St. Ignatius of Loyola wrote The Spiritual Exercises as a retreat manual to be used by a director in leading a retreatant or “exercitant” (one who is practicing the exercises) through a four-week series of spiritual practices designed to help him amend his life and elect to follow a defined path of holiness and apostolic service in the Kingdom of God.

St. Ignatius defines the phrase “Spiritual Exercise” as follows:

By this name of Spiritual Exercises is meant every way of examining one’s conscience, of meditating, of contemplating, of praying vocally and mentally, and of performing other spiritual actions, as will be said later. For as strolling, walking, and running are bodily exercises, so every way of preparing and disposing the soul to rid itself of all the disordered tendencies, and, after it is rid, to seek and find the Divine Will as to the management of one’s life for the salvation of the soul, is called a Spiritual Exercise.

The exercises form the lesson plan for a school of spiritual discipleship whereby students learn how to live the gospel in a profound way while being personally transformed and empowered by the Holy Spirit. They are a training course for spiritual warfare under the banner of Christ the King—much like a military boot camp. Instead of physical training, however we exercise through imagination and prayerful meditation the often dormant or misdirected powers of our soul—our memory, understanding, and will—and reorient them towards God’s purposes.

Some 500 years before people began to discuss and write self-help books, St. Ignatius of Loyola (1491-1556) sought to answer for himself the question of life’s purpose. After a young adulthood filled with worldly successes and pleasures, a battlefield injury led him to a deep conversion. Slowly but surely, he began to realize that there was glory beyond this world that was worth attaining and from that point forward, attaining that greater heavenly glory became his all-encompassing and lifelong resolution. Encouraged by like-minded companions, he began to record his spiritual insights and experiences. Eventually, out of a desire to help others to share those same experiences of God and conversion, Ignatius organized his notes into a book: The Spiritual Exercises. First published in 1548, this manual would guide countless thousands of souls through a transformative encounter with God.

The book is divided into four sections or “weeks” representing four distinct periods of time (usually over the course of thirty days) in which an exercitant, preferably under the guidance of a spiritual director, leaves the concerns and activities of the world for a time of solitude and silence alone with God. Even during Ignatius’s lifetime, it was recognized that such a retreat from the world for a length of time was not always possible for all—especially the laity—and thus accommodations could be made in the form of shortened retreats.

The four weeks focus on several central tenets of the Christian Gospel as revealed by God and taught faithfully by the Catholic Church, including:

• God’s work of creation with man as His image and likeness whose vocation is to praise, reverence, and serve God as priest and steward of this world.
• Mankind’s ancestral fall from Paradise and the loss of the grace of full communion with God.
• The coming of the Redeemer through the Incarnation of God’s only Son for the salvation and life of the world.
• The restoration of all things in Christ through His life, death, resurrection, ascension, and second glorious coming, and His announcement of the Kingdom of God.
• Mankind’s call to eternal salvation in Christ and the ultimate fulfillment of his destiny in beholding the Face of God.

These common themes are woven into the spiritual tapestry of the Exercises. Ultimately, the Exercises reveals the face of Christ in salvation history and the place of the exercitant in that history, so long as he is willing to undergo an ever-deepening conversion to Christ and to follow the vocation which he prays will be revealed to him during this time of retreat. By entering fully into the “mystery of Christ” (cf. Ephesians 3:1-21) as taught by these exercises, the exercitant’s soul will share in the wonder of the Incarnation, the redemptive power of the Cross, and the glory of the Resurrection.

Each of the four weeks has a particular spiritual purpose, emphasizing certain themes with a view to leading the soul to a concrete resolution. Let’s briefly review each of the weeks and their respective spiritual themes, purposes, points, and practices.

The main theme of the first week is the fundamental reorientation of the heart away from any attachment to sin, and thereby spiritual death, and towards Jesus Christ. In a sense, its purpose is to “reform what is deformed” in the soul, purging away the things that are not given completely over to God.

The main points in the first Week are as follows:

• God in His infinite love has created us with a purpose: to praise, reverence, and serve Him and thus behold Him in Heaven for eternity.
• The tragedy of sin runs contrary to God’s loving purpose for our lives. By our own thoughts, words, and deeds we are deserving of His punishment.
• In His loving mercy, however, God calls us now to repent of our sins, to give ourselves entirely to Him by ordering our lives according to His will, and to live in the freedom of the Gospel.
• We must consider what we have done in the past for Christ, what we are now doing for Christ, and what we ought to do in the future for Christ.

The exercises practiced during this period are meditations on “Sin and Its Punishments,” “Death,” “Particular Judgment,” and “Venial Sin.”

One practice in particular which is emphasized throughout the Exercises is the “Examen (or Examination) of Conscience,” which is described further in this booklet. These meditations, combined with the Examinations, help to lead us to leave behind all that is not of God so that we might more fully and radically give ourselves to God.

