Inner Peace in Divine Love
Based on the First Spiritual Exercises of St Ignatius
Adapted By Michael Hansen SJ
The First Spiritual Exercises were created to help a person ask for and receive inner peace. In them, six great gifts from God are sought in four retreats.
The first great gift is the gift of unconditional love.
The inner peace that comes with this is utterly unmistakable for any other experience. I feel the love of God so overwhelmingly unconditional, so gently intimate, that I am left with a deep-seated peace – a serenity that will survive all sorts of trials, selfishness, and loss.
I become aware of the many extraordinary gifts that the Creator has given me through love and I have the inner peace that I need not turn anywhere else for what I need.
Profound gratitude comes with this peace.
If you walk
in the way of God,
you will live in Peace forever.
Learn where there is wisdom,
where there is strength,
where there is understanding,
so that you may at the same time
discern where there is length of days,
and life,
where there is light for the eyes,
and peace.
The Book of Baruch 3:13-14
What are the First Spiritual Exercises?
The ‘First Spiritual Exercises’, FSE, are a set of prayer exercises, structured in a four-week program, with a particular dynamic by St Ignatius. They are a single, progressive and powerful experience of grace, built around personal prayer at home and guided spiritual conversation in a small group.
What is expected of me?
This program runs over four weeks in daily life.
The weekly commitment is to prayer on four days, Monday to Thursday. These days are chosen because family and home commitments increase generally Friday to Sunday. So, exercise over four days and break for the next three days but include the Sunday Eucharist with its small weekend exercise. This will allow the seeds of the past week’s exercises to sleep in you and germinate.
Those making the First Spiritual Exercises meet weekly in a small group with a trained spiritual conversation guide, who leads the process of prayer, listening, sharing and discernment.
Do I need any qualifications to make the First Spiritual Exercises retreat?
There is nothing in the First Spiritual Exercises, either in the content or process that you cannot do. You do not need any special education or great holiness or perfect health. In Ignatian exercising one always applies the exercise to one’s understanding or faith or well-being – to one’s reality.
It is about a living relationship between you and God.
The only thing needed for you to begin is the desire to exercise, the generosity to take the practical steps and the faith to open yourself to God.
Where you are now is where God is waiting for you.
Small-group meeting dates and venues (to be confirmed)
Participants pray guided by the exercises at home during the week. The exercises are simple and easy to follow by oneself. In addition, participants meet weekly in small groups through the period of the retreat. Trained spiritual conversation guides lead the small groups.
For more information, contact Chiara Von Perger, WA CLC Chairperson here