Ignatian retreat

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Exercitia spiritualia (1548), first edition by Antonio Bladio

Ignatian Exercises ( Spanish ejercicios espirituales , Latin exercitia spiritualia ) are a collection of spiritual exercises that Ignatius of Loyola made available to others from 1522 to 1524 according to his own spiritual practices. They contain instructions on prayer , meditation and discernment of the spirits in a period of four weeks of withdrawn life.

Emergence

Various editions of the exercise book

While recovering (June 1521 to February 1522) from an accident at the siege of Pamplona , Ignatius of Loyola was converted to Christ . In the Benedictine monastery of Montserrat he took part in the retreats to Cisneros, which are largely based on the Devotio moderna of the brothers of common life . In the autumn of 1522 he began to formulate his retreats for the first time. This resulted in information on the entire course of the retreat as well as on the individual exercises, the times of prayer and reflection. They were based on the Gospels and, based on reflections on the life of Jesus, led in four weeks to a radical decision in favor of following Christ and the love, the "Magis", for the ever greater God. He invited friends and others interested in more radical following of Jesus to retire for a while and, under his guidance , to devote themselves to prayer , meditation, and discernment of spirits . The later Jesuits Peter Faber and Franz Xaver , for whom this experience marked a turning point in their lives , were among the first to make retreats under the guidance of Ignatius .

At the latest at the end of Ignatius' Paris period (1528–1535), a largely complete version was available, which has been handed down in a copy by Faber and which was revised for submission to the Inquisition (so-called Versio prima ). In the next few years Ignatius changed the text several times and got a new, authorized translation, which was published in 1548 by Pope Paul III. was approved. Versions of the text that go back to Spanish-language manuscripts by Ignatius appeared later - there is controversial debate in research as to whether these texts can have a higher value than the Latin Vulgate authorized by Ignatius.

meaning

These exercises mark a turning point in the history of Christian spirituality. They lead the practitioner into a direct dialogue between God and man. In terms of the history of theology, this is comparable to the “turn to the subject”. Ignatius directs the spiritual exercises to help people with an existential question. As a result, he made friends who became his companions. With some of these first companions the Society of Jesus was founded .

content

Ignatius' retreat lasts four weeks in its full form, which are consecutively devoted to the themes of sin , the life and following of the earthly Jesus , the suffering and death of Jesus and, finally, his resurrection .

In addition to participating in the Eucharist and two shorter periods of examination of conscience , Ignatius expects the participants in his retreat to contemplate the Gospels for four or five hours a day. The retreat takes place in silence.

In addition to the basic form mentioned, Ignatius usually practiced the shorter retreats of one week and longer retreats of several months, in which the participants go about their normal business and devote a time to prayer every day. The latter are now referred to as everyday exercises . In many Christian communities they are offered during Lent and Advent and introduce many different forms of common and individual prayer.

present

The Ignatian retreat is accompanied by religious communities and experienced lay people . They serve as tools for pastoral care and spiritual immersion. They are often conveyed in a form adapted to the specific living conditions, for example in the form of daily exercises. These consist of a daily consideration of a Gospel text given by the accompanying person and a weekly discussion to reflect on the experiences made with the texts. This process can be extended over several months.

In their classic form, the retreats extend over thirty days, which are carried out in seclusion with four or five observation times of one hour each spread over the day.

An 8- or 10-day retreat, which is often offered in Catholic educational institutions, is a more practical short form in everyday life. Also as online retreats and in the context of interreligious exchange also for non-Christians. The intra-Christian distinctions between Protestant and Orthodox Christians do not play a role in this religious search.

Numerous religious orders arose from the spirituality of the Ignatian retreat: first the Jesuits, but also women's orders, such as the Congregatio Jesu and the Missionaries of Christ, as well as diverse lay movements, such as the Community of Christian Life and the Ignatian Associates .

The street retreats were first offered in 2000 in Berlin and then in various cities in Germany, Switzerland, Austria and France. A grassroots movement makes offers of various lengths with a communal exchange.

Magazines

Theology and practice of the Ignatian Exercises in the Jesuit tradition are conveyed and deepened in Germany in particular through two magazines: the "Correspondence on the Spirituality of the Exercises" (Augsburg), ed. of the “ Community of Christian Life ” (CLC), and “ Spirit and Life . Journal for Christian Spirituality “(Cologne), ed. from the German Province of the Jesuits. Further promoters of Ignatian retreat practice are: “Manresa. Revista de Espiritualidad Ignaciana ”(Madrid),“ The Way. Review of Christian Spirituality ”(Oxford) and“ Christ ”(Paris), all three of which are published by the Jesuit Order.

