(1) Be sparing in your counsels and in the explanation you give on the subject for meditation or contemplation. If relevant, point out the place where the Scriptural text dealing with the subject can be found and faithfully relate the facts contained in the meditation or contemplation. Present your explanation in a summary manner.

(2) If, during the course of the retreat, the retreatant does not experience any spiritual movement, that is, if he does not feel inflamed with love or does not experience darkness of soul or turmoil of spirit, ask him if he is faithful in making the exercises at the appointed times and if he is honestly following the directions that were given to him. Do not hesitate to ask him to go into detail in these matters. At the same time, remember that a person can certainly make a very good retreat in that “state of tranquility” we spoke of when dealing with the election, that is, when the soul is conscious of going through the Spiritual Exercises with much interior freedom and peace.

(3) If you see that the retreatant is in desolation or is tempted, do not deal either harshly or severely with him but be kindly and good. Encourage and strengthen him for the future. If you see clearly what is taking place in him, and if you think this knowledge can help him, tell him about it. Help him to make ready for the consolation that undoubtedly will come after the storm passes.

(4) Should the retreatant be given the rules that enable him to discern, with the light of the Holy Spirit, the different spiritual movements taking place in his soul? The decision should be made according to the need of each retreatant. Such a presentation is indispensable in certain cases, but in others—when dealing, for example, with persons who overscrutinize everything or who are scrupulous—this information could be harmful.
(5) Discretion and prudence are particularly needed during the course of the First Week, when one is dealing with a retreatant who is unskilled in spiritual matters and who is still meeting head on with such worldly obstacles as human respect, an excessive fear of suffering or failure, and the like. The rules of the First Week could perhaps prove useful for him, but the rules of the Second Week will be harmful. The subject matter of these rules of the Second Week is too subtle and advanced for him to draw profit from them.

(6) When you see that the retreatant is being tempted to something evil under the appearance of a good, then, if it seems helpful and expedient, this is the right time to talk with him about the matter contained in the rules of the Second Week. Normally the soul that is progressing along the illuminative way (which corresponds to the exercises of the Second Week) is more often tempted under the appearance of the good. This type of temptation is more rare during the course of the purgative way, which corresponds to the exercises of the First Week.

(7) During the times when the retreatant is inflamed with love for spiritual things, warn him against making any commitment or taking any ill-considered, hasty vow—all the more reason to do so if you know the person has a susceptible and flighty temperament. Even though in itself a good work done under a vow is more meritorious than one preformed without a vow, and even though one can always encourage a person to enter the religious life in which he knows that the vows of obedience, poverty, and chastity are taken, nevertheless, a director always has to take under the most serious consideration the particular temperament and gifts of the retreatant. Would these vows and these promises be a help or a constraint for this particular individual? Would such vows and promises be a fountain of peace or a source of troubles for this person here and now? This is the question that should ultimately determine our attitude in such a case.

(8) During the retreat, do not influence the retreatant to opt for evangelical poverty or for one state of life as opposed to another or for any other kind of commitment. It is true that outside of the Exercises it may be permissible and even praiseworthy to encourage all who give evidence of being able to choose celibacy, virginity, the religious life, and every form of religious perfection. However, during the course of the Spiritual Exercises, it is wiser and better for the director to motivate the retreatant to seek only the divine will so that our Creator and Lord will communicate himself to the soul, embrace it with love and praise of himself, and dispose it for the way where it could better serve him in the future. For this reason do not encourage the person toward one side or the other but remain at equilibrium between the two. Let the Creator deal with the creature without any intermediary and the creature with the Creator in the same way. Such a frame of mind respects more God’s initiative and the soul’s freedom.

(9) Adapt the Exercises to the wishes of the persons who want to make them, taking into account their dispositions, that is, their age, education, and spiritual experience. Never propose anything that goes beyond the soul’s resources. At the same time, give to each person, according to the spiritual dispositions that he brings to the retreat, whatever will be helpful to him in the future. For this reason, offer to the person who aspires to lead an ordinary Christian life the Particular Examination (p. 49) and then the General Examination (p. 48), along with a method to enable him to meditate for half an hour each morning on the Commandments, the capital sins, etc. (pp. 43-44). Also recommend that he go to confession weekly and that, if possible, he receive Communion every fifteen or eight days and even, if he desires it, every day. Encourage him to take on some of the spiritual works of mercy, to apply himself on behalf of the poor, of those who suffer and are distressed, and the like. Encourage him to live sincerely the simple life of the baptized, to follow the liturgical life of the Church with fervor, and especially to make the Bible (particularly the Gospels) his constant companion, his “book of life”.

Similarly, if you see that the person making the retreat does not have the natural or spiritual abilities that will enable him to draw profit from the Exercises, he should not become involved in any matter dealing with the election of a way of life or in any other exercises that go beyond those of the First Week. This is especially the case when there are other retreatants capable of greater progress and the time is limited for you to deal with everyone.

(10) You can have the person who is busy with public affairs or is involved with other important works, but who nevertheless does have the desired aptitudes to profit from a retreat, and who would be able to put aside an hour and a half each day doing the Exercises—you can have such a person make the different exercises, and you should adapt them the best way you can to his particular situation.

IT IS EXTREMELY IMPORTANT THAT DURING
THE COURSE OF THE SPIRITUAL EXERCISES
THE RETREATANT FEEL WITHIN HIMSELF
“THE FREEDOM OF THE SONS OF GOD”
SO THAT IT IS ONLY THE HOLY SPIRIT
WHO INSPIRES HIS DECISIONS.

AFTER THE RETREAT
HE MUST BE CONSCIENTIOUSLY RESPONSIBLE,
AS A SON OF GOD,
IN IMPLEMENTING WHAT GOD’S WILL IS
FOR HIM.