"Spiritual Exercises"


"Spiritual Exercises" is a term that goes back several centuries.

This is not an easy website. Not only are there more than 1,000 webpages, some of them are very controversial. They really make you think. It's like being on an athletic team and the coach ordering you to do 1,000 push-ups. It's not like the coach thinks that at the big game this weekend the teams are going to decide the championship by seeing who can do the most push-ups. The coach just knows that it will be easier to hit a ball over the wall in deep centerfield if you do your exercises before the big game.

You don't have to agree with everything on this website to benefit from it. Check everything you read here by the Scriptures; test the spirits (Acts 17:11; 1 John 4:1). But if you stretch your spiritual muscles it will be easier to carry the Cross Christ asks you to carry. There's a lot of spiritual muscle-building here, and it's more entertaining than a Jane Fonda workout video.

Here are some references to the concept of "spiritual exercises." For the most part the writings of Ignatius have very little to do with the "Vine & Fig Tree" agenda.

The Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius of Loyola
http://www.ccel.org/i/ignatius/exercises/exercises.html
 
CATHOLIC ENCYCLOPEDIA: Spiritual Exercises of Saint Ignatius
http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/14224b.htm
 
Pope Pius XI 20 December 1929 Promotion of Spiritual Exercises
http://www.ewtn.com/library/encyc/p11mens.htm
 
A 12-Step Approach to the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius
http://www.religionreference.com/A_12Step_Approach_to_the_Spiritual_Exercises_of_St_Ignatius_1580510086.html