The Spiritual Exercises

First Week: Sin and Mercy

The First Week confronts the reality of sin—personal sin, the history of sin, the consequences of sin—and opens the retreatant to God's mercy. Key meditations include:

• The First Principle and Foundation: Why we exist and what leads to our goal
• The Triple Sin: Angels, Adam and Eve, one mortal sin—the pattern of rebellion
• Personal Sin: One's own history of sin and its effects
• Colloquy with Christ: Standing before the crucified Christ, asking why He died for me
• Hell: The reality of ultimate separation from God

Movement: From denial or minimization to honest acknowledgment, then to overwhelming gratitude for mercy.

Second Week: The Life of Christ

The longest week, the Second Week contemplates the Incarnation, birth, hidden life, and public ministry of Jesus. The retreatant uses imaginative prayer to enter these scenes and encounter Christ personally. Key elements include:

• The Kingdom: Christ's call and our response
• The Incarnation: The Trinity watching humanity and deciding to send the Son
• The Nativity: Entering Bethlehem with the imagination
• The Two Standards: Christ's way vs. the enemy's way
• The Three Classes: Degrees of attachment and freedom
• The Three Kinds of Humility: Levels of desire for Christ

Movement: Deepening desire to follow Christ, leading to a life decision (the "Election").

Third Week: The Passion

The Third Week accompanies Christ through his suffering and death. The retreatant enters the scenes of the Passion—Last Supper, Gethsemane, trial, crucifixion—asking to share in Christ's sorrow.

• The Last Supper: Jesus's final meal with the disciples
• Gethsemane: Christ's agony, the disciples' sleep, the arrest
• The Trials: Before Annas, Caiaphas, Pilate, Herod
• The Way of the Cross: The journey to Calvary
• The Crucifixion: Standing at the foot of the cross

Movement: Sorrow with Christ sorrowing, compassion for His suffering, gratitude for what He endured.

Fourth Week: The Resurrection

The Fourth Week celebrates the Risen Christ. The retreatant contemplates the resurrection appearances and asks to share in Christ's joy. The week culminates in the "Contemplation to Attain Love."

• The Resurrection appearances: Empty tomb, Mary Magdalene, Emmaus, the disciples
• Christ's consolation: How He comforts His friends
• The Contemplation to Attain Love: Finding God in all things, offering all to God

Movement: Joy with Christ joyful, gratitude for redemption, desire to serve.

The Principle and Foundation

The opening declaration that frames everything: we are created to praise, reverence, and serve God, and thereby save our souls. Everything else—health, wealth, honor, life itself—is valuable only insofar as it helps this purpose. This is the ground of Ignatian "indifference"—not apathy, but freedom to choose whatever leads to God.

The Two Standards

A meditation on the two kingdoms: Christ's and Lucifer's. Each has a strategy, a recruiting method, a way of operating. Lucifer leads through riches → honors → pride → all vices. Christ leads through poverty → contempt → humility → all virtues. The retreatant must see clearly which standard they are following.

The Contemplation to Attain Love

The culmination of the Exercises. The retreatant recalls all God's gifts—creation, redemption, personal graces—and offers everything back. The famous prayer "Take, Lord, receive" (Suscipe) emerges here: "Take, Lord, and receive all my liberty, my memory, my understanding, and my entire will."

The Thirty-Day Retreat

The classic form: one month in complete silence, with daily direction. This is what Ignatius designed and remains the fullest experience. Offered at Jesuit retreat houses worldwide.

The Nineteenth Annotation (Exercises in Daily Life)

For those who cannot leave work and family for a month. The retreatant prays an hour daily for six to nine months while meeting regularly with a director. This "retreat in daily life" has become increasingly popular.

Eight-Day Retreats

Condensed versions focusing on one or two weeks of the full Exercises. Useful for ongoing renewal, though not a substitute for the complete experience.

Weekend Introductions

Brief tastes of Ignatian prayer and discernment. These cannot provide the full transformative experience but can introduce the methods and inspire further exploration.

Do I need to be Catholic to make the Exercises?

No. While the Exercises emerged from Catholic tradition and include Catholic elements (confession, Mass), they have been adapted for use across Christian denominations. Many Protestant and Orthodox Christians have made them fruitfully. Discuss with a director what adaptations might be appropriate.

How do I find a director?

Jesuit retreat centers maintain lists of trained directors. Many dioceses also have spiritual direction programs. Look for someone trained specifically in giving the Exercises, not just general spiritual direction. See our article on Finding a Spiritual Director.

Can I read the text of the Exercises on my own?

You can read them, but reading is not the same as making them. The text was written for directors, not retreatants. Reading without guidance can lead to misunderstanding. If you want to explore on your own, start with a commentary or guide rather than the raw text.

What if I can't take a month away?

The Nineteenth Annotation—the Exercises in daily life—was designed precisely for this situation. You pray for about an hour daily while continuing normal life, meeting with a director regularly. This typically takes six to nine months but can accommodate work and family responsibilities.

Is the thirty-day retreat really silent?

Yes—complete silence except for daily meetings with the director. No phones, no email, no reading except Scripture and spiritual classics. This silence is essential; it allows the deep interior movements that the Exercises are designed to produce.