Residential 30-day Spiritual Exercises The Exercises are still undertaken in their original form over the full 30 days. Participants in the full Exercises usually spend their days in silence, doing up to 5 hours of prayer a day. In the original form each retreatant has a guide to help lead him or her through the meditations of the Exercises. The Exercises done in this full-time way offer what is probably the most intensive spiritual experience. Most commonly such a retreat is undertaken at a specialist retreat centre. Such Centres are found wherever there are large groups of Catholics, such as Europe and the USA.[4] Residential Spiritual Exercises in stages As well as the full Spiritual Exercises being done residentially over 30-days, there are now centres, such as St Beunos in North Wales, offering the full 30-days in two or three sections over a two year period. Spiritual Exercises in Daily Life Besides the 30 day enclosed form of the Exercises, many undertake it in its Exercises in everyday or in daily life form (another name for this method is 19th annotation exercises based on a remark of St. Ignatius in the 19th footnote in his book). The everyday method brings the exercitant through the process of the Ignatian Exercises throughout a longer period of time (from several months up to a year and a half), with time spent daily in reflection and prayer. This form has its advantages with respect to the enclosed form: it does not require an extended stay in a retreat house and the learned methods of discernment can be tried out on the experiences life brings with it. Shorter Retreats inspired by the Spiritual Exercises Most centers offer shorter retreats with some of the elements of the Spiritual Exercises. The condensed three-day retreat at Jesuit White House Retreat in Missouri, and can also be done individually or in a group that meets regularly to discuss how the process is going and various issues. Retreats for specialist groups For example retreats for Married or Engaged couples. Spiritual Retreats for Married Couples Spiritual Exercises for Married Couples: Finding Our Way Together with St. Ignatius - Manual for the Retreat[5] The latter work presents a special case of the Spiritual Exercises done in group form, so that the retreat is undertaken by a married couple together with or without the help of an external guide (in the latter case husband and wife act as guides for each other). Self-Guided and online Retreats Because of a lack of trained guides, the self-guided form of the Exercises is also spreading in the USA, and even online versions are offered like that of the Creighton University: Online Retreat and several others. See for example the Step by Step - Online Retreat in Everyday Life
Posted on: Wed, 26 Mar 2014 21:48:49 +0000