The Ignatian Exercises
The Ignatian Center emerged from the profound impact of the Ignatian Exercises, and its spirit continues to inspire us. Through praying the Exercises, we have encountered Jesus in a transformative way, and like those who met Him during His earthly ministry, we are forever changed. We welcome you to discover more and pray the Exercises yourself.
What are the Ignatian Exercises?
The Ignatian Exercises is a journey of prayer typically prayed over 9 months (often beginning in September and ending in June). This journey takes you deep into an experience of your belovedness as you experience God’s unconditional love for you. It is a journey of desire in which God awakens your deepest desires and uses them to lead you into life and freedom.
Much of the journey consists of praying through the life of Jesus in the Gospel stories, allowing Jesus to come alive as the Holy Spirit inspires your imagination. As you encounter Jesus, you are drawn into a deep friendship: a love relationship that changes everything. Next, you pray through Jesus’ passion as a beloved companion. Jesus your friend, is filled with great love as he suffers and dies for our salvation. On Easter morning, you encounter the risen Jesus, your friend, companion, and Lord, alive to you once again. As you end the exercises, you are consoled, commissioned, filled with the Holy Spirit, and empowered to continue living this beautiful life with Him.
If you haven’t prayed the Ignatian Exercises, we highly recommend them. If you want to pray them, we want to connect you with a director who can lead you through the Exercises.
In preparation for praying the Ignatian Exercises, we recommend you consider praying with Dale Gish’s book Beloved: A Journey of Prayer. This book was written to introduce people to Ignatian prayer, which is a wonderful way to prepare to pray the Ignatian Exercises. “Beloved” helps you learn and practice the structure of Ignatian prayer, offering six chapters of prayer material to pray through to help you know and experience God’s love for you. This foundation of love is the essential foundation for praying the Ignatian Exercises. We invite you to start your Ignatian journey today by praying with this book.
The Ignatian Center periodically offers a group journey through Beloved: A Journey of Prayer, led by one of our spiritual directors. If you are interested in participating in one of these groups, fill out this interest form and we will let you know when the next one is forming.