In a sense, the spiritual purpose of the second week is to “conform what is reformed” in the first, so that we can be more fully illumined by the Light of Christ through the renewal of our minds in Christ, and the imitation of His goodness.

The main points in the second week are as follows:

• The Holy Trinity took compassion upon the whole world caught up in the darkness of sin and death and sent the Son to conquer sin and death with the power of God’s life and redeeming love.
• Jesus Christ, Our Eternal King and Redeemer, calls us to be His disciples and to labor with Him in spreading His Kingdom of Love.
• The Kingdom of God must first take root in our hearts, that is, in our memory, understanding, and will. This is accomplished by grace in the imitation of Christ’s virtues as related to us in the Holy Gospels and exemplified by the saints of the Church.
• This world is engaged in a great and terrible battle, and there are two standards under which men live: the standard of the Kingdom of our Redeemer Jesus Christ (symbolized by Jerusalem) and the standard of Lucifer, the Fallen Angel and Enemy of Our Nature (symbolized by Babylon). Christ calls us to live under the standard of His Kingdom, and to wage the spiritual and apostolic battle for souls, beginning with our own.
• We must remove from our hearts all worldly attachments to wealth, pleasure, and power, which hold us back from living under the standard of Christ the King. Instead, humbly commit ourselves for the sake of the call and love of God to the evangelical counsels of poverty, chastity, and obedience, according to our state of life.

The exercises practiced during this period are meditations on the “Kingdom of Christ,” the “Mystery of the Incarnation,” and the “Life, Teaching, and Ministry of Christ from His Nativity to Palm Sunday.”

The main theme of the third week is for the soul to resolve to follow Christ without reservation, yielding to Him all freedom, memory, understanding, and will. This week’s spiritual purpose is to “confirm what is conformed” in the second week, so that the soul will continue to grow in a loving union with God through the grace of prayer and spiritual labors.

The main points in the third week are as follows:

• Jesus Christ gave us the ultimate expression of God’s infinite love for mankind through the gifts of His Most Holy Body and Blood in the Holy Eucharist and through His suffering and death.
• To increase our loving union with God and to confirm our resolution to follow Him faithfully, we must take time to contemplate the depth of His love for us exemplified by His saving Passion and death on the Cross.
• The path to the glory of Christ’s Kingdom is through sharing in the service of His sacrificial offering of His life for our redemption and that of the whole world.
• We must call to mind with tears, humility, and gratitude the mercy of God, and the wonder and depth of His love in suffering His sacred Passion for our sins.
• Through the wisdom of the Cross, we finally see the folly of worldly attachments and sin. We must resolve firmly to conform our wills to God’s will, through a passionate commitment to Christ and His Kingdom, even to the point embracing martyrdom for the Gospel.

The exercises practiced during this period are meditations on the “Life of Christ: From Bethany to Last Supper,” “From Last Supper to the Garden of Gethsemane,” and the “Passion and Death of Jesus Christ.”

The main theme of the fourth week is for the soul to unite herself with God in a union of genuine love. This final week’s spiritual purpose is to “transform what is confirmed” in the third week, so that the soul, having shared in the passion of Christ, can now share in His glory.

The main points in the fourth week are as follows:

• Through the Resurrection, Christ reveals what remained hidden in His suffering and death, namely His full divinity.
• Christ’s appearances strengthened the faith of Peter and the Apostles, along with that of the whole Church. The Apostles and their successors continue to proclaim Christ’s Resurrection and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Holy Trinity and teaching them all that Christ commanded.
• Christ’s Resurrection is a pledge of the glory of the divine life that awaits all those who are united to Christ and faithfully labor under the Standard of His Kingdom.
• Jesus Christ ascended to the right hand of the Father’s throne as our High Priest and King and sent the Holy Spirit upon the Church. He is now surrounded by the angels and the saints, including His Holy Mother, but He will return one day in the fullness of His Glory.
• We must always see ourselves as standing before the throne of Jesus Christ with all of angels and saints interceding for us, so that we might love and serve God in all aspects of our lives.
• Our love for God and our joy in Christ’s Resurrection must manifest itself more in deeds of charity than in words.
• We should constantly call to mind God’s presence in and care of His creatures, including ourselves. God calls us, who were made in His image and likeness, to be the temples of His presence in the world.
• We must offer all that we have been given—our freedom, memory, understanding, and will—to God to dispose of according to His loving will and purposes, relying only on His love and grace throughout the remainder of our lives.

The exercises practiced during this period are meditations on the “Life of Christ: Jesus’ Resurrected Appearance to His Holy Mother,” the “Appearances of Christ after His Resurrection,” and “Christ’s Ascension into Glory.”

DID YOU KNOW?

In addition to vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience, Jesuits take a vow of special obedience to the pope.

First prelude. Consider, on one side, Our Saviour, on the other Lucifer, who both invite men to follow their standard.

Second prelude. Construction of place. Represent to yourself two vast plains; in one, near to Babylon, Lucifer assembles round him all sinners; in the other, near to Jerusalem, Our Lord is surrounded by all the just.

Third prelude. Ask the grace to discover and avoid the snares of Lucifer and to know and imitate the virtues of Jesus Christ.

First Point

The Standard of Lucifer

Represent to yourself the prince of the reprobate in the vast plains of Babylon, on a throne of fire surrounded by thick smoke, spreading terror around him by the hideous deformity of his features and by his terrible looks…. The hideous features and terrible look of Lucifer express the deformity of sin and the operations of the evil spirit in the soul; that is to say, its trouble, its agitation, its depression, its sorrows.

Consider the innumerable crowd of followers and ministers around Lucifer. Here are found united the sinners of all ages—the spirits who first, even in heaven, raised the standard of revolt against God, degraded beings, with whom evil is become as a nature; all the men who have made themselves the slaves of their passions and sins—the proud, the impure, robbers, homicides, all the wicked men who at different times have startled the world by their crimes, and of whom there is not a single one who is not, in some way, an object of aversion and disgust….

Listen, in spirit, to Lucifer addressing his ministers, and ordering them to lay snares on all sides for men, in order to gain their perdition…. Remark his artifices, and the three ordinary degrees of temptation—how, first, he catches souls by the love of riches; next, how he throws them into the paths of ambition; then, from ambition to pride—a bottomless abyss, from whence all vices rise as from their fountain….

Second Point

The Standard of Jesus Christ

Represent to yourself a beautiful plain near Jerusalem, and there, not on a throne, but mingling with His subjects, Our Lord, attracting all hearts by the beauty and irresistible charm of His looks…. Our Lord is represented without a throne and mixing among His subjects, to express the lowness and self-humiliation of His mortal life…. It is the image of beauty, of virtue, and the operations of the good Spirit in souls, that is, of joy, of calm, of consolation and so forth.

Consider, around Our Saviour, His disciples and apostles…. But for what purpose does Jesus Christ convoke His disciples under His standard? For the most just, the most noble, the most generous purpose that can be—to recall men to virtue and through virtue to happiness in time and eternity.

Listen, in spirit, to Our Saviour addressing His disciples, and commanding them to go into the world to save men…. Observe by what degrees, exactly opposed to the temptations of Lucifer, Jesus Christ leads souls to perfection. He wishes His apostles first to inspire them with indifference to riches, and then the desire of abjection, from whence arises humility as from its source and with it every other virtue.

Ignacio López de Loyola was born in 1491 in his family’s castle in the city of Azpeitia located in the Basque region of northern Spain. The youngest of thirteen children born to an ancient, pious, and noble family, Ignatius seemed destined to attain worldly greatness and glory. His early life took him on this course, as he was raised in the courts of King Ferdinand V, aspiring towards the career of a military officer. As a young man he lived the courtier’s life, engaging in dancing, gambling, dueling, and numerous romantic affairs with women.

On the battlefield, Ignatius became known for his valor and gallantry, which gained for him the admiration of his brother soldiers and even his enemies. During one battle against the French in May of 1521, while Ignatius courageously stood his ground as the fight turned in favor of the far more numerous enemy, he was struck by a cannonball that shattered his right leg and severely wounded his left. The victorious French brought him to the family castle of Loyola, where he faced a long convalescence after several difficult and painful surgeries.

During his recovery, Ignatius desired to pass the time by reading the stories of chivalry and romance he enjoyed; however, no books were found except one on the life of Christ and another on the lives of the saints. Reading these books began a conversion in Ignatius’s heart. He realized that his previous worldly pursuits were nothing in comparison to the spiritual greatness of the saints. His heart and mind began to turn to aspirations of heavenly glory. He resolved upon his recovery to turn his life away from his previous sins and become a soldier of the heavenly King, serving under the standard of Jesus Christ. He also began to receive the first of many heavenly visions, and he resolved to make a pilgrimage to the Holy Land.

After nearly a year of convalescence, Ignatius still suffered from wounds, most of which he would never fully recover from. At the age of thirty-one, he left behind his wealth and heritage and set out for Jerusalem. On the way, he stopped at a Benedictine monastery, where he made a general confession of his life and spent the night in a vigil of prayer before an icon of the Mother of God. In the morning, Ignatius laid his sword at her feet and left the monastery, giving away his fine clothing to the poor and donning the poor garb, sandals and staff of a pilgrim and penitent.

He arrived in Jerusalem in 1523—after spending ten months living in a cave praying and fasting, while ministering in a hospice and discerning the will of God for his life—to find that the Turkish Muslims who controlled the area would only let him stay a short time. So he set out to return to his native Spain, preaching the gospel on the street corners of the towns along the way. He also began to write down notes on various spiritual exercises and insights that he had from prayer that he often shared with others.

