The 19th Annotation of the Spiritual Exercises

I have taken a long break from writing on the blog but not because I haven’t been writing. In September I embarked on my own Jesus expedition through the 19th Annotation of the Spiritual Exercises.

I could never have imagined how this simple practice would impact my life. I am on my second journal, filling pages quickly, describing my experiences. Most of the writing is so personal that it is not for public consumption, at least not in its present form (I do hope to begin pulling some sections out and paraphrasing them for the blog in the next week or so).

For those who are not familiar, “The Spiritual Exercises” is actually the name of a handbook written by Ignatius of Loyola in the 16th century describing a spiritual retreat. Fun fact: the handbook was not written for those taking the retreat but rather for spiritual directors taking people through the retreat.  

Originally the retreatant would withdraw from daily life for 4 weeks to a retreat house or monastery. Each day he or she would have 5 or 6 prayer periods as led by the spiritual director. This is often referred to by the Jesuits as “The 30-Day Retreat or The Long Retreat.” However, Ignatius wanted as many as possible to experience the retreat so he included some other versions or “annotations” to allow flexibility so that it might be formatted to serve individuals who were not able to cloister for such a length of time. The 19th Annotation is a version that takes place over a longer period of time while participants continue on in their daily life. In my case, the retreat started in mid-September and will end in mid-May. Each day I complete just one prayer period.

The daily prayer periods are basically a ‘way’ of praying and meditating on the life of Jesus mainly using the gospels as well as deep personal reflection guided by the Holy Spirit. The material itself is broken down into sections called “weeks” but these are not traditional 7-day weeks; rather a “week” simply refers to a theme on which the scriptures and prayer points for that section focus. Each theme progressively and seamlessly builds one on another.

Each person’s journey is slightly different as led by their spiritual director (or in some cases a very small group led by a director). I am taking the retreat through a group called Manresa Way based in Maine. Every Wednesday, I receive my prayer sheet with the stated theme and scriptures that I am to prayerfully meditate on daily for anywhere from 30-60 minutes. I journal about my prayer experience and my experiences of God in daily life. Also on Wednesdays, I and the other retreatants meet via zoom with our personal spiritual directors that have been assigned to us for 45 min. to discuss how our week has been in prayer. Then we circle up and listen to a 30 min. reflection given by one of the spiritual directors based on that week’s theme.

I am now 2/3 of the way through and I have learned more about God’s love for me and about myself than I would have thought possible in such a short time. If you would like more information about the spiritual exercises visit Manresa Way Maine or if you are interested in their next information meeting (usually in June or July each year) contact them at manresawaymaine@gmail.com.