The Spiritual Exercises are a wonderful and unique spiritual formation experience that involve a bit more forethought and commitment than the average devotional practice. Normally they are completed in consultation with a spiritual director who is trained to offer the Exercises and will guide you through the nine months experience. Retreatants meet regularly with the spiritual director either individually or in a small group. A spiritual director can help you discern whether this is the right season to undergo this retreat. If no spiritual director is available and you still want to try this retreat, be sure to find a mature Christian companion you can meet with regularly for conversation about your experience.

Once a decision has been made to proceed with this transformative experience, ponder the following recommendations to help you make the most of the Spiritual Exercises.

Remember you are on this journey in freedom. This is not a legalistic venture. God will not love you less if you don’t do the Spiritual Exercises. You are here because some part of you really wants to be here.

Scope out a sacred space for your daily retreat. Decide ahead of time where you will spend your 30-45 minutes each day in prayer and meditation. This should be a quiet place where you will not be interrupted. Make this space your own (e.g. use a candle, have your journal handy, hang a picture or an icon, etc).

Go at your own pace. Ignatius was very sensitive to the reality that people are at different places spiritually. There is no one-size fits all. He was willing to adapt the Exercises to meet the pace of the person he was walking alongside. While the goal is to complete all Four Weeks, he understood that some people might have to work up to longer periods of prayer. Or that a person might need to spend more time on one particular area or another. Even though this is a structured 19th annotation retreat, there is flexibility in how one incorporates various prayers or whether to spend more time on a particular Scripture than another. For example, each week offers several options for Scripture reading or activity. Some might want to do every option. But others might be captivated by one day’s particular reading and spend several days meditating on just that.

Document your journey. Keep a journal, doodle, paint, record your voice, collect momentos, keep a scrapbook or any other manner you can think of that suits your particular way of processing. At least weekly, capture key insights or experiences that came up for you, even if it means just jotting down a couple sentences. Sometimes it is difficult to see where you are going in the midst of it all, but when you look back at all the sign posts, it can be amazing to see what God has been revealing to you slowly over time.

Have essential items on hand:

  • Website supplemental material referred to in this retreat.
  • Obtain the book What is Your Decision? How to Make Choices with Confidence and Clarity, An Ignatian Approach to Decision-Making by J. Michael Sparough, SJ, Jim Manney, and Tim Hipskind, SJ.  This important supplement to the retreat articulates key principles of the Spiritual Exercises as it relates to discernment and decision-making. When you get your hands on this book, do not read it cover to cover. Instead, read portions of it as assigned during the Spiritual Exercises. Ignatius introduces certain concepts at designated times. The assigned reading dovetails with the pace suggested by him.
  • Bible. The Exercises frequently engage Scripture—not as an analytical exercise, but an imaginative one.
  • Journal and/or drawing paper. This is for specific activities and for recording your process. Depending on your preferences you might also use an audio recorder or other medium for documenting the journey.
  • Pens/pencils, including any colored pens you might like for drawing.

Notice the theme and prayer for each week. At the beginning of the week, look at the theme and accompanying prayer at the top of the page. Also, glance over the various options for daily retreat time. This will give you a sense of the focus and disposition to guide your contemplative experience.

Expect meaningful times as well as boring or frustrating times. Going through the Exercises is not about achieving an ecstatic mountain top experience. It’s about learning to find God amid everyday toil. It’s about having greater inner freedom to live each day with more love and grace toward others. Sometimes you might be profoundly moved by a spiritual insight or the tangible presence of God. Other times you might struggle just to keep your prayer time at all. Ignatius suggested that when frustration or resistance comes up to deliberately move against it. For example, when he was tempted to quit praying early or not at all, he would pray extra long just to challenge that resistance. On the positive side, sometimes frustrations mean something is percolating that needs to percolate.

Don’t be afraid to be honest with God or your spiritual director (and if applicable, other group members). Since you are on this journey in freedom, there is no one to impress. This is about intimacy with God that stems from full transparency and about authentic fellowship with others. You don’t have to be the Super Saint. Share your joys, but share your questions and struggles too.

Be open to new experiences. Be open to considering new ways of praying. Be open to this process that is the Spiritual Exercises even if some of it feels unfamiliar or is different than what you might have encountered in your spiritual life or tradition thus far. A spirit of generosity toward the experience is essential.

Remember to keep the main thing the main thing. This is about growing closer to God and being empowered by that union to love well. Even if you can’t see where it is all leading persevere in meeting with God and let things unfold. Trust that God is at work.