235 of the Exercises, urging the
retreatant to "look at how God dwells in creatures, in the elements, giving them being." (98) This is part of what makes finding God in all things possible.
This starting point provides an opportunity for interaction between the
retreatant and the persons in the scene that is "composed." The contemplative encounter is an affordance for the
retreatant to "relocate" himself or herself in light of the Gospel scene imagined.
What struck me as I leafed through the book was that doing the whole series of exercises is probably quite exhausting, and not just for the
retreatant! I have to confess that I have only ever undertaken a one day retreat, and that when I was forced to at my state, non-denominational school (although I suppose it was, in those days, nominally Anglican).
(20) The emphasis in the Exercises is on movement; thus, there is a movement of the Spirit that guides the
retreatant towards God through a structured series of meditations from the Gospels and by which the
retreatant is able to discern God's lead towards a life more oriented towards Him or towards a different path in life within that same Principle and Foundation.
The meditations of The Second Week invite
retreatants to "see with the eyes of the imagination the synagogues, villages, and castles through which Christ our Lord passed as he preached." (Exx., 91) (22) Jesus, too, is a pilgrim.
It remodeled rooms once occupied by monks into additional guest facilities, where fifty
retreatants contribute what they can afford for stays of up to a week.
Unlike Vasquez, ISP
retreatant Rene Petaway didn't feel quite like she was near death in 2009, but she was an alcoholic who suddenly found herself homeless for the first time in her life.
(33) Ignatius repeatedly exhorts the
retreatant to embrace only the way of life that is more (magis, mas) in the service of God.
At the end of a week, one
retreatant reported in amazement: "My 30 minutes flew by!
I may have just changed the subject, or he did, or he politely excused himself and moved on to the next
retreatant. I can't quite remember.
The experience of discerning the difference between the two can be a challenge--one fellow
retreatant confided that he felt like he'd been through a washing machine.
In a directed retreat the
retreatant meets, ordinarily once a day, with an experienced spiritual director.
Never set limits, go after your dreams, don't be afraid to push the boundaries: Opportunities for: Conferences, Conventions, Education, Hermitages, Institutes, Pilgriinages, Programs, Retreats, Seminars, Workshops The lengths of the Weeks are to be adjusted so that the
retreatant does not move out of one Week before he or she has fully experienced the grace appropriate to it.(11) This requires that the director attend to the particular needs of the person making them; it also demands a thorough knowledge of the different ways that the parts and the whole of the Spiritual Exercises can relate.
After lunch on the second day, the
retreatant doesn't take anything, including liquids, until 5:30 pm.
