We set off on our journey by first preparing our hearts for the overarching goal of the Four Weeks of the Spiritual Exercises. The Principle and Foundation of the Exercises states that people are “created to praise, reverence, and serve God our Lord . . and the other things on the face of the earth are created for humankind that they may help him in fulfilling the end for which he is created” (SE 23). [1]
However, before we can respond to God with praise, reverence, and service, we need to know who this God is we are being asked to love.[2] Is God worthy of our honor and collaboration? This question prompts us to reflect on our images of God and identify misconceptions we may have.
Second, we contemplate the reality that we are created for a purpose. God knit us together in our mother’s womb. God wanted us to be and blessed us with meaningful work. Understanding who we really are and what we are made for inspires us to live it out.
Third, we recognize our relationship to other created things. As we come to marvel at the beauty of creation, we choose to interact with and steward it for God’s redemptive purposes, not for exploitation or self-indulgence.
The Principle and Foundation ends with “On our part, we do not want health more than sickness, riches more than poverty, honor more than dishonor, a long life more than a short life, and so in all the rest; desiring and choosing only what most helps us toward the end for which we are created.” Ignatius hoped the Exercises would enable us to develop freedom from any unhealthy or obsessive attachments that entangle and prevent us from living our good created purpose.
Thus, the preparation days also address inner freedom and the examination of conscience (Examen). The Examen is a prayer practice that helps us to learn discernment, including discerning the movements within our heart that pull us toward God or away from God.
WEEK 2: God Created You and Loves You
WEEK 3: Your Relationship with the Rest of Creation
WEEK 4: Praying for Inner Freedom
WEEK 5: The Examen: Prayer for Discernment
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[1] All quotations of Ignatius’s Spiritual Exercises are taken from Father Elder Mullan, The Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius of Loyola: Translated from the Autograph (New York: P. J. Kenedy and Sons, 1914). Public domain. In some cases, wording has been lightly adapted for readability.
[2] We will have difficulty grasping God’s love if underlying distorted images of God have not been addressed first. This retreat starts with our images of God and then moves more deeply into how this good God loves us and shapes our life story. When we understand the true Divine character it inspires us to liberally open our hearts and pursue all that God asks. This heart of generosity toward God prepares us to make the Spiritual Exercises.