The Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius consist in a Retreat of some days, during which the soul, removed from all intercourse with the world, and shut in from all worldly distractions and cares, is solely occupied in attending, after the method proposed by the saint, to the all-important business of salvation; and while bewailing the transgressions of the past, studies to repair them by a more perfect life in the future. That you may accomplish this purpose the more successfully, I shall place before you, by way of preface, some motives and counsels for your encouragement and direction, so as to enable you to perform during these eight days all that is most necessary in order to derive solid benefit from your Retreat.

I. Some motives for attending with diligence to the Spiritual Exercises.

In the opinion of the most competent judges the qualities which mainly affect the value of any exercise may be reduced to these three, viz.--its excellence, which wins for it our esteem; its utility, which creates within us a desire of it; and its necessity, whereby the will is impelled to embrace that which the intellect has already recognised as being in itself both useful and excellent.

I. Now, in the first place, the excellence of these Spiritual Exercises may be deduced from this: Firstly, that they were inspired by God (1); secondly, that they were dictated by the most august Queen of Heaven (2); and thirdly, that they have not only merited the approval of, but have elicited the highest encomiums from the Holy See, which has recommended them with all the plenitude of its Apostolic authority to the practice of the faithful (3).

That this is so, is established by the Bulls themselves of the Sovereign Pontiffs; by the testimony of the auditors of the Rota, and of their Eminences the Cardinals of the Sacred Congregation of Rites; by the universal feeling and conviction of the Society of Jesus (4); and by the authority of men equally remarkable for sanctity and learning--the principal among them being the Venerable Lewis da Ponte, Lanciscius, Natalis, Rosignoli, and others--who not only fearlessly assert, but prove by solid arguments that these Exercises of S. Ignatius were inspired by God, enriched by the unction of the Holy Spirit, dictated by the Blessed Virgin Mary, and finally, "of his own certain knowledge," and without the change even of a single point, approved of, praised, and authorized by Pope Paul III. ; which approbation extends to each and everything contained in them--quoad omnia et singula in eis contenta.

Moreover, the Sovereign Pontiffs, as Alexander VII. and Benedict XIV., have attached to the due performance of these Exercises a Plenary Indulgence, "in order that by this largess of the heavenly treasures of the Church the faithful might be incited to apply themselves to a work so salutary and so pious" (5). It is no wonder then that John Camo, Bishop of Belley, while studying this work of St. Ignatius should exclaim in amazement, "O volume, all golden, and more precious than any gem! O divine book, dictated by a special light from God: book which we can never sufficiently praise: book which contains hidden within itself the manna of the desert, the marrow of the cedars of Libanus, and the mustard-seed of the Gospel." Is it possible to speak more emphatically in favour of the excellence of the Exercises?

Let this be for us a powerful incitement to perform them with all the fervour of our souls. For, if they have been dictated by God, and if he is accursed who does the work of the Lord negligently, those persons have just reason to fear, who go through the Exercises after a cold or tepid fashion, rejecting the medicine which possesses such efficacy to heal the diseases of their souls.

II. In the next place, authority, experience, and reason, clearly demonstrate the utility of this Spiritual Retreat. Firstly, as regards authority, I should be far too diffuse were I to cite the testimony of all those persons eminent for wisdom and sanctity who have lavished the highest praise on these Exercises.

Of the very many whom I might quote I shall content myself with a few. St. Francis de Sales says of the Exercises, that "they are a holy method which the great servant of God, Ignatius of Loyola, introduced for the reformation of men's lives" (6). St. Charles Borromeo likewise says of them, "I have a splendid library; but it is comprised within the limits of one small book, from which alone I learn more than I could from all the other books in the world put together" (7). Pope Julius III, called the Exercises "salutary beyond measure, full of piety and of sanctity, and most useful for the spiritual advancement of souls" (8). And a great prelate styles them "hidden manna, the grain of mustard seed mentioned in the Gospel, the marrow of the cedars of Libanus, trifles in appearance, but of the greatest value in their effects" (9).

Finally, Blosius, Avila, Canisius, Strada, Suarez, and others quoted by Rossignoli call them a new school of Divine wisdom, the quintessence of ascetic doctrine, the most efficacious aid to attain in the shortest period of time to the highest degree of perfection, a most certain remedy for all evils, an armoury supplying weapons terrible to hell, and one of the most signal blessings which God has bestowed upon his Church in these latter days. In presence of such unexceptionable testimony, who will have the hardihood to deny the usefulness of the Spiritual Exercises?

Secondly, experience supports by facts what these authors have advanced in their writings. For (as the Directory attests), very many, after having been well trained by these Exercises, abandoned the world to embrace the religious state; many who were already inmates of the cloister effected wonderful reformations of their lives, nor was this the case of merely a few individuals, but even of entire monasteries; and very many secular persons, also, who had been living in every kind of vice, from which neither sermons nor entreaties nor any other ordinary means could win them, were converted merely by going through a course of the Spiritual Exercises, and afterwards steadfastly persevered in virtue to the end of their lives (10). In a word, unusual movements of the soul, extraordinary changes of life, and wonderful progress in the paths of virtue and perfection are the ordinary fruits gathered from this holy Retreat.

