In this post, I want to begin explaining the format, nature and purpose of the Spiritual Exercises.
It is a fair question to ask - why have the Spiritual Exercises had so much appeal and been found useful over the centuries? The Exercises have been described as, "terse, un-decorative, skeletal, compact." It is a small book and written in a style that would not win any prizes for great literature.
They were not a treatise on the spiritual life. They are not a theological volume. You would have no idea of the main controversies and arguments of its day as you read through them. There are not autobiographical. They are not "warm, personal or disclosing."
They were "at first a series of loose notes, detached remarks, and sketches. These were preserved, used, and completed during the years. Finally they were gathered into a whole of potent interior logic but with no carefulness of composition."
If you sat down with a copy and just read through them, frankly, you would not know what to do with them or how to use them. In the early 1990's I bought a copy of the Exercises (I was starting to "try" to read some of the spiritual classics. I read a little bit of the book... had no idea what to do with it... was not attracted to its style... and put it on the shelf... for almost a decade. I was not alone in this experience.
Yet, the Exercises have endured and have a wide and universal appeal. At one time they were the domain of the Jesuits and were a Jesuit spirituality. In the early 1970's a few individuals began to offer the Spiritual Exercises in a retreat form to those outside the Jesuit order. Today they are an Ignatian spirituality, with a growing use by those who know little of the Jesuits. When I did the 19th Annotated Retreat, I learned about the Exercises, but had little awareness of the Jesuits. I had a Jesuit Director for a guide, but the way the Exercises were presented to the group and how my Director took me through them, the Jesuit order was a non-issue.
Let me begin to describe the Exercises. I'll need a few posts to do this.
ONE:
The Exercises are a structured spiritual formation process that are written (primarily) for Spiritual Directors and not the one going through the Exercises. Even though I was led through the exercises and assignments in the book, I never used the book itself when I went through the Exercises in 2000-2001. With this said, I think it is good to use the book as a reference text as one does the Exercises.
TWO:
The Exercises are a collection of spiritual practices and methodologies of spiritual formation, a set of actual spiritual assignments/exercises to be done, and a series of notes and comments written for Directors as they take people through the Exercises.
THREE:
The "structure" of the Exercises is mainly divided into what Ignatius calls, Four Weeks. The term "week" is metaphorical and it is really Four Movements. Each Movement has both practices and exercises and these are progressive and cumulative.
Week One: Meditations on Sin (lengthy)
Week Two: Meditations on the Life of Christ and Following Christ (the longest)
Week Three: Meditations on the Passion of Christ (shorter)
Week Four: Meditations on the Resurrection of Christ (very short section)
There is an introduction where Ignatius sets out important principles.
There is a final section (lengthy) describing practices of formation and notes to help Directors.
FOUR:
The Exercises were originally designed to be done on a 30 Day Retreat, where the "retreatant" would spend the entire time in meditation and reflection. The 30 Day Retreat was a kind of "spiritual boot camp" for the Jesuits.
This format, while it was fine for Jesuit novices (in training) and for members, it was not as doable for non-Jesuits, most of whom could not just take a month off from life and work and go through the experience. Eventually, an 8 Day format was developed (I am not exactly sure when) and the 19th Annotated Retreat has become a popular form for going through the Exercises.
The 19th Annotated Retreat gets its name from the fact that in the 19th annotation or footnote, Ignatius offers an alternative way for non-Jesuits to go through the exercises.
This is the way I went through the Exercises. For nine months, I would attend a weekly class taught by several Directors. Each week would involve teaching on the methodology of spiritual formation and an introduction to the particular exercises we would practice in the following days. The participants then met with our personal Director to talk about our experiences of the previous week as we did the exercises.
For a brief description, read this.
Okay, that's enough for this post. I'll pick up next time explaining more about the "spiritual nature and purpose of the Exercises."
Brian Rice
Leadership ConneXtions International
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