In almost every chapter of this book thus far, the Spiritual Exercises have been mentioned.124 The story of Ignatius provides a good background to understanding them better. We have seen how Ignatius, during his convalescence in Loyola, began to notice the changes of mood that took place within him as he thought about worldly things and then about spiritual matters. We have noticed how he began making notes for himself when something struck him while reading The Life of Christ and The Lives of the Saints. Then, as he improved in health, he began to engage in spiritual conversations with others in the castle of Loyola.
During his sojourn at Manresa, Ignatius not only prayed for long hours: he also kept notes about what he was experiencing personally in prayer and in daily living. Ignatius had the feeling that sharing his own experiences of spiritual matters would “help souls,” an expression he uses frequently when talking about helping other people spiritually. He continued to work on his text of The Spiritual Exercises during his years of study, right up to and including his time in Paris.
The Spanish Inquisition questioned Ignatius on several occasions and even imprisoned him in Alcalà for forty-two days while it examined the content and form of his prayer meetings, especially those he held with women. At Salamanca, his own notes of his Spiritual Exercises were taken from him by the vicar-general and examined by four theologians for their Catholic orthodoxy. It is hard to think of another saint who has been more often examined by the Inquisition, and yet, in every investigation, Ignatius’s writings and teaching were found to be orthodox. The Spiritual Exercises were finally and formally approved by Pope Paul III in 1548.
In Paris, Ignatius began to give the Spiritual Exercises to his early companions, notably Pierre Favre and Francis Xavier. On his eventual arrival in Rome after his ordination, the first thing he did was to give the full Spiritual Exercises to Pedro Ortiz at the Benedictine monastery of Monte Cassino. They spent forty days together, a length of time that shows the essential importance Ignatius gave to this work of giving the Exercises. Ortiz afterwards described the experience as “this tremendous favour from Ignatius.”
A complete study of Ignatius’s spirituality has to take full account of The Autobiography and the Spiritual Diary, both of which have been mentioned already, as well as The Spiritual Exercises. Attention should also be paid to the Constitutions of the Society of Jesus and to the roughly 7,000 letters and instructions that Ignatius wrote, which are still extant. But since this is not an academic study, and is more directed to “helping souls” in a pastoral manner, the focus here will be on the essential document in Ignatian spirituality, The Spiritual Exercises.
It is necessary to stress at the outset that The Spiritual Exercises is not a book to be bought and read as one might read, say, The Confessions of Saint Augustine or any secular novel. Before the Spiritual Exercises ever became a published text, they were an experience to be undergone. For us, too, the Spiritual Exercises are similarly to be experienced, not read. In fact, it is possible to do the Spiritual Exercises without ever having seen the book at all! The book is really a handbook for “the one who gives the Exercises” to another.125
At this stage, it may be helpful to make some initial distinctions. There are different ways for a person to make the Spiritual Exercises. The classic way is to devote thirty full days of silence in the quiet and seclusion of a retreat centre or some other sheltered place. It has to be admitted that only a very privileged few can afford the time and, indeed, the expense incurred in making the Spiritual Exercises in this way.
During the classic thirty-day silent retreat, it is usual for the retreatant to meet with the director for an agreed length of time each day, in order to review the experience of prayer and reflection and to talk over how the day has been for the retreatant. Ordinarily, the retreatant will pray for four or five hours every day with the aid of passages of scripture suggested by the director. With so much time spent in prayer and silence, a lot can happen interiorly, so there is frequently much to discuss during the daily session with the director.
Another way of experiencing the Spiritual Exercises is sometimes called the Exercises in Daily Life, or the Nineteenth Annotation Exercises. The reference here is to the nineteenth of the twenty introductory annotations Ignatius placed at the beginning of The Spiritual Exercises. In this annotation, Ignatius outlines how it is possible for people who wish to make the full Spiritual Exercises, but are unable to set thirty days aside, to do so. In this case, the retreat is made over a period of nine to twelve months. The retreatant prays for an hour each day, followed by a further period of reflection, and then meets with the director once a week or once a fortnight. This obviously demands a generous commitment of time on the part of the retreatant and the director.