It is certain that the society of Jesus acknowledges itself indebted to this little book for its establishment, its growth, its extension, its strength, and its preservation to the present day. St. Francis de Sales, St. Charles Borromeo, St. Philip Neri, St. Francis Borgia, St. Francis Xavier, St. Teresa, and St. Mary Magdalene de Pazzi gratefully attribute to it the commencement or the growth of their sanctity. Lewis Blosius, Lewis of Granada, the Bishop of Torres, the Cardinal Henry, afterwards King of Portugal, Bellarmin, Peter Camus, Faber, Lainez, Natalia, and countless others cited by Rossignoli, tell us that they were indebted to these Exercises for having embraced a more perfect life. Add to these those countless martyrs of India, who drew from the Spiritual Exercises that noble fortitude, which enabled them to endure for the sake of Jesus Christ the many terrible torments to which they were subjected.

Thirdly: now the reason of all this is most evident. For, on the one hand, by means of this happy retirement from the bustle of worldly business and the distractions of temporal cares, we effectually remove those many obstacles which are so dangerously calculated to exclude the lights of heaven from our souls. On the other hand, by meditating on the eternal truths for eight continuous days, the soul is more thoroughly prepared to receive that abundant downpour of graces, with which heaven is wont to inundate our souls during the solitude of this retirement. What wonder is it, then, that after the removal of so many obstacles, with our souls so well disposed, and with such abundant favours, placed within our reach by God, lives which were once disorderly should experience a total reformation.

If, then, the utility of these Exercises is so great, how culpable shall we not be if we neglect to banish tepidity from our souls by that self-same means by which so many others have become saints! if that which has proved the balsam of life to so many others should become poison to us! How appalling at the hour of death will be this thought: I was bound to become a saint in virtue of my vocation: I could have sanctified myself by means of the Exercises, and, nevertheless, I have always lived shamefully enslaved by tepidity. Though living in such close proximity to the Divine light, to the fountain of grace, to the heavenly fire, yet I have always remaifted in spiritual darkness, aridity, and coldness. O what a thorn will this be in your heart at the hour of death!

III. The urgent necessity of this holy Retreat is proved, in the first place, by the present condition of your soul, which cannot discover any more expeditious, or more powerful means to effect its reformation, for, the many rebellious passions which we have not as yet brought under subjection, the many vices which we have not as yet eradicated, the many evil habits which we have not as yet cast off; moreover, the many troublesome offices we may be called upon to discharge, the many afflictions which await us, the many temptations we shall have to combat-- all point out to us the absolute necessity that exists for applying the axe to the root of our disorders during these days of grace, and of plucking from our soul every germ of sin, while, at the same time, we lay, deep and strong, the foundation of all those virtues which the sanctity of our state, the abundance of grace which has been lavished upon us, and God's will, both expect and demand.

Secondly: moreover, the love which we bear to the Society (of Jesus) as our mother, requires that we should apply ourselves with all earnestness to the due performance of the Exercises, inasmuch as she herself declares in the Directory (11), "that it is principally to them she owes her existence and gradual growth," and it is on them alone she relies for her future preservation. Wherefore, we must regard as his mother's ungrateful enemy, whosoever neglects or performs with tepidity that which supplies the most efficacious and most necessary help towards her preservation.

Finally, this Retreat may be, perhaps, the last you shall ever make: perhaps the final grace is annexed to it: on it, perhaps, depends your perfection, and, perhaps, the salvation of others also whom God has decreed to convert through your agency, if you render yourself a fitting instrument for His purposes. It would be extremely rash to commit this important "perhaps " to chance, while it is absolutely certain that you will never have reason to repent if you attend to it with diligence. Therefore, select the more secure course; otherwise be afraid and tremble; for "unto whomsoever much is given, of him much shall be required" (Luke xii. 48)--pages 5 - 12


(1) Lanciscius Opusc. 18, cap. 5, and Rosignolius in lib. "notizie memorabili dei essercizii spirituali," lib. 1, cap. 1.

(2) Lud de Ponte in vita Marines de Escobar, lib. 1, c. 5, p. 2: Nataliz in lib. "conversatio caelestis".

(3) Paul III, in the Bull "Pastoralis Officii," 31st July, 1548, and Julius III.

(4) Directorium Exercitiorum in proaemio, n. 2.

(5) "Ut Christi fideles hac caelestium Ecclesiae thesaurorum elargitione ad vacandum salutari adeo pioque open incitarentur." In bulla Alexandri VII., die 12 Oetobr. 1657.

(6) Treatise on the Love of God, lib. 12, ch. 8.

(7) Bartol. Life of St. Ignatius, lib. 1, num. 18.

(8) In litteris confirmationis Exercit.

(9) Camus in Act. Sactor. ad diem. 31 Julii.

(10) In proaem. n. 7.

(11) In proaem. n. 7.