The Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius

Enter an eight-month directed retreat woven into your everyday life.

 

Beginning each fall, the Order offers an intensive and transformative “retreat in everyday life” through the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius—consisting of daily rhythms of prayer and weekly spiritual direction—designed to:

  • Deepen intimacy with Jesus

  • Develop deeper habits of prayer and reflection

  • Bring greater clarity to your sense of mission and vocation

Each retreat is personally directed for you online by a spiritual director who’s been specially trained to accompany you on this 500-year-old journey.

 
 
 
“There are very few who realize what God would make of them if they abandoned themselves entirely to His hands, and let themselves be formed by His grace.”
— St. Ignatius of Loyola
 
 

FAQs

 

  • Ignatius developed the Spiritual Exercises for ordinary artisans, moms and students as much as for monks and priests. It's a retreat for normal people who desire to make an extraordinary commitment to Jesus.

    That said, wisdom and experience tells us that, before you begin, it's best if you:

    • Can commit to praying 45-60 minutes at a consistent hour each day
    • Can commit to meeting with a spiritual director for up to an hour each week
    • Don't anticipate having to complete a major discernment or make a major life change (getting married, moving across country) before the retreat is over
    • Feel comfortable talking with Jesus in prayer and being challenged in your faith
    • Genuinely feel an inward desire to make this retreat for yourself

  • You should expect to be able to block off a solid hour for prayer, reflection and journaling each day. You'll also need to be able to schedule an hour of spiritual direction at a consistent time each week.

    The Spiritual Exercises retreat-in-everyday-life will typically take around 32 weeks, but its precise length will depend on the *particular* retreat God has for you. Ignatius instructs retreat directors that some people should spend less time in different parts of the retreat and others more. Your spiritual director will discern this carefully as you progress through. However, your retreat shouldn't take longer than nine months under normal circumstances.

  • To help ensure we fairly and adequately compensate our retreat directors for the weekly spiritual direction they're providing, we offer the full retreat for 2,000 USD total.

  • While there's a long tradition of making the Spiritual Exercises retreat together with a cohort of people, Ignatius intended for retreats to be individually directed in order to help ensure each person's experience unfolds as it needs to, on their own timeline. Given this, it can be hard to keep a group of people on the same schedule.

    Groups or couples are able to start at the same time and are welcome to share their experiences with one another as they desire over the weeks, while also recognizing that everyone may not stay synchronized from beginning to end or have their retreat directed the exact same way.

  • No books or materials are required other than a journal and a Bible of your own choosing. Your retreat director will provide you weekly handouts electronically, which they're able to tailor to your unfolding retreat experience. No other cost is involved.

 

What to expect

 

Before you begin

Before beginning the Spiritual Exercises, you’ll meet with your spiritual director to go over expectations and questions, get to know one another, and arrange the schedule for your retreat. They’ll also offer a suggested rhythm of prayer and Scripture readings to help you prepare.

After you begin

Each week, your spiritual director will send you seven days’ worth of the retreat at a time. Each day will have an exercise (a passage of Scripture, an imaginative meditation, etc.) in which you’ll spend up to an hour in prayer and journaling.

Then, in your weekly spiritual direction appointment, you’ll unpack and process what you’ve experienced. Your director will help by asking questions, reflecting back occasionally and discerningly making adjustments to your retreat before sending you the next seven days of exercises.

 
 

Getting started with the Spiritual Exercises

 

Take the first step to reserve your retreat.

Spiritual Exercises retreats with the Order typically begin mid-October, and we’d love to connect you with your retreat director by September to help you prepare for the journey.

Because we also provide the Spiritual Exercises to each of our novices in formation, the availability of our retreat directors is limited. Confirm your interested with us early so we can make sure your questions are answered and arrange a deposit to secure your spot for the fall.