Upcoming Spiritual Exercises

The Spiritual Exercises are a spiritual retreat developed by St. Ignatius of Loyola to help people refocus their lives on what is most important, the glory and service of God, and to provide an opportunity for people to hear God speaking in the silence of their hearts. Perhaps the best reason for doing the Spiritual Exercises is that given by our Lord Himself, and which St. Ignatius Quotes in his book: “What does it profit a man if he shall gain the whole world but loses his own soul?” (Mk 8:36)

The Exercises have long been recommended by the saints, including St. Francis de Sales and St. Alphonsus Ligouri, both Doctors of the Church. In 1929 Pope Pius XI dedicated an encyclical to the subject of the Spiritual Exercises called Mens Nostra. In his Angelus address of December 16, 1979 marking the 50th anniversary of the document, St. John Paul II spoke of the Spiritual Exercises saying that “the Christian is aided by the strong dynamism of the Exercises to enter into the ambit of the thoughts of God, of His plans in order to trust in Him, who is Truth and Love, and thus to make decisions committed to the following of Christ, considering clearly his gifts and his own responsibilities.”