Surely, the most important thing in anyone’s life is that they reach their final goal, that they fulfill that ultimate purpose for which they and the entire human family were created. Should we fail in achieving our final end, all our life and work will have been in vain. As we know, our final end is nothing less than eternal participation in the love and beauty of God. All joy, all love, and all beauty experienced in this life are but a pale reflection of their source: that infinite joy, love, and beauty that is the living God.
The Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius are a most powerful and effective means of implanting in our hearts the desire to reach this final goal of union with God. They are an extraordinary tool for changing lives, bringing us out of our spiritual indifference and lukewarmness, and impressing the truths of the Gospel on our minds.
In the words of Venerable Bruno Lanteri, the founder of the Oblates of the Virgin Mary, the Spiritual Exercises are “a most powerful instrument of divine Grace for the universal reform of the world, and an extremely effective means for conquering hearts, even the most hardened.” Again in Lanteri’s words, the Exercises provide “a sure method for everyone to become a saint, a great saint, and to do so speedily.”
In 1522, after his conversion the previous year, St. Ignatius of Loyola lived in a little cave in Manresa (near Montserrat in Spain) and underwent a whole range of remarkable experiences in prayer. He was inspired to set these down in writing in order to make them available to others. The central idea behind the Spiritual Exercises is the recognition of the need to set aside certain periods of time for deepening and strengthening one’s relationship with God. Within the Exercises the retreatant is enabled to view and evaluate his day to day existence in relation to his final end (eternal union with the Living God) and to take concrete steps toward achieving and helping others to achieve that end. The inner peace acquired during the Spiritual Exercises keeps him alert to even the slightest advances of the Holy Spirit, and helps him to answer generously the promptings of grace. In this atmosphere as in no other, communion with God in prayer can be nurtured and developed, and the lessons learned therein carried over to daily life.
Indeed, what could be more important than living our lives, and helping others to live their lives in communion with the Creator? What more vitally necessary and urgent work could there be than that of bringing others to the knowledge, love and experience of God in their daily lives? How could anyone seek a more meaningful calling, a higher purpose?
While the precise form in which the Exercises are given will vary for different individuals, the Exercises generally result in decisions to commit one’s life in some definite way to service of Christ’s Kingdom in this world. For a few this might mean a new career or a new state in life; for most others it will mean a significant development within their present work and state in life.
For more information on the forms that the Spiritual Exercises can take, see
Individual Retreats or Ignatian Preached Retreats