Spiritual Exercises: Encyclopedia II - Spiritual Exercises - Typical methodology and structure of the Exercises

Spiritual Exercises - Typical methodology and structure of the Exercises

Ideally these Exercises were designed to take place in the setting of a secluded retreat, during which those undergoing the exercises would be focused on nothing other than the Exercises. They were also designed to be carried out while under the direction of a spiritual director. The primary aim of their authorship appears to have been for use as a part of the Catholic religious order of Jesuits' novitiate program. As such they are a required component of the Jesuit novitiate training program, that usually takes place during the first year of the novitiate. Still, other Catholic lay people are known to occasionally undergo these Exercises. When lay people undergo the Exercises, this is usually under the guidance of a spiritual director who is a member of the religious order of Jesuits.

Within the Exercises, daily instructions include various discussions of the nature of the world, of human psychology as Ignatius understood it, and of man's relationship to God. During each day of the Exercises, a typical retreatant might read two or three pages of these instructions, then contemplate upon their meanings as they might apply to his (or her) life. Afterwards the retreatant typically reports back to the spiritual director of the retreat what these instructions might mean to the retreatant.

Adapted from the Wikipedia article "Typical methodology and structure of the Exercises", under the G.N U Free Docmentation License. Please also see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki