引言
INTRODUCTION
圣依纳爵的《神操》显然是这本《居家退省》的灵感来源。
The Spiritual Exercises by St. Ignatius of Loyola is quite obviously the book that has inspired this Do-It-at-Home Retreat.
我们在本书后续章节中执行的计划是符合依纳爵的思路的。他自己不是已经预见到一个人可以在家里进行真正意义上的退省，而不必打断日常生活吗？他不是在他的指导和注释中指出，退省应该根据退省者的具体情况来调整吗？
The plan we have carried out in this book in the pages that follow goes along with Ignatius’ thinking. Did not he himself foresee that a person could make a retreat, in the true sense of the term, at home without ever interrupting his daily routine? And did not he indicate in his directives and annotations that the retreat should be adapted to the particular circumstances of the retreatant?
退省应该在完全的属灵自由的氛围中进行，在圣灵的感动下进行。这就是为什么每次退省（无论在哪里进行）本质上都是个人的经历。
A retreat should be made in an atmosphere of complete spiritual freedom, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. This is why every retreat (irrespective of where it is made) is basically a personal experience.
我们完整保留了圣依纳爵《神操》中的以下要点：
We have kept intact the following points from St. Ignatius’ Spiritual Exercises:
——首先是神操的主要目的，即从罪（或冷淡）转向善或更好。
— First of all, there is the primary purpose of the Exercises, namely, to turn from sin (or tepidity) to the good or the better.
——必要的基本要素，其中最重要的是基本的「平心」——即从一切非神的事物中解脱出来，坚决顺服他为我所定的护理计划。
— The necessary essentials, among which are, first and foremost, a fundamental “indifference” — that is, a freedom from everything that is not God, a resolute submission to his providential plan for me.
——神操中渐进展开的次序：四个「周」或阶段，从「基础」开始，一直到「为获得并生活在神的爱中的默观」。
— The gradual unfolding of the order found in the Exercises: the four “Weeks”, or stages, going from the Foundation and following through to the Contemplation to Attain and Live in the Love of God.
——「选择」，即我在这个属灵经历过程中所做的选择，为我的生命方向提供秩序或指引。
— The election, that is, the choice I make during the course of …this spiritual experience to give order or an orientation to my life’s direction.
——主要的主题和经文。
— The principal themes and texts.
——退省者与灵修导师之间的个人交流。这种「互相联系」至少应该偶尔进行，如有必要，也可以通过书信往来进行。
— The personal interchange between the retreatant and the spiritual director. This “touching base” with one another should take place at the very least occasionally, or, if it is necessary, it can take place by correspondence.
尽管圣依纳爵的《神操》具有独特性，但它并不包含特定的属灵教义。相反，它呈现的是一门教导属灵经验（无论是皈依还是灵命进步）的艺术。它勾画出达到这个目标的确实路径、危险和幻觉、各种条件、帮助和障碍——同时尊重神完全的自由以及退省者灵魂的自由。* 本质上*基督徒的经历对所有人都是一样的，但对每个人来说都会呈现出个人化的形式。我们从这个教学方法中采用了解释、建议和忠告（甚至包括那些专门为导师准备的内容），并忠实地记录在这里。
Despite their unique character, St. Ignatius’ Spiritual Exercises contain no particular spiritual doctrine. Rather, they present an art of teaching spiritual experience (either conversion or spiritual progress). They plot out the sure course, the dangers and illusions, the various conditions, the helps, and the impediments for attaining this end—all the while respecting God’s complete liberty as well as the freedom of the soul of the person making the retreat. Essentially the Christian experience is the same for all, but it takes on a personal form for each one. We have taken from this pedagogical method the explanations, advice, and counsels (even those that are meant exclusively for the director) and have been faithful in recording them here.
我们所提出的「退省」是一次浸入（浸入暗示洗礼）到耶稣基督通过他的道、他的死亡和复活向我们启示的现实中。事实上，一切都发生在神（因为他是爱而呼召我们）和人心（对他的邀请作出积极回应或拒绝）之间。这种接受或拒绝发生在圣方济各·沙雷所说的「心中之心」的隐秘而奥妙之处。
The “retreat” we propose is an immersion (immersion connotes baptism) into the realities revealed to us by Jesus Christ through his Word, his death, and his Resurrection. In fact, everything comes about between God, who beckons because he is love, and the human heart, which responds favorably to his invitation or rejects it. This acceptance or rejection takes place in that hidden and mysterious place St. Francis de Sales calls “the heart of the heart”.
最后，给退省者一个建议：当你进行默想或默观时，总要随手备有圣经或新约，因为耶稣基督是灵魂和教会汲取生命的唯一源泉。
Finally, this word of advice to the retreatant: when you are making your meditations or contemplations, always have your Bible or a copy of the New Testament at hand because Jesus Christ is the only source from which the soul, as well as the Church, can draw life.