Befriended by Jesus: The Ignatian Spiritual Exercises

By Dale Gish

Available on Amazon

In the gospel stories, many accounts tell of people meeting Jesus. Jesus seeks them out, finds them, and they are forever changed by that meeting. What if we could encounter Jesus in the same way? What could happen to us? How might our lives be transformed?

Ignatius of Loyola had this kind of encounter with Jesus while living in Manresa. As he prayed through the gospel stories, the Holy Spirit inspired his imagination, allowing him to step into the scenes. This encounter with Jesus changed his life forever. It became a foundational experience that shaped his way of living. Ignatius longed to know, love, and serve his Lord, Savior, and Friend, Jesus. 

 Ignatius wanted others to encounter Jesus in this same life-transforming way. He invited his friends to pray with holy imagination through the gospel stories, and they also encountered the living Jesus. This is how the Ignatian Spiritual Exercises began, a beautiful gift that continues to invite people into a life-transforming encounter with Jesus. The Exercises were stewarded by and empowered the Jesuits over the years. Today, the Exercises are more widely accessible to Catholics, Protestants, and anyone seeking to know and love Jesus.

Years ago, I was led through the Ignatian Exercises by Bill Zuelke, a former Jesuit, and it brought me into a deep love relationship with Jesus, becoming a place of healing and transformation in my life. Bill Zuelke trained me to lead others through the Ignatian Exercises, and since then, I have had the opportunity to guide many people on this journey. My first journey through the Exercises used prayer material developed by Joseph Tetlow, SJ, a great master of the Exercises. His material was incredibly rich and significantly expanded my understanding of Ignatian spirituality.

As I led others through the Exercises, I discovered that they are a living, breathing entity that must be updated and reinterpreted for each new generation, especially within certain Christian contexts. This led me on a journey to create my own interpretation of the Ignatian Exercises material, inspired by and in the tradition of Joseph Tetlow’s material, but now thirty years later, and for retreatants who are often Protestant. During a Zoom conversation during the COVID-19 pandemic, Tetlow encouraged me to undertake and press forward with this task, and I’m grateful for his support and encouragement.

This book is the fruit of that labor, and for anyone familiar with Tetlow’s material, you see how indebted I am to his work. For anyone familiar with Bill Zuelke’s work, you will see how I carry on his approach to the Exercises, focusing on the invitation to develop a love relationship with Jesus, which Joseph Whelan said would affect everything. Like every Ignatian interpreter, I stand on the shoulders of giants, including Ignatius, Joseph Tetlow, SJ, Bill Zuelke, John Veltri, SJ, Larry Warner, Kevin O'Brien, SJ, and Mark Thibodeaux, SJ.

I'm excited to have this book, Befriended by Jesus: The Ignatian Spiritual Exercises, available for other Ignatian directors to use and pray that it will encourage more people to pray the Ignatian Exercises.

Available on Amazon in both hardcover and paperback at this link.

© Dale Gish 2025