The Spiritual Exercises are divided into four “weeks,” but these “weeks” are only rough divisions of the thirty days and do not necessarily consist of seven days each. The first week frequently lasts up to eight days; the second could take up to twelve days; the third and fourth are usually shorter, perhaps four or five days each. The whole retreat should take thirty days, more or less.
Not everyone will be ready to do a thirty-day or a Nineteenth Annotation retreat. Ignatius was adamant that the Exercises should be adapted “to the dispositions of the person who wishes to receive them,” and so, some people may opt for some shorter adaptation of the Exercises—maybe a three-day, six-day or eight-day retreat, or even a day of reflection every month (18). A flexible approach towards the retreatant is of the essence in Ignatius’s spirituality.
Ignatius knew that people might want to do the Spiritual Exercises for a variety of reasons. Some might wish to deepen their prayer life and their relationship with God. Others might come to the Spiritual Exercises wanting to discover God’s will for them in their lives. Here the Spiritual Exercises, with God’s grace, will help the retreatant to come to freedom in choosing a state in life—marriage, priesthood, religious life, or some other vocation or profession. The retreatant desires to come to this important decision and choice before God in the context of solitude and prayer. Put simply, the retreatant wants to discover God’s will and desires to respond in freedom to God’s call. So, the Spiritual Exercises are both a school of prayer and an instrument for discernment. It is worth pointing out how frequently the word “desire” comes up in the context of Ignatian spirituality. Ignatius was always looking for people with great God-given desires.
So, what are the Spiritual Exercises? Ignatius himself helps us here by answering this very question in the First Annotation. He tells us:
By this name of Spiritual Exercises is meant every way of examining one’s conscience, of meditating, of contemplating, of praying vocally and mentally, and of performing other spiritual actions, as will be said later. For as strolling, walking, and running are bodily exercises, so every way of preparing and disposing the soul to rid itself of all disordered tendencies, and after it is rid, to seek and find the Divine Will as to the management of one’s life for the salvation of the soul, is called a Spiritual Exercise.
This definition may seem a little confusing, especially if you are approaching the text for the first time, but the broad definition that Ignatius gives to spiritual exercises is to be welcomed. Look at the varied types of prayer he mentions and even actions outside prayer, which he describes later on in the text. The parallel he draws between spiritual and physical exercise is very helpful.
What might be less than helpful for the modern reader is the latter part of the definition, “every way of preparing and disposing the soul. . . .” This is very much a sixteenth-century text and needs to be translated into modern language. The late American Jesuit David Fleming helps us here. He restates it this way:
So, too, what we call Spiritual Exercises are good for increasing openness to the movement of the Spirit, for helping to bring to light the darkness of sinful tendencies within ourselves, and for strengthening and supporting us in the effort to respond ever more faithfully to the will of God.126
The Spiritual Exercises are all about a conversion of heart. They are concerned with a conversion of the interior self, so that a person can, by the gift of God’s Spirit within, come to an inner freedom. This freedom makes possible a response to God’s loving dream for the person in this life and in the promised life to come.
One important point that Ignatius stresses at the outset is that the director should not intrude too much when presenting the material for prayer for each day. It is sufficient to present a short summary. It is essential that the retreatant prays and ponders the material interiorly, for, as Ignatius says, “it is not knowing much, but realising and relishing things interiorly, that contents and satisfies the soul” (2). This statement is key to understanding the Spiritual Exercises. Notice how Ignatius stresses the personal interior experience of the retreatant through reflecting on what has gone on in mind and heart. Ignatius is very fond of the word “relishing”—gustar in Spanish. So, ideally, the prayer experience does not just remain in the head but involves the whole person, mind and heart. The affective response to the prayer is central and is the material to be shared with the director. The director’s task is to accompany the retreatant on this spiritual journey and perhaps at times to alert the retreatant to possible unhelpful dead ends along the way.