The Preliminary Exercises

Dear friends,

How are you?

These weeks of October and early November see us embark on our Ignatian Adventure! At this time we are spending six weeks of preliminary or 'warm-up' exercises as we find our feet before the formal First Week of the Retreat.

Imagine that you were to spend time in a monastic setting for 32 interrupted days! These 32 weeks correspond to those days. We would be finding the transition in the first 6 days strange - quiet, unhurried, peaceful, restful, no gadgets, doorbells, phone calls, TVs computers or radios - or mobile phones. It would take us time to settle into this strange new electronic-free world.

But of course this Retreat In Everyday Life is somewhat different.We are in our daily routines but trying to adjust to 'being on retreat!'  There are adjustments to be made. We should be aiming higher -the time given to prayer should be stretched, and some things foregone- gently!

So it should come as no surprise that we are still having hit and miss moments when it comes to praying the Examen or finding adequate time and space to our satisfaction, or the fact that some days are better than others, or even that some days seem atrociou, or that we are tired, and can overdo things. We are learning as we go along as we find things that work and things that don't suit us. This is only to be expected.

At this stage however we may be pleasantly surprised at what is already working, and how God surprises us through increased openness and attentiveness and to the many way God speaks to us in the ordinary and in people and nature. He gives us unexpected insights already.  He is the 'God of surprises.' Praise the Lord!

Let us continue to pray for one another!

God bless
Fr John

Entering into the Exercises

Cautionary notes about the Spiritual Exercises - and prayer in general 

I quote from a Jesuit Father regarding the Spiritual Exercises 

PERHAPS, there are two ways of getting any human approach to God wrong. 

The first is to believe that it all depends on me. Unless I pray at the right time, using the correct words and adopting a suitably reverent posture, I will have no chance of entering into God’s presence. 

The other wrong path is just the opposite: to hold that it is all down to God and there is nothing special that I need to do. 

The truth of the matter is that prayer at its best, like any good conversation, requires all who participate to play their part. 

I can trust that God is wanting to do all that it takes to get in touch with me; and there is a range of tools and techniques that I can use to help foster an encounter with God.  Some of these tools and techniques are in the Spiritual Exercises 

The advantage of tools and techniques is that they can be learned, to help us dispose ourselves to meet the God who is reaching out to us. 

You are invited, as you read, to sample them, retaining and employing those you discover to be useful, and leaving aside others for another time or another person. 

None offers a guarantee of spiritual encounter; but all are worth attempting 

- Fr Paul Nicholson SJ, Editorial, The Way 

July 2018 

Weeks of Prayer One and Two

Hello to you all doing the Retreat

Just to let you know that there is a repeat of Wednesday’s program of the Ignatian Adventure Week of Prayer One looking back - and looking ahead to the Scripture reflections for Week of Prayer Two on Tuesday night October 16th at 9 pm (Irish time or GMT) on Radio Maria Ireland 🇮🇪 

After that a podcast will be available on the Radio Maria Ireland website

God bless you all

Fr John 

Listen to introductory podcast

To listen in on an introduction on how to prepare to do The Spiritual Exercises please look up the Radio Maria Ireland website radiomaria.ie then click on How to Listen and scroll down to either ‘uncategorised’ or ‘32 Ignatian Retreat’ or Click below
https://www.radiomaria.ie/32-week-ignatian-retreat-fr-john-mccarthy-radio-maria-ireland/