SE Introduction: Session One

Come in! Come in! And know me better, man! The Ghost of Christmas Present, The Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens

Over the next eight months (3 readings per week), you and I will be working our way through the Spiritual Exercises of Saint Ignatius. As you read my entries, I highly suggest that you also pick up a copy of the excellent guidebook, The Ignatian Adventure by Kevin O’Brien. We will be using this book as our main source of scriptural references along the way, so having that book with you as we go will prove to be very helpful indeed.

Over the next three weeks (sessions I-1 through I-9), I will give you a basic overview of the Spiritual Exercises and why, in fact, they have been so helpful for me in my recent trek with the Master. Then, we will delve right into the Exercises, offering thirty-two weeks of scriptural study, with commentary and prayer along the way. Some of you might be very familiar with St. Ignatius and his ancient guidebook for Christ-followers, but I’m sure there are many others, who like me until recently, are very unaware of this valuable material. My hope is that our blogging journey through the Exercises will be a helpful tool of remembrance for those who’ve experienced the journey while serving as a simple primer for those who haven’t.

I find it interesting that our little blog “As I See It” has now evolved from being a personal journal for myself, and now is being read by a sizeable audience who seem to enjoy (for the most part!) my musings on a variety of texts. We started this blog back in January of 2010.

At the time, I was in the midst of one of the most difficult seasons I’ve ever experienced in pastoral ministry and I simply needed a place where I could establish a daily discipline of writing; a place where I could go with my thoughts and prayers, a place where both me and some of my parishioners could easily find and dialogue with one another as we journeyed our steep pathway toward God.

My hope is that as we blog together through the Spiritual Exercises of Ignatius, you and will truly allow God’s Spirit to draw us ever closer to the Master, Jesus of Nazareth. For it is in Him and through Him we find life that is truly worth living.

So, enough for today.

Next time, I’m going to begin by giving you just a bit of my personal story so that you’ll have a better understanding how I got to the place where the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius were placed before me. Hopefully by me telling my story, you just might find a bit of your story in mine as well. And if it helps us all turn our hearts and minds closer to Jesus of Nazareth, than it’s worth the time and effort indeed.

My prayer: Father, thank You for being with me in the midst of my journey with Your precious Son, Jesus Christ. Holy Spirit, thank You for being my guide along the way. May I never be found wandering the streets on my own, but always be found in company with both You and other men and women of God who are journeying with You as well. For Your name’s sake. Amen.

My questions to ponder: As I begin this new adventure, where has God taken me of late? What ground has been covered in recent months? What have I learned? What still remains unclear? And finally, what new adventures might await me in this new year as Jesus continues walking with me on this pathway we call life?

So what is God speaking to you today as we ponder together The Ignatian Adventure?

Over an eight month period, you and I will be working our way through the Spiritual Exercises of Saint Ignatius. For more information on our journey and how to begin…click here!

To go onto the next journal entry…click here.