The Spiritual Exercises by St. Ignatius of Loyola is quite obviously the book that has inspired this Do-It-at-Home Retreat.

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?

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.

We have kept intact the following points from St. Ignatius’ Spiritual Exercises:

— First of all, there is the primary purpose of the Exercises, namely, to turn from sin (or tepidity) to the good or the better.

— 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.

— 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.

— 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.

— The principal themes and texts.

— 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.

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.

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”.

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.