Retreatants at Loyola House are being offered 40 days to, like St. Ignatius, build and strengthen a relationship with Christ.
Staff from the Jesuit retreat centre in Guelph, Ont., are preparing for this year’s Full Spiritual Exercises Experience retreat, a 40-day journey aimed at bringing participants closer to God through St. Ignatius’ timeless teachings.
Running from Oct. 1 to Nov. 9, the spiritual exercise gives experienced retreat-goers the opportunity to fully disengage from the public, friends and acquaintances to grow in their relationship with Christ in seclusion and silence.
The modern delivery method of the retreat draws directly from the saint’s own conversion experience as far back as the early 1500s. As part of the Ignatius Jesuit Centre, Loyola House prides itself on remaining faithful to the text of St. Ignatius without becoming inapplicable in the context of today’s world.
“Following a serious injury, St. Ignatius was confined to bed rest for many months where he would read to pass the time, but he only had access to two books: The Life of Christ and a collection of brief biographies of the saints,” said Fr. Paul Panaretos, president of the board of directors at Ignatius Jesuit Centre. “The overall effect of this experience moved him to reorient his life in Christ. He proclaimed that he finally awoke as if from a dream to the fact that his human efforts alone could not accomplish his desired reorientations — and so it was his new relationship with Christ that would truly empower his human efforts.”
Upon returning to Europe from a pilgrimage to the Holy Land, he began keeping ordered notes of his experiences and gave his exercises of prayer to others. These would eventually become in 1548 his famed Spiritual Exercises, the same set of principles that shape today’s yearly retreat and help people pray into specific new ways of being in relationship with God.
The initial 30 days of the spiritual exercise retreat begin with five days of disposition, a hands-on style workshop where participants prepare to enter into each of the exercises themselves. These days often include input on theological themes and different methods of prayer that will be at the forefront of the retreat’s delivery.
As each day of the retreat begins, those attending take on four phases of various prayers and meditations: Experiencing and welcoming God’s mercy, encountering and following Jesus, accompanying Jesus through His Passion and encountering the risen Christ and sharing in His joy.
Panaretos emphasized the profound impact a whole month of spiritual dedication often has on those undergoing the full Spiritual Exercises Experience retreat, an encounter that takes the more commonly seen weekend-style retreat to the next level.
“The intent is that the participants of the retreat will incorporate into their daily living the significant elements of Ignatian spirituality and lead them to grow as more discerning people who enjoy a more vital relationship with Christ,” he said.
“St. Ignatius initially shaped the retreat to help people choose a seed in life as well as to help people who have already chosen their calling to renew their way of living. Whether it is planning for retirement, entering a new phase in their lives, changes to their health or even general aging, these retreats can help people to be more generous in serving others while they discern their renewed calling with God.”
While the retreat is offered to various lay persons, religious, clergy, priests and Christians from any tradition, it is recommended by Loyola House that participants have sufficient background knowledge of the spiritual exercises, ideally experienced in the context of two prior eight-day directed Ignatian retreats.
Panaretos hopes the historic silent aspect of the retreat continues to impart spiritual freedom to retreatants.
“The retreat silence is not just the absence of sounds, but the avenue to interior silence. The more interior silent we are, the more reflective we become, the more we are able to recognize how God is moving in us all,” he said. “This is an important opportunity to hear as well as to be heard and progress further in a life with God.”