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The Spiritual Exercises have been a cornerstone of Jesuit spirituality for over 400 years, but the Exercises themselves began many years before the Society of Jesus was founded.

St. Ignatius started his book of spiritual direction in 1522, long before he became a priest, or even before he met the six men who would eventually join him as the first members of the Society of Jesus.

The Spiritual Exercises had their beginnings when St. Ignatius was living in the Spanish town of Manresa.

The former knight had been spending some time trying to discover what he should be doing with his life, when he had a supernatural vision while walking along a small river, the Cardoner, near the town. This vision did not include the appearance of heavenly messengers, but rather was a sudden, deep and all-encompassing understanding of the central mysteries of Christian faith. At once, he knew how creation is connected to the creator through Christ; how Christ completed and fed human nature by being born of Mary; and how Christ intended to continue His work though the mystery of His Real presence in the sacrament. In an instant, St. Ignatius saw God’s plan and action in the world.

Later, Ignatius told his friends he learned more in that moment than in the whole rest of his life.

He went back to Manresa and began talking to people about what he had experienced. Not everyone seemed to understand him, so the future saint began taking notes of what kind of conversations seemed to be the most effective. Eventually, St. Ignatius developed a method that could lead a person who was open to the will of God to a deeper and more personal relationship with Jesus.

From 1522 to 1540, St. Ignatius constantly refined his method. Since St. Ignatius was a layman during most of this period, his Spiritual Exercises raised suspicions among the church officials who were concerned that he might be part of a Protestant sect. However, although St. Ignatius was even jailed on one occasion, ecclesiastical officials could not find any error in his teachings and were impressed by his willingness to submit to the Church's authority.

Ignatius first gave the Spiritual Exercises to young men he met at the University of Paris. The Exercises so affected them that they pledged themselves to each other as “friends in the Lord.” However, the Spiritual Exercises soon became popular with many types of people. In 1548, St. Ignatius translated the Exercises into Latin and submitted them to Rome for official approval. Today, priests, religious men and women of many different orders, and lay men and women of all walks of life make the Spiritual Exercises a regular part of their spiritual lives.

St. Ignatius originally planned his Spiritual Exercises as a 30-day retreat that was similar to the experience he himself had during his conversion experience. However, being both intelligent and practical, he realized that the Exercises would need to be adaptable for both clergy and laity alike. The Spiritual Exercises can be conducted in formal retreats lasting three days or a week, or any other duration that's convenient for those attending.

The Exercises can also be done by those who cannot attend a formal retreat. St. Ignatius provides advice on how the Exercises can be done in the spare moments of one's day. The entire set of Exercises can be done in this way, or people can focus on specific parts of the Exercises that seem to be most needed for them at that time. Since the process of conversion and reformation is never finished on this side of Heaven, St. Ignatius expected the Exercises to be repeated regularly during life. 

 

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