From the category archives:
There’s long been a discussion among spiritual directors about the purpose of the Spiritual Exercises. Is the goal to help people make important decisions, or help them grow in the spiritual life more broadly. Both of, course. It’s a false choice. But there’s a third way to view the Exercises–as a spiritual program that helps [...]
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The Spiritual Exercises are “a crash program for centering our hearts on God,” said Anthony de Mello, the famed Jesuit psychotherapist and spiritual director who died in 1987. De Mello said this in 1975 in a series of talks on the Exercises that he gave to small group of Jesuit spiritual directors. These talks were [...]
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John O’Malley, SJ, is the featured speaker in the first of a series of videos on the Spiritual Exercises produced by Georgetown University. The series looks at the dynamics of the Exercises and examines new ways that they are being given. Other speakers in the star-studded lineup include Jesuits George Aschenbrenner, John Padberg, and William [...]
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Ash Wednesday was only yesterday, so it’s not too late to start a Lenten prayer program. We suggested several last week. Here are two more–both from Jesuits.
The Spiritual Exercises blog offers a daily program of prayer and reflection based on the Spiritual Exercises. It’s a collaborative effort of four Jesuits. The reflections are meant to [...]
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Nathan Stone, SJ, makes a strong case for giving the Spiritual Exercises to young people. He thinks that veteran spiritual directors are too cautious if they regard the Exercises as experiences for older, settled people.
Some might think it safer to postpone the Exercises. Yes, it is, because commitment is always a risk. But then, safety [...]
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The best way to savor the graces of Ignatian spirituality (usually) is to make the Spiritual Exercises. Opportunities to do this have greatly expanded in recent years. The most common way to make the Exercises now is a “19th annotation” retreat, named for one way that Ignatius Loyola himself offered the Exercises in [...]
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Tim Muldoon, who blogs here at dotMagis, has published an excellent article on sexuality and Ignatian spirituality in The Way, a journal published by the British Jesuits. Here’s a taste:
To imitate Christ and to feel as Christ would feel—these constitute the method the Exercises prescribe for deepening union with God. They amount to a discipline [...]
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Sticking with the theme of new year’s resolutions, I’ve been thinking about a common one: getting fit.
It struck me yesterday, while watching a Boston College women’s basketball game with my two girls, 10 and 7. Lots of talent on the floor, on both sides of the ball; it was fun to watch, especially with my [...]
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Maureen Waldron of Creighton University thinks that Jesuits should make special efforts to expand the ministry of the Spiritual Exercises to include the lay people who work in Jesuit/Ignatian ministries. “Freely offering them the Exercises, will support partners in ministry in exploring more deeply the roots of Ignatian spirituality and help them have a clearer [...]
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I’m not one to make new year’s resolutions, but because my calendar now says 2010 I can’t help but think a little about them.
I just finished a review of Christopher Jamison’s fine book Finding Happiness, which is perfect for those of a resolution frame of mind. Written by a Benedictine abbot (of Worth Abbey, in [...]
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