A pilgimage into the deep love of God
Take a journey of prayer with Jesus, drawing closer to the One who loves you so incredibly deeply and learning to love Him deeply in return.
The Spiritual Exercises is a journey of prayer originating with St. Ignatius of Loyola, the founder of the Jesuits. It has been adapted and modified in various forms over the year to be a blessing to followers of Jesus from all streams of Christianity and those who are seeking a closer relationship with God. It is usually taken over 9 months, often September through June, to follow the church calendar. It consists of 5 Movements or “Weeks,” as Ignatius called them.
Each day’s prayer session begins with love, sitting under the gaze of love of your Creator. As you walk through the life of Jesus in the Scriptures, you will pray with the Scriptures, allowing Jesus to come alive to you as the Holy Spirit guides your thoughts and imaginations. As you encounter Jesus through the Word, you will be drawn deeper into a loving relationship with him, allowing him to transform you. You will end each session with a conversation with Jesus as your friend.
You will be guided on the pilgrimage by a spiritual director, whom you will meet with approximately once a week to process and reflect on your journey. By the end of your 9-month journey of prayer with Jesus, you will find yourself more in love with him than when you started.
This journey can also be taken in the company of a few friends. Small groups of 2-6 individuals can walk through the Exercises together, meeting with the spiritual director as a group and individually throughout the 9-month journey. This reduces the cost for each individual and provides some companionship on the pilgrimage.
Click the button below to inquire about this transformative journey - alone, or as a small group.
Ignatius of Loyola
Ignatius encountered Jesus in a profound manner after suffering a severe injury. He was so changed by his experience that he wanted others to have the same opportunity to fall in love with Jesus. He developed the Exercises originally as a 30-day intensive retreat, but soon realized that only individuals in religious orders had to ability to dedicate such a large amount of time to such a pursuit. He adapted the Exercises to be a retreat in daily life, so that everyone could have the same kind of encounter that had so powerfully changed him.
The Exercises can be prayed by men and women alike, clergy or layperson, new believer or life-long follower of Jesus. Regardless of your life’s experience and shape, you will find yourself encountering Jesus in a new way through this prayer journey.