| Ignatius,
a Basque from Loyola in the north of Spain, is the
founder of the Roman Catholic religious order known
as the Society of Jesus, or "Jesuits".
Something of an adventurer in his youth he enjoyed
the swordplay and loose living common for young
noblemen of his day.
While trying to drive away an attack
by French at Pamplona in northern Spain, he was
wounded in the leg. He was sent back home to Loyola.
During his convalescence he had a conversion experience.
When recovered he set off on pilgrimage to Jerusalem.
On the way he stopped off at Manresa (near Barcelona)
and spent many months in anguished reflection and
prayer. The fruit of this period was his 'Spiritual
Exercises'. Something of an attempt to help others
avoid the pitfalls he had fallen into. His aim was
to inspire the retreatant with enthusiasm to follow
Christ, our Lord.
The Spiritual
Exercises:
Ignatius developed a programme of prayer and reflection
on life, based on the life of Christ, in which the
person doing his Exercises looks at how best to
serve God in his or her life. The Exercises introduce
the retreatant to various ways of praying - using
scripture in imaginative contemplation, meditating
upon one's own life. The Scripture follows the life
of Christ from birth to passion and resurrection.
The retreatant, in meditating upon these scriptural
stories, allows the life of Christ to interplay
with his/her own life. One of the basic aims of
the Exercises is to help the retreatant more clearly
see how our daily life can see us under the influence
of good or negative forces. The Exercises have often
been termed a school of Discernment.
The full programme of the Spiritual
Exercises of St Ignatius takes about a month on
a full-time basis, and nearly a year if done part
time in daily life. However, many people take a
retreat of about a week's duration, which may touch
on some of the themes of the Spiritual Exercises.
St Beuno's also offer the full Exercises over three,
ten day periods.
The term 'retreat' covers a much
broader range of subjects than just the Spiritual
Exercises. Sometimes it is a time away from the
normal routine, perhaps in a place of quiet, where
a person can take some time to reflect and pray
and take stock of life.
What is really important
for me?
What should I do?
Where are you God?
Who am I?
Often there is someone to talk
to on this time away, a spiritual guide or director.
Individually Guided Retreats are where the person
sees a guide daily to see how things are going and
how to proceed most fruitfully. Most retreats at
St Beuno's are made in silence to help focus the
prayer and stay away from the daily distractions
such as TV, radio, computer, mobile phone etc. which
we too often fill every waking moment.
On the other hand there are many
group retreats where people talk of life, pray together
and often hear talks by the retreat director. These
are not currently offered on St Beuno's programme,
though can sometimes be arranged for groups.
An on-line history of Ignatius is available: www.ignatiushistory.info/
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