A 32-Week Experience of the Spiritual Exercises of Saint Ignatius Loyola
Ignatius Loyola was born in 1491 to a family of minor nobility in northern Spain. As a young man Ignatius was obsessed by the ideals of courtly love and knighthood and dreamed of doing great deeds.
In 1521, as a knight with some reputation, Ignatius was severely wounded during a battle with the French. During the lengthy time of convalescence Ignatian experienced a conversion. He discovered that when he focused his attention on the life of Jesus or the disciples, he experienced a sense of connection to God and a desire to serve Him and others.
Over the years, Ignatius became an expert in offering spiritual direction and compiled his thoughts, insights, and suggestions into a book, Spiritual Exercises. Eventually, Ignatius founded the Society of Jesus, or the Jesuits. He imagined the Jesuits as “contemplatives in action.”
You are invited to join Roger or Sharon on a journey into a deeper encounter with God through guided prayer, Scripture mediations, conversations, and discernment. We will discover the gift of Imaginative Prayer, The Daily Examen, the Discernment of Spirits, Consolation, Desolation, the Call of Discipleship, and much more.
Ideally, each participant will meet with Roger or Sharon twice monthly to discuss the experiences of the Exercises. Weekly, participants will submit a 1-2 paragraph describing their reflections on the previous week’s exercises. (There is some flexibility with these assignments, as needed.)
Dates: October 1, 2023 – May 20, 2024
Cost: $100 per month
Please fill out the Contact Form to begin a conversation about Ignatian Spiritual Exercises.
“Some journeys end so that others may begin.” (Pg.271) This is where I find myself this evening as I reflect on the past 32 weeks of the Ignatian Adventure. I’m ready to begin the next thing, the next phase, the next assignment. I don’t know what it is going to look like, but there is growing anticipation for what is around the bend. I am so incredibly grateful for these past 32 weeks and all the varied, wonderful, difficult, and life-changing seasons along the way. Each “Week” has formed and shaped me in subtle and sometimes profound ways. I have appreciated the boundaries of the disciplines—of the scheduled readings and reflections. I feel like they “hemmed me in” in a way that was gentle and yet necessary. The timing has been ordained. Certainly, God was in this! Sharon 5/6/18