Web links

  • Ignatius of Loyola: The Spiritual Exercises ; translated by Alfred Feder SJ; Regensburg Publishing House, 2nd edition, 1922 (pdf; 7.1 MB)

literature

  • Andreas Schönfeld: Bibliography on the history of mysticism (Exercises: No. 4–14). In the S. (Ed.): Spirituality in Transition. Life from God's Spirit. Festschrift for the 75th year of Spirit and Life - magazine for Christian spirituality. Echter Verlag, Würzburg 2002, ISBN 3-429-02473-0 , p. 445
  • Peter Köster, Hans Adriessen: Organize your life. Instructions for the retreat of Ignatius of Loyola. Herder Verlag, Freiburg / Basel / Vienna 1991, ISBN 3-451-22327-9 .
  • Hans Zollner: Bibliography. In: Ders .: Consolation - Increase in hope, faith and love. On the theological ferment of the Ignatian "discernment of spirits". Verlagsanstalt Tyrolia, Innsbruck / Vienna 2004 (= Innsbruck theological studies; vol. 68), ISBN 3-7022-2607-9 , pp. 305–336
  • Hans Zollner: Increase in spiritual consolation (EB 316). Nature and criteria of the Ignatian "distinction of spirits". In: Spirit and Life. 78, 2005, pp. 264-279
  • Rita Haub , Bernd Paal: The retreat of St. Ignatius. Images and reflections . Echter, Würzburg 2006.
  • Ignatius of Loyola : Spiritual Exercises. Echter, Würzburg 1998.
  • Ignatius of Loyola: The Spiritual Exercises. transferred from Hans Urs von Balthasar . Johannes Verlag, Einsiedeln 1993, ISBN 978-3-89411-028-4 .
  • Ignatius of Loyola: Spiritual Exercises. Urtext with explanations of the twenty instructions by Adolf Haas; Small library of spiritual wisdom. Herder, Freiburg / Basel / Vienna 1999.
  • Ignatian Spirituality Group: Ignatian Retreats - Worldwide. Experiences - reflections - orientations. An expert report . Munich 2003.
  • Hugo Rahner : The application of the senses in the method of observation of St. Ignatius of Loyola. In: Wilhelm Bitter (Ed.): Meditation in Religion and Psychotherapy. ISBN 3-12-900950-7 , pp. 45-71.
  • Jos E. Vercruysse, Manfred Seitz: Exercises I. Historical II. Practical-theological. In: Theological Real Encyclopedia . 1982, 10, col. 698-707.
  • Pope Pius XI : Encyclical : Mens nostra . (on Promoting Spiritual Exercises)
  • Karl Rahner : Reflections on the Exercise Book . Kösel, Munich 1965.
  • Erich Przywara : Deus semper maior. Theology of the Exercises. (in 3 vol.). Herder, Freiburg 1938–1939.
  • Peter Köster : Enabling freedom. A small commentary on the Great Retreat of St. Ignatius . St. Benno, Leipzig 1999.
  • Alex Lefrank: Conversion into Christ. The dynamics of the retreat process . Echter, Würzburg 2009, ISBN 978-3-429-03155-8 .
  • Michael Schindler: God on the street. Study of theological discoveries during the street retreats, series: Tübingen Perspectives on Pastoral Theology and Religious Education. Vol. 54 Lit, Berlin 2016 ISBN 978-3-643-13295-6

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c cf. Hugo Rahner: Exercise II. The E. of Ignatius of Loyola . In: Walter Kasper (Ed.): Lexicon for Theology and Church . 3. Edition. tape 3 . Herder, Freiburg im Breisgau 1995, Sp. 1107-1109 . , 1107.
  2. ↑ Cf. on this Heinrich Bacht: The current state of research on the origin of the Spiritual Exercise Book of St. Ignatius of Loyola . In: Geist und Leben 29 (1956), pp. 327–338.
  3. ^ Online retreats. Retrieved September 1, 2019 .
  4. ↑ Example retreats by Buddhists and Christians. Retrieved January 7, 2019 .
  5. ↑ Exercise on the street. Retrieved January 7, 2019 .
  6. ↑ Christian Herwartz u. a .: Looking for God's traces in everyday life on the street - personal encounters at street retreats . 2nd Edition. Neukirchen sowing, Neukirchen-Vluyn 2019, ISBN 978-3-7615-6270-3 , p. 176 .