Spiritual Exercises for the Summer
Summer is a great time to dive into spiritual reading and begin new habits.
And St. Ignatius of Loyola is a perfect coach.
Just as soldiers practice PT and athletes train for success in the summer, our souls need exercise, too.
In his spiritual classic, The Spiritual Exercises, St. Ignatius proposes three principal “exercises” to help the soul grow in holiness:
- The Daily Examen
- Meditation
- Contemplation
Spiritual Exercise #1 - The Daily Examen
What is a daily examen?
A daily examen is a spiritual exercise by which we thank God for the graces of the day, reflect on our thoughts, actions and omissions, repent of sin, and make a firm resolution to avoid faults in the future.
How to do a Daily Examen:
- At the end of the day, after recollecting yourself, thank God for the graces He bestowed on you today.
- Ask God for light to know your ingratitude, and for the grace to detest it.
- Think about the different hours or occupations of the day, examining your thoughts, words, actions or omissions.
- After seeing your faults, repent of them by exciting yourself to sincere sorrow.
- Make a firm resolution to avoid these faults in the future.
St. Ignatius recommends this exercise above all others and encourages us to perform it with exactness and frequency, but without exaggeration or scrupulosity.
(The Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius, 1914)
Spiritual Exercise #2 - Meditation
What is meditation?
Meditation is the exercise by which the memory recalls some dogma or moral truth, the understanding strives to penetrate it, and the will submits, attaches and devotes itself to it.
Do you find your mind wandering during prayer or don’t know where to begin?
A guide for meditation can help.
In his Spiritual Exercises, St. Ignatius of Loyola outlines simple steps for meditation to help guide the soul toward union with God during prayer.
St. Ignatius’ Guide for Meditation:
- Before your time in prayer, consider what subject you will meditate on (i.e. the birth of Christ, the Resurrection, etc.) and divide it into two or three points which contain circumstances worthy of attention.
- Recall that you are in the presence of God who sees you and ask for His grace to help you:
- Call to mind the two or three points prepared for meditation.
- Use your imagination to form a picture of them in your mind.
- Ask from your heart to know and love.
- Having considered the subject of meditation, the soul has only to be penetrated and nourished by it. Reflections and conversations with God are the result of meditation.
- When the soul finds light or a feeling of the divine presence or divine will, rest there and do not be anxious to proceed farther.
- After your time in meditation, reflect on your time in prayer, and give thanks to God.
(The Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius, 1914)
Spiritual Exercise #3: Contemplation
What is Contemplation?
Contemplation is seeing, hearing, and considering the different circumstances of Christ’s life for the purpose of being instructed, edified and moved by them. Contemplation is a free gift from God, given in his own time.
St. Ignatius’ Advice for Contemplation
St. Ignatius stresses that we should study Jesus not just as the Teacher, Model and Savior of all, but rather as my Teacher, my Model, and my Savior.
He encourages us to consider like St. Paul that,
“Jesus Christ loved me and gave himself for me.” (Gal. 2:20)
This is the foundation of contemplation: that all that Jesus Christ said, did, and suffered for the whole human race, He said, did, and suffered for each one of us in particular.
“In the manger; on the mountain, where He proclaimed the Beatitudes; on the cross, where He consummated His sacrifice; on the altar, where He remains night and day, Jesus Christ is my whole salvation and my life; each of his words is said for me; each of his actions and his suffering is for me, and for my benefit.” (The Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius, 1914)
Tools for Spiritual Exercise
- The Strength and Alliance Field Journal is a great companion for spiritual exercise as it includes a thorough basic training in holiness guide, goal-setting sheets and progress pages, helping you track your development as you build spiritual muscle.
- The joyful, sorrowful, glorious and luminous mysteries of the rosary are great subjects for meditation, helping you deepen knowledge, love, and union with God. The Combat Decade Rosary™ is pocket-perfect to keep with you wherever life takes you this summer to help you pause and pray.
- The Peace Through Strength Prayer Journal includes daily prayer prompts as well as space to record the fruit of your contemplation in prayer. With an introduction on "Striving for the High Life" and an appendix of traditional prayers, the leather-bound Peace Through Strength Prayer Journal is a powerful tool to aid your spiritual exercise this summer.
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How to Pray the Divine Mercy Chaplet
The Sacred Heart of Jesus: Historical Foundations and Spiritual Significance