Ignatius’s time in Spain was short. He felt called to the priesthood and spent seven years in study at the University of Paris. There, in 1534, he gathered six other like-minded companions who participated in his spiritual exercises and who shared his vision for preaching and converting souls. These soldiers of Christ, formed as a society of priests, would be especially committed to serving the pope responding to the missionary needs of the Church wherever most needed. The companions, who included St. Francis Xavier and Blessed Peter Faber, gathered in the crypt of the Church of Our Lady of the Martyrs outside of Paris and made solemn vows to continue their apostolate.

They traveled to Rome in 1537 to receive papal approval, which was given in 1540 after their ordination as priests. They adopted the name the “Society of Jesus.” (The name “Jesuits” originated as a term of detraction, but the members of the Society quickly embraced it as an honor.) In 1543, Pope Paul III deployed the members of the Society as missionaries throughout Europe to evangelize and to set up schools, colleges and seminaries. This mission was extended eventually to include territories in the world where the Gospel had yet to be proclaimed.

Not surprisingly, Ignatius was elected as the first “Father General” or spiritual head of the Society, a position he would hold for fifteen years. During that time, Ignatius presided over the global expansion of his spiritual army. He informally adopted the phrase Ad Majorem Dei Gloriam (“For the Greater Glory of God”) as the Jesuits’ motto. Ignatius sought to imbue the Society with the apostolic spirit of the Miles Christi (the “soldiers of Christ”)—drawing on his military background and the chivalric code to which he dedicated himself as a young man. These spiritual warriors were to be formed by the Spiritual Exercises, now formally published and translated into many languages. They were to live the Gospel heroically in service to the Church.

Ignatius had suffered from stomach ailments since his days in Paris which continued to plague him the entire time he spent in Rome. In the summer of 1556, his health declined dramatically, and Ignatius knew that his time of death was drawing near. On July 31, having fought the good fight of faith and finished the race, Father General Ignatius reposed in the Lord and obtained the crown of glory. This was confirmed by Pope Gregory XV, who canonized both St. Ignatius and his friend and companion St. Francis Xavier on March 12, 1622.

The religious order founded by St. Ignatius is still making an impact for the Gospel today around the world. Here are some interesting facts about the Jesuits:

• The order was founded by St. Ignatius and six companions in Paris in 1534, and received papal approval in 1540.
• The original name of the Society of Jesus was the “Companions of Jesus.”
• The mission of the Society is to “strive especially for the propagation and defense of the Faith and progress of souls in Christian life and doctrine.”
• In addition to their overseas missions, the Jesuits were very much a part of the Catholic Counter-Reformation throughout Europe, which helped to authentically reform the Church and to restore many who had embraced the theories of various Protestant reformers to the fullness of the Catholic Faith.
• A critical part of the Jesuit mission is to offer retreats on the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius.
• The Society is under the patronage of the Mother of God under her title “Our Lady of the Way” (Madonna Della Strada) and St. Ignatius of Loyola.
• The headquarters of the order are based in Rome.
• The Society is the largest single religious order in the Catholic Church, with almost 20,000 members engaged in apostolic ministry in over 112 nations on six continents.
• Jesuit formation prior to ordination is one of the longest and most rigorous in the Church.
• Unlike many orders, Jesuits have no special habit or dress.

As with most religious societies, the Society of Jesus developed its own tradition of a seal and motto, which expressed its spiritual ideals and apostolic purpose in the Church.

The seal of the Society of Jesus is well known throughout Christendom. There are four main symbols contained in this seal:

The three letters “IHS” are often rendered, ‘In His Service.’ However, a more common explanation is that it is a shorthand of the Latin phrase, in hoc signo vinces, which translates “in this sign you will conquer.” These words were heard by a young Constantine in the year 312, after he saw a vision in the sky of a Chi Rho (the first two letters of the Greek word for “Christ”). Although a pagan at the time, the legend is that Constantine ordered the shields of his armies to be marked with the Chi Rho and in so doing won a great battle against Emperor Maxentius at the Battle of the Milvian Bridge and unified the Roman Empire under his banner. Constantine, now Emperor, eventually ended the persecution of the Church and gave Christians official legal standing in the Roman Empire.

The connection of the Latin phrase with its military history and the spiritual ideals of St. Ignatius’s religious society are obvious. As a soldier turned spiritual warrior, St. Ignatius saw the Jesuits as soldiers of Christ (miles Christi)—who were engaged in a great battle for souls, conquering the world for the greater glory of God, all in service to His Church. Just as Constantine’s victorious armies were marked by the sign, so the shield of Faith (cf. Ephesians 6:10-17) carried by the members of the Society was also to be marked indelibly by Christ.

The original meaning however is that IHS is the monogram for the name of Jesus Christ (in Greek, Iesous Christos). It was a very common practice among early Christians to shorten the name of Jesus Christ in writing and iconography, and IHS came to predominate in the Latin West, especially during the Middle Ages. It is not surprising that St. Ignatius, the founder of an order called the “Society of Jesus,” would place in the center of his religious community’s seal the symbol of the Holy Name. As he relates in his spiritual diary of a particular vision he experienced: “So set was my intention that the name of Jesus impress itself on me, so encouraged was I, and such a confirmation did I seem to receive for what lay ahead, that tears and sobs came with new force. While preparing the altar and vesting, the name of Jesus was shown to me: I felt great love, confirmation and an increased resolve to follow Him.”

