THE BEST OF THE REVIEW 1: NOTES ON THE SPIRITUAL EXERCISES OF ST. IGNATIUS OF LOYOLA
I. Background and Method
The Retreat Director in the Spiritual Exercises by Paul J. Bernadicou SJ
Growing Freedom in the Spiritual Director by George P. Leach SJ
Appealing to Strength in Spiritual Direction by William J. Connolly SJ
The Contemplative Attitude in Spiritual Direction by William A. Barry SJ
Freedom and Prayer in Directed Retreats by William J. Connolly SJ
On Asking God to Reveal Himself in Retreat by William A. Barry SJ
The Eighteenth Annotation of the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius and Social Sinfulness by Bernard Bush SJ
II. Content and Experience
The Experience of the First and Second Weeks of the Spiritual Exercises by William A. Barry SJ
Stoiry of the Pilgrim King and the Dynamics of Prayer by William J. Connolly SJ
Experiences of Darkness in Directed Retreats by William J. Connolly SJ
The Imitation of Christ Revisited by Charles J. Healey SJ
The Graces of the Third and Fourth Week by Dominic Maruca SJ
On Leaving Retreat: To Go Out Can Be to Go In by Charles C. Murphy SJ
My Experience of a Directed Retreat by Margaret Baker HVMIII. Prayer and Discernment
The Four Moments of Prayer by John R. Sheets SJ
Consciousness Examen by George A. Aschenbrenner SJ
Praying the Gospels by WArthur F. McGovern SJ
Disappointment in Prayer: Prelude to Growth? by William J. Connolly SJ
Prayer: The Context of Discernment by Charles J. Healey SJ
Christian Maturity and Spiritual Discernment by David T. Asselin SJ
Profile of the Spirit: A Theology of Discernment of Spirits by John R. Sheets SJ
Discernment of Spirits by Herbert F. Smith SJ
Discernment in the Director by Judith Roemer OSF
IV. Apostolic Implications
The Ignatian Method and Social Theology by John English SJ
Social Conscionsness in the Ignatian Exercises by William J. Byron SJ
Social Action and the Directed Retreat by William J. Connolly SJ
Postscript
Notes on Adapting the Exercises of St. Ignatius by David T. Asselin SJ
The Nineteenth Annotation Retreat: The Retreat of the Future by Mary Sullivan RC and Dot Horstman
The Danger of Faddism and the Thirty-Day Retreat by David L. Fleming SJ
A Directory for the Use of Scripture in an Ignatian Retreat by Paul J. McCormick SJ
The Limits of the Adaptability of the Spiritual Exercises by Donald W. Reck SJ
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A rich contribution to the study and understanding of the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius has been made in article form over the past ten years. Review for Religious has had the privilege of publishing a good number of such articles.
Because of the great interest in directed retreat work, with all its implications concerning prayer, discernment, and spiritual direction, a collection of articles from the Review promised to be a very helpful contribution to directors and retreatants alike. With the support and cooperation of it editor, I have endeavored to go back over the period of eleven years of the Review --- the years 1967-1978 --- in order to group together some of the articles which have proved to be enlightening, stimulating, and encouraging.
The book is structured in the following fashion: To introduce the whole subject of Ignatian Spiritual Exercises, I have written an original article focusing upon the dynamic or movement in the retreat method. Then I have grouped together articles which provide a certain background and method that is incumbent in the directed retreat model based on the Ignatian Exercises. Next, those article which help explain the content and provide some insight into the retreat experience from the second unit. The third collection of articles deals with prayer in its various forms and the topic of discernment. Following this section, I have drawn together some articles dealing with social consciousness and action related to the Ignatiam retreat.
In a final postscript, I have included those articles that are wide in their application --- one on the notion of adaptation of the Exercises, a second on the Nineteenth Annotation Retreat, and a final article which questions the use of the thirty-day retreat and identifies some qualities desirable in both the retreatant and the director if the full Ignatian model of a thirty-day retreat is to be used well.
Various weaknesses are evident in a book of independently written articles such as this. There are many aspects of the Spiritual Excercises and its adaptation into the shorter retreat style which are not handled. When a subject is taken up in many articles, such as those on prayer and on discernment, there can be a certain amount of overlapping of ideas and approaches. The quality of depth in insight and the difference of style in writing can be a disruptive factor in the flow of reading. But overriding these various negative elements, there still remains the richness of personal experience and understanding found in the wide variety of articles and authors brought together in one volume.
A special thanks is owed to Sister Eva Maria OSF, a novice of the Sisters of St. Francis of St. George Martyr (Alton, Illinois) who undertook and stayed with the tedium of seeing the manuscript through the printer to the final product.
It is my prayer that many men and women, touched in some way by the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius, will find this book a treasury of resources that will deepen their faith and understanding and stimulate their apostolic lives.
David L. Fleming SJ
