It could happen that a person would want to make the Spiritual Exercises but could only devote eight days to following the prescribed meditations and contemplations. He should be assured that even in eight days he can profit greatly from these Spiritual Exercises. The advice and recommendations given to the retreatant making the thirty-day retreat remain the same for those making this eight-day retreat.

Such a person should follow this eight-day schedule of meditations or contemplations:

the Foundation (and chapter 1 of the Letter to the Ephesians) (pp. 59–65)

my personal sins and the Colloquy of Mercy (pp. 71–77)

the contemplation of the Kingdom (pp. 87–97)

the Incarnation (pp. 98–102)

the Meditation on Two Standards (and the three degrees of humility) (pp. 115–25)

the Last Supper and the institution of the Holy Eucharist (pp. 164–68)

the Passion of our Lord (pp. 169–86)

the Resurrection of our Lord (pp. 188–192)

This eight-day retreat will be more successful if the retreatant does spend some time making the Contemplation to Attain the Love of God (pp. 204–8). St. Ignatius suggested that this contemplation could be made at any time during the course of the thirty-day retreat.

This book is a most helpful and careful guide to anyone who desires to make an Ignatian retreat but is unable to make the Spiritual Exercises in a normal retreat. It is designed for those who want sincerely to place themselves “face to face” with God so as to order their lives along his loving designs. Fr. Ravier is an expert retreat master who has been giving Ignatian retreats for over 30 years.

“A superb book that provides excellent guidance for making the Spiritual Exercises on one’s own. Ravier’s clear and practical book answers a long felt need for a one volume guide to finding the will of God in the disposition of our life.”

— Fr. John Hardon, S.J.
Author, The Catholic Catechism

“There is an urgent need for a ‘Do-It-At-Home’ Ignatian retreat. That need is beautifully met by Fr. Ravier. This book makes it possible for millions of Catholics to enter into the ‘interior castle’ of Christian mysticism. Those who thirst for a drink of holiness and mystical experience can now find it in this Ignatian retreat manual.”

— Fr. Kenneth Baker, S.J.
Editor, Homiletic and Pastoral Review

“Fr. Ravier’s book will be most helpful for anyone who wants to attempt the richness of a retreat with the Spiritual Exercises by following his guidance. It will also be of great use to retreat masters themselves.”

— Fr. James V. Schall, S.J.
Georgetown University

(image)

André Ravier, S.J., is a widely respected spiritual writer, retreat master and Church historian in Europe. He has written other works on lives of the saints and on spirituality, his most recent being Francis de Sales: Sage and Saint and St. Jeanne de Chantal.