The Cross is seen to emerge from the IHS, since it is the central sign and symbol of Christ’s redemptive mission. Conformity to Christ’s self-giving love and participation in His saving mission is an ideal for the Society founded by St. Ignatius. The three nails signify the three vows of the evangelical counsels of poverty, chastity and obedience which bind a man to the ideals of the Society in its imitation of Christ and service to His Kingdom. As Christ suffered His passion on the Cross, members of the Society must strive to share in this salvific action by having a compassionate heart for souls and by serving Christ in every aspect of this life.

The sunburst has several layers of significance. On the one hand, it symbolizes the Great Sign seen by Constantine in the sky prior to his victory, as well as the brilliant visions in which God revealed Himself to St. Ignatius. It can also signify the rising of the sun in the East, which became for the earliest Christians a symbol of the coming of Christ into the world. The sun as a natural source of energy, life, and light is prophetically fulfilled by the Light of the Word, Jesus Christ, who sustains the world and shines upon all corners of the earth. The sunburst is the Glory of God, which all Jesuits strive to reflect in all their endeavors, from the mundane to the spiritual and apostolic.

The motto of a religious community is an expression of the Christian ideals and values that should pervade its spiritual and apostolic actions. The Jesuit motto Ad Majorem Dei Gloriam, or in shorthand, “AMDG,” is translated “For the Greater Glory of God.” This motto is said to have come directly from St. Ignatius, reflecting the First Principle of the Spiritual Exercises: namely that we are created to praise, reverence, and to serve God and thus save our souls. Any legitimate pursuit, no matter how small or seemingly insignificant, which serves the intention of the greater glory of God, is holy unto the Lord. This motto usually appears in icons of the saint, on Jesuit buildings, in official correspondence of the Society, and even at the top of papers written by students at Jesuit institutions of learning.

We ought to pay close attention. If the devil makes us proud, we must humiliate ourselves by considering our sins and miseries. If he discourages us and casts us down, we must raise ourselves up in true faith and hope in the Lord by recalling to ourselves the good things we have received from Him and the great love and will with which He desires our salvation; whereas the enemy cares not whether what he says is true or false but only whether he conquers us.
—St. Ignatius

One of the most central practices in Ignatian spirituality of the Exercises is the “Examination of Conscience.” The purpose of this “Daily Examen” is to help us grow in the realization that we live constantly in the presence of God who providentially cares for us, who knows all, and who sees all. In this realization, a person should offer to God thanksgiving for His good gifts, repentance for any failures with a humble and loving request for pardon, as well as a firm resolution to begin again along the path to Christ. This exercise should be done at least daily, most especially in the evening before retiring to bed.

The five steps of the Daily Examen are as follows:

1. Recall that we are in the presence of God. God is omnipresent, that is, there is no place in the universe where He is not. He is always with us. There is no limit to the loving presence of the Holy Trinity, who creates, sustains, and sanctifies the world and all mankind. At this particular moment of prayer, we are more attentive to His presence with and within us, recalling that we are, by virtue of Holy Baptism, His adopted sons and daughters in Christ.

2. Offer thanksgiving to God for all of His gracious gifts and benefits. The same God who creates, sustains, and sanctifies the universe, cares for each of us, and provides us with all that we need. Even the simple fact of our existence is a reason to thank and praise Him. In this step, we recall specifically all of the good things God has given to us, including our faith and trust in Him and the grace of this very moment.

3. Examine how we have lived according to the demands of the Gospel. Just as we will have to stand in the presence of God at the Final Judgment, so now we stand before Christ and look at our day in the light of the demands of the Gospel. God created each of us to praise, reverence, and to serve Him. Here, we briefly reflect on each hour of the day and examine by the grace of the Holy Spirit how well we have lived under the Standard of Christ and His two great commandments: love of God and love of neighbor. If we have fallen deliberately or accidentally in thought, word or deed, we note these falls in order to observe the next step of the Examen.

4. Ask for pardon for any sins we have committed. God delights in His mercy towards souls. With confidence and humility, we come to the throne of His mercy and ask for pardon for any wrongs revealed to us by the Holy Spirit in the third step. In a particular way, we should consider any predominant fault or inordinate attachment to earthly things that we are trying to remove from our spiritual lives. Recalling, as St. Paul says, that it is the kindness of God that leads us to repentance, we lay our burdens of sin before the Divine Physician of souls asking for His generous and healing mercy. If our Examen reveals any sins that are serious in nature and freely chosen with full knowledge, we also resolve to bring them to the sacrament of repentance and mercy, Holy Confession, before receiving Christ’s Body and Blood in Holy Communion.

