at St. Peter Catholic Church.
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