Dear Friend,
Have you ever noticed how God
awakens us to something new on the fringes of our awareness until you are ready
to pay attention? Several years ago, I
started to hear about the Spiritual Exercises of St Ignatius. After about the third time, I asked a friend
to explain the Exercises to me. I was
intrigued and asked my own Spiritual Director if she would lead me through
them, and she agreed. This began a
profound journey with Jesus for me.
The Exercises are Scripture
and prayer reflections that give expression to an inner process of conversation
and spiritual experiences that can deepen your relationship with Jesus
Christ. St Ignatius had great insight
into the fundamental patterns of spiritual transformation and so he created a
process that helps people discover their own pattern of growth in Christ.
I would like to invite you to
consider joining me on this soul journey of deepening your relationship and
freedom in Christ.
We will be a covenant group
together in a once a week commitment, beginning in October 2014 and ending in
May of 2015. If you are willing to be
open to Jesus Christ, to prayer and to change, and if you are longing for more
in your relationship with Christ and are willing to commit yourself to
discovery then you are probably ready.
Here are the commitments:
An openness to Jesus Christ, to prayer,
and to change
*You
do not need to see yourself as ‘spiritually mature’, but you need to be at a
minimum comfortable praying to Jesus
*You
are willing to clear your life from October to May and open yourself to what
God has for you - this is a key requirement.
Weekly meeting for group interaction and
individual prayer
· It is important for the group dynamics not to miss any
of the meetings.
· We will begin with an Introductory Retreat on
Saturday, October 11, 2014, which will be for both morning and evening groups.
Weekly meeting times will Wednesday
mornings, from 9:30 – 11:30 am and Thursday evenings, from 7:00 – 9:00pm. Note: The Thursday evening group will be a group open to men and women.
· The group size is limited to 6 in each group.
*Carefully
check your vacation and holiday plans, and school schedules for any time
conflicts. I would ask that you orient
your schedule around the Exercises. Of
course there is grace for unseen circumstances.
*You
will learn and experience contemplative listening in a safe, loving and
confidential group.
*Our
meeting times will be structured around group sharing on what prayer was like
for each person during the week, followed by individual reflection on Scripture and prayer time, gathering
again for group sharing and then instruction on the prayer exercise for the
following week. Although intercessory
prayer is important in our Christ following, we will not have a time for it in
our group time.
Daily prayer
*Each
week you will be given a prayer/reflection exercise, which includes a grace or gift to ask
for and Scripture to pray with, along with various contemplations for you prayer
time. The desire is to have
uninterrupted prayer, working up to an hour each day. The weeks that we do not meet, you will be
given Exercises to continue your daily prayer practice.
Journal
*You
will keep a journal of reflections on your prayer time and spiritual reviews of
your day. Your journal will be an
invaluable tool as you experience and reflect on God’s movement in your
life. This will be the primary source of
the material you bring to group and individual meetings.
Individual Spiritual Direction
*Once
a month you will schedule a Spiritual Direction appointment. The focus of direction will be to notice what
is surfacing in your relationship with God and in your life as you move through
the Exercises.
Singular focus
*I
ask that you do not involve yourself in other Bible Studies, formation classes
or spiritual intensives while doing the Exercises. Remember, you are working up to an hour each
day in prayer. and reflection. If you are in other
support groups, please continue in them, however, be sure they know about your
commitment to the Exercises so that they can support you.
Location – We meet at my home, 2160 Carleton Dr., Turlock.
Cost- $40/month which includes Spiritual Direction and
materials
If you are finding a tug in
your spirit to participate with me this next year, I have included some discernment questions that I
would like you to reflect on and an application. The group size is limited and although we
won’t begin meeting until October, it is important to begin to pray about
whether this is something God is leading you to and if you can make the
commitment. I will be in Kenya from August 22 - September 30. I will be checking and responding to email but if you know you want to do the Exercises this year, please have the application to me by August 15th. Thank you!!
I am also in prayer about this journey with St. Ignatius and who will journey with me. May God go
before, beside and behind you as you prayerfully consider the Spiritual
Exercises of St. Ignatius!
Carol Swanson
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