5. Renew our commitment to follow Christ according to the Gospel. With joyful hearts freed from attachment to sin and with a renewed zeal for God, the final step is for us to resolve once again to take up our cross and follow Christ daily. This step is necessary, since the daily spiritual battle involves a conscious decision to give to God all of our liberty, memory, understanding, and will, relying only on God’s love and grace to save our souls and fulfill our apostolic purpose in life. In this regard, the commitment must not simply be to refrain from sin, but rather to choose by grace to follow the path of the virtues of faith, hope, and love.

SCRIPTURE

Romans 1:20

Ever since the creation of the world his invisible nature, namely, his eternal power and deity, has been clearly perceived in the things that have been made.

Romans 11:36

For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be glory for ever. Amen.

Matthew 16:24

Then Jesus told his disciples, ‘If any man would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.’

Matthew 28:18-20

And Jesus came and said to them, ‘All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, to the close of the age.’

St. Ignatius of Loyola’s methods for preparing retreatants to meditate upon the mysteries of Christ have their origin in his spiritual formation: in the strong roots of faith that lie beneath the surface of every Catholic Classic. What were some of his strong roots?

St. Ignatius was influenced greatly by traditional sources of Christian faith and piety. During his period of convalescence from his battle wounds, he began to turn his heart more and more towards conversion to Christ under the influence of two books in particular.

Ludolf of Saxony was a fourteenth-century Carthusian monk from Germany whose spiritual and theological treatises were very well known throughout Europe. In his Life of Christ, Ludolf covers many of the events of the life of Our Lord, advocating a particular method of prayerful reading which involves visualizing the events of Christ’s life. St. Ignatius very clearly adopted this method in his Spiritual Exercises for the exercitant or the person making the retreat.

The second text St. Ignatius turned to in his hospital bed was James of Voragine’s Legenda Aurea (The Golden Legend) which was a very popular thirteenth-century series of hagiographies, or stories of the lives of the saints intended for spiritual reading. In modern times, Butler’s Lives of the Saints would be an example of this type of literature. Reading the lives of the saints inspired St. Ignatius to strive first in his imagination, then in his desires, and ultimately by his will to follow the courageous and heroic examples of the saints who lived the Gospel with complete dedication.

Later on, a text that was to make a definite imprint on the life, spirituality and religious congregation of St. Ignatius, as well as his Spiritual Exercises, was this fifteenth-century work of Thomas à Kempis, a German priest and monk. Regarded as perhaps the greatest and most-read Classic of spiritual literature after the Bible, The Imitation of Christ sought to relate to its reader a method of growing in Christian perfection by using Christ as the Divine Model. St. Ignatius was known to have carried a copy of this text with him at all times, and several themes from it are woven into the Exercises: including holy indifference, which emphasizes the need to remove all disordered attachments to earthly goods.

The enduring work of St. Ignatius and his religious community, the Society of Jesus, has borne great fruit over the centuries, spreading the Gospel to the nations. Here are four figures in history who were ignited by the love for Jesus Christ through the legacy of St. Ignatius.

One of the seven co-founders of the Society of Jesus with St. Ignatius, St. Francis embodied much of the missionary and apostolic spirit of the early Jesuits. He journeyed far from his native Spain: spreading the Gospel far and wide in Asia, preaching and baptizing in India, Japan, and the Moluccas. It is thought that his missionary activity rivaled even that of St. Paul the Apostle in geographic scope and numbers of converts. He died while waiting for a boat to take him to his next mission, China. He is known as the Apostle to the Indies and is the patron saint of Catholic missionaries together with St. Thérèse of Lisieux.

Sister Mary was an English Catholic nun and the foundress of the Loreto Sisters, formally known as the Institute of the Blessed Virgin Mary. Raised during the Protestant Reformation, under severe persecutions of Catholics in England, she and her family suffered for their Catholic faith. She felt a call very early in life to embrace a religious vocation, and, inspired by the example of the Society of Jesus, she founded her religious community to help accomplish spiritually for women as the Jesuits had done for men. Throughout her work, for which she and her sisters suffered greatly both from within and outside the Church, she bore a courageous and faithful witness to the Gospel according to the spirit of St. Ignatius of Loyola. Pope Benedict XVI declared her Venerable in 2009.

Blessed Kateri was the daughter of a Mohawk chief and an Algonquian woman who, thanks to the missionary efforts of the Jesuits in North America, was also a baptized Christian. Kateri was born in the Mohawk village of Ossernenon, New York, where St. Isaac Jogues and two companions offered their lives in martyrdom. Tekakawitha took the Christian name of “Kateri” or “Catherine” at the time of her baptism. Afterward, she suffered at the hands of pagan family and tribal members, but in all things she united her heart more closely to Christ and His Cross, offering her suffering for the conversion of her persecutors. This spiritual “Lily of the Mohawks” as she was known later, eventually had to flee for her life to a Christian community of Native Americans in Quebec. There she dedicated herself to prayer and works of mercy and eventually took a vow of chastity as a consecrated virgin. At the age of twenty-four, she peacefully entered eternal life with the final words, “Jesus I love you.”

Father Ciszek was a American Jesuit who is best known as the author of With God in Russia and He Leadeth Me, books that recount his twenty-three years as a political prisoner in the Soviet Union. Born in Pennsylvania to a Polish-American family, he entered the Society of Jesus and responded to the call to be a missionary priest to Russia. Shortly after entering Russia in 1940, he was captured by the Soviets and imprisoned as a “Vatican spy.” He was sentenced to hard labor and moved to a Siberian gulag, where he continued his courageous mission work under profoundly difficult conditions. Eventually he was released from the work camps, and after living for a time as a peasant laborer, was returned to the United States in a prisoner exchange in 1963. Reunited with family and his religious community, Father Ciszek continued to minister, sharing his testimony in speeches and writings, and giving retreats on the Spiritual Exercises. His experience as a confessor of the Faith indelibly marked his spirit with the freedom and charity that comes from Christ. He entered eternal life in 1984, and his cause for canonization began formally in 1990.

A Catholic Classic is not like other books. Properly read and meditated upon, it nourishes not only the mind but the soul: effecting in the reader an increase in holiness as well as knowledge. Follow this guide, based on the advice of St. Alphonsus Liguori, to get the maximum benefit from The Spiritual Exercises.

First, set aside a quiet place and time. Novels and newspapers can be read on the bus or in a noisy house, but not a Catholic Classic. Pray before you begin, asking God to teach you the lessons He wants you to learn. Ask for St. Ignatius to be present, praying for and with you.

Have the right intentions. The purpose of spiritual reading is to grow in love of God and divine things, not to acquire facts, learn arguments, or indulge superficial curiosity. We shouldn’t read a Classic just to say we have read it; we should read it because we want to be changed by it.

Read slowly and with attention. Like food that must be chewed carefully, spiritual reading requires some work in order to draw out its nutrients. Don’t be afraid to linger over passages, prayerfully re-reading sections that confuse you or make a strong impression on you. Let’s be like bees, says St. Alphonsus, who “do not pass from one flower to another until they have gathered all the nectar they found in the first.”

Finally, come away from your reading time with some concrete intention to take what you’ve learned and put it into practice. Having received the spiritual wisdom of the saints, carry it with you in your heart, and put it to work in service of God and neighbor.

Take, Lord, and receive all my liberty, my memory, my understanding, and my entire will.

All I have and call my own, whatever I have or hold, You have given me. I return it all to You and surrender it wholly to be governed by Your will.

Give me only Your love and Your grace and I am rich enough and ask for nothing more.

The Catholic Classics should not only teach and inspire us, they should change the way we live. Use this guide to help you put into practice St. Ignatius’s teachings for seven days, and see what difference it makes.

Begin the day thinking about St. Ignatius’s Principle and Foundation: God created man to praise, reverence, and to serve Him and thereby to arrive at eternal salvation. Make a resolution in your heart to be conscious of this threefold vocation in every task of your day.

The Spiritual Exercises focuses on the life of Christ as related to us through the Gospels. Make it a point to prayerfully and thoughtfully read the Gospel for today’s liturgy. As you read it, ask God to reveal to you the charity of His Son, Jesus Christ, and how you can live this same charity in your own life as His disciple.

In the evening, go through all of the steps in the exercise of St. Ignatius’s Daily Examination of Conscience. Be sure to find a quite spot in your home or at Church to do this. Go through each step deliberately and carefully and see how God leads you to see your life in His divine light.

Consider one of the spiritual and corporal works of mercy, or the Beatitudes, and choose to put that into practice today. As St. Ignatius taught, love is revealed and perfected not so much in words as in deeds. Look for an opportunity to share the love of Christ with another in a simple, even hidden way.

St. Ignatius stressed the ideal of spiritual indifference, that is, a holy detachment from earthly goods and a right ordering of all goods towards God and our ultimate goal. Spend some time considering anything you may be attached to, and offer it to God and His will. Such an inventory may reveal ways that you can entrust yourself more and more to living the Gospel without compromise.

Discipleship according to the ideals of St. Ignatius involves a chivalric commitment to spiritual warfare under the standard of Christ and the teachings of the Gospel. The disciplines of fasting, prayer, and almsgiving are traditional means to conquer oneself first and then the whole world for the sake of the Kingdom of God. Relying on God’s grace, integrate one or more of these practices into your spiritual life today in a hidden way, that is, without making it a point to let others know.

St. Ignatius and the Jesuits promoted the frequent reception of Holy Communion for the faithful as a way of growing closer to Christ and the Church. Plan to attend the daily Mass at a local Catholic parish today and receive the Holy Eucharist. Stay afterwards and offer St. Ignatius’s prayer Anima Christi as part of your thanksgiving to God.

