The Retreat in daily life

WHAT IS IT?

It is a programmed series of prayer experiences, following the Spiritual Exercises of St.

Ignatius, which help the retreatant (the person making the retreat) open herself/himself to
God.
WHAT ARE THE SPIRITUAL EXERCISES?
Ignatius of Loyola (1491-1556) grew up as a very worldly Spaniard, much drawn to courtly
life, daring exploits and romance. Injured as a soldier in battle, he spent a long time
recovering, during which he slowly and painfully underwent a conversion experience. That
experience continued and deepened after his wounds healed.
During this period of his life, Ignatius began to notice how God was touching his mind and
heart. Curious, he began to observe the process closely.
The lessons Ignatius learned about how God was dealing with him were, he discovered later,
very helpful to others with whom he came to deal. These lessons he put in an orderly way in a
book for retreat directors, called the Spiritual Exercises. The success of the Spiritual Exercises
in the lives of countless persons in St. Ignatius' time, and since then, has been extraordinary.

WHAT IS THE RELATION BETWEEN THE SPIRITUAL EXERCISES AND THE

RETREAT IN DAILY LIFE?
Ignatius and his fellow Jesuits gave the Spiritual Exercises over a period of thirty days to
retreatants who live apart away from home in an atmosphere of quiet and prayerfulness.
But Ignatius found that many people could not, because of family or business reasons, take
thirty days off, leave home and go away for the retreat.
So in his Note #19 (called Annotation Nineteen) of his book, Ignatius explained how people
could make the retreat under a spiritual director while remaining at home. Thus this method,
called the Retreat in Daily Life, is often referred to as a Nineteenth Annotation Retreat.
Today, the use of this Retreat in Daily Life is widespread in many countries and is productive
of great good.

TIMEWISE WHAT DOES THE RETREAT IN DAILY LIFE INVOLVE?

The retreatant makes a commitment over two semesters (appoximately 30 weeks) to devote:
* an average of at least one hour of prayer and reflection daily; and
* an hour or so per week meeting with her/his spiritual director.

IS THE RETREAT IN DAILY LIFE FOR ME?

Here are some questions you can ask yourself. An affirmative answer indicates that you are
probably ready for making this Retreat:
* Do I have a deep and serious desire to find God more surely and to serve others in the
circumstances of my present life.?
* Can I commit myself to spend ing a serious amount of time (at least one hour per day on
average) in prayer and reflection over two semesters?
* Am I willing to discuss my prayer experience with a director?
NOTE: If you are not completely sure of the answers to the above questions, arrangements
can be made for you to discuss these questions with:

JAMES BOWLER, SJ (tel. 203-256-7203)

who lives at the Jesuit Residence (at Fairfield University, 86 Barlow Rd., Fairfield, CT
06430).
In the past these retreats were organized by Frs. Joseph Ryan, S.J. and Thomas Hamel, S.J.
WHEN DOES THE RETREAT IN THE DAILY LIFE BEGIN THIS YEAR (1996-1997)?
* The retreat begins in the first semester of the academic year, in late October or early
November.
* Anyone who is interested in making this retreat is invited to contact JAMES BOWLER, SJ
early so that remote preparations for this retreat can begin in suitable time.