By Hannah McCollum
This Saturday, Dec. 2, a mini-retreat on the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius will be held in the Chapel of the Three Companions at Gonzaga Preparatory School, from 9 to 11 a.m. The event is free, open to the public and no registration is necessary.
Ignatius of Loyola, the founder of the Society of Jesus (Jesuits), composed a book nearly 500 years ago titled “The Spiritual Exercises.” The Exercises were meant to help people experience God and grow spiritually, just as the body must train and exercise to grow physically strong. St. Ignatius intended the Spiritual Exercises to be taught during a month-long retreat, and his book was to be read by the spiritual director, not by those attending the retreat.
Today, the original 30-day retreat takes on many different forms. The basics of the Spiritual Exercises can be taught at a week-long retreat, or people can embark on a “retreat in daily life” in which they practice the exercises every day and meet with a spiritual director over the course of a month or longer, in the midst of their regular life. Members of other Christian denominations besides Catholicism have found Ignatian spirituality to be agreeable.
The mini-retreat on Dec. 2 will be “a sampler of the Spiritual Exercises” and a chance to spend two hours in quiet intimacy with God.
This session will involve imagining, praying, meditating, reflecting and being quiet with God. It will be like spending time with someone who loves you for who you are and who you love deeply; time with your Beloved. You are invited to open your heart to the One who loves you.
Theology teacher Barry Barfield will facilitate the event, making use of his 40 years of experience as a retreat director and spiritual director.
The Chapel of the Three Companions is located at 1224 E. Euclid Ave. in Spokane. For more information contact Barry Barfield at 509-483- 8511 or bbarfield@gprep.com.