Dear Founder of the Society of Jesus, a wound you received as a soldier led to your becoming a spiritual soldier for Christ.

By reading the lives of the saints, you changed your life and achieved sainthood.

You learned to appreciate the value of prayer and became a master of the Spiritual Exercises, which greatly fostered retreats. Help all who make retreats to imitate your example by becoming true followers of Jesus. Amen.

Contemplation

A form of prayer that consists of using one’s imagination to see in the eye of the mind the persons and activities of the Gospel as though one were actually present.

Colloquy

A form of prayer at the end of an exercise, in which one speaks to God or to a saint in a familiar way, as one would a friend.

Discernment of Spirits

Being aware of the various movements of the soul (thoughts, feelings, imaginings, attractions, etc.) and determining where they come from and where they lead.

Election

The goal of an Ignatian retreat to select a state of life or to make a decision to improve spiritually in a certain area.

Examen of Conscience

A time of prayer in which the soul, in the presence of God, offers thanks for the good God has done and offers repentance for any wrongs committed, with a resolution to persevere in the Christian walk.

Indifference

The state of not having any inordinate attachments to earthly things, and seeing all goods of this world in light of their purposes in God.

Meditation

The first method of prayer taught by Ignatius, which uses the powers of memory, intellect, and will to lead from a particular spiritual subject to a reformation of one’s life.

Missions

The work of the Church to spread the Faith to all nations and peoples.

Retreat

A period of time of prayer and reflection where one is removed from familiar surroundings to draw close to God.

Scrupulosity

An involuntary and unreasonable fear of sin and its punishments, whereby one exaggerates the degree and/or frequency of personal sin, thus losing peace of soul. This state is often a temporary one for a person growing in the spiritual life.

For further reading about the life and spirituality of St. Ignatius of Loyola, we recommend:

Burns, Paul. Butler’s Lives of the Saints: New Concise Edition. Liturgical Press, 2003.

Derleth, August. St. Ignatius and the Company of Jesus. Ignatius Press, 1999.

Ganss, S.J., George E. The Spiritual Exercises of Saint Ignatius: A Translation and Commentary. Loyola Press, 1992.

Hardon, S.J., John. Retreat with the Lord: A Popular Guide to the Spiritual Exercises of Ignatius of Loyola. Servant Publications, 1993.

St. Ignatius of Loyola. The Spiritual Exercises of Saint Ignatius or Manresa: Explained Step-By-Step for Independent Use. TAN Books, 2010.

Tylenda, S.J., Joseph, tr. A Pilgrim’s Journey: The Autobiography of Ignatius of Loyola. Ignatius Press, 1985.

There is an abundance of valuable information available online about St. Ignatius of Loyola, his life and his work:

Catholic Encyclopedia
www.newadvent.org/cathen/07639c.htm

“Ignatian Spirituality” by Pinard De La Boullaye
www.ewtn.com/library/spirit/ignaspir.txt

Institute of the Incarnate Word: IVE Spiritual Exercises Retreats
www.iveignatianexercises.org

Miles Christi—Catholic Religious Order Dedicated to the Spiritual Exercises
www.mileschristi.org

Shrine of the North American (Jesuit) Martyrs
www.martyrshrine.org

Society of Jesus in the United States
www.jesuit.org

TAN Books, an imprint of Saint Benedict Press, LLC, is a publisher of Catholic books on theology, spirituality, liturgy, Church history, Marian topics, and more—including Catholic Classics—with over 600 titles in print. Headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina, TAN seeks to serve the Church and build up the kingdom of God with solid, orthodox literature from the Catholic intellectual tradition.

Acknowledgments

Author: Fr. Deacon Daniel Dozier

Design & Layout: Chris Pelicano, A.R.T. Design, Abby Pelicano

Series Editor: Todd M. Aglialoro

Special thanks to Eliana Gallagher, Frances Liberto

Image Credits

Cover Image: St. Ignatius Loyola engraved by W. Holl from a print by Bolswert after a picture by Rubens and published in London by Charles Knight, Ludegate Street, www.123rf.com, Inside Cover: Glory of St Ignatius of Loyola by Peter Paul Rubens, Pages 2: St. Ignatius in the Cave (detail) by Chris Pelicano, Page 10: courtesy TAN Books, Page 12: St. Ignatius of Loyola by Peter Paul Rubens, Page 18: St. Ignatius Answering God’s Call (detail) by Chris Pelicano, Page 21: St. Ignatius Loyola Statue by Pietro Baratta, Page 25: Bl. Kateri Tekakwitha at Prayer (detail) by Chris Pelicano, Page 30: courtesy TAN Books

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TAN CLASSICS

A COLLECTION OF THE FINEST LITERATURE IN THE CATHOLIC TRADITION

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The Spiritual Combat by Dom Lorenzo Scupoli

The Interior Castle by St. Teresa of Avila

The Life of St. Francis of Assisi by St. Bonaventure

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