Conference – Making Resolutions in 5 Day Exercises

Introduction:

You cannot consider the death of Christ without considering His Resurrection. In these Spiritual Exercises, we have made an adaptation. The retreat in its original form is 30 days. In this retreat, there is not time to thoroughly consider the mysteries of Christ’s life. Even if we had an entire month though, it is not like we can exhaust the mysteries in the Life of Christ since they are infinite.

In this conference, I will consider some parts of the 3rd and 4th week; and how to draw profit. 

The Goal of the 3rd Week:

To share something with Christ. The Apostles who first enjoyed the company of Christ and later shared with him the sacrifice and labor. The 3rd Week is attentive to accompanying Christ and supporting Him when others abandon Him. 

The Grace to Request in the 3rd Week: To ask for sorrow, compassion, and shame because the Lord is going to His suffering for my sins.

It is more ideal if the 3rd Week lasts over several days or even a week. Here are some reasons why:

• To Meditation at different moments in the day: Sometimes it is easier to gain the desired fruit at certain moments of the day (morning, midday, or evening).
• Repeating a meditation: It is helpful to do the same meditation in repetition; repeating meditations usually confirms previous insights and helps a person gain new ones.
• Employing & Making us of Emotions: In the additional advices that Ignatius gives for the 3rd week of the Exercises: As soon as I awake, I will make an effort while rising and dressing to be sad and grieve because of the great sorrow and suffering of Christ our Lord…I will make effort to not bring up leasing thoughts, even though they may be good and holy, for example, of the Resurrection and the glory of heaven. Rather I will rouse myself to sorrow, suffering, and anguish by calling to mind throughout the day the labors, fatigue, and suffering which Christ endured. These moments of employing the emotions over an extended period of time (several days) normally allow a person to enter more fully into the mysteries of week 3.
• The Opportunity to Sacrifice by Fasting or other means: Ignatius says that these sacrifices help a person obtain the graces they are requesting to receive [87].
• Doing an Examination of Conscience over a period of time: In the third week, one examines how well they have kept the goal of sharing Christ’s sorrow. A spirit of grief with Christ grieving, keeping the flesh mortified. It is better to have at least several days for doing this.

These things help a person experience something with Christ, which is much different than considering Him theoretically or academically. The general purpose of the Spiritual Exercises is [21]: the conquest of self and regulation of one’s life in such a way that no decision is made under the influence of any inordinate attachment.

The Grace Requested in the 4th Week:

To be glad and rejoice intensely with Christ [221].

Using the Emotions:

Making use of the emotions, examining self on whether the fruit proper to the week is being gained. As soon as I awake, I will place before my mind the contemplation I am to enter upon, and then to strive to feel joy and happiness at the great joy and happiness of Christ our Lord…I will call to mind and think on what causes pleasure, happiness, and spiritual joy, for instance, the glory of heaven [229].

It is ideal to have several days for the 4th week. Here one desires to experience some of the spiritual joy that resulted from Christ’s Passion & Resurrection. During these days, a person must still exert themselves. The efforts are for finding supernatural joy which are longer-lasting and more valuable that sensible joys of earthly enjoyments. Spiritual joys are very valuable and are related to graces received in previous weeks of the Exercises.

How to treat your Exercises after departing this retreat:

Ignatius tells those on the Spiritual Exercises to resist the temptation to think ahead. He advises retreatants to stay in the subject matter of the current week, thinking only about the current topics.

Here, we are considering some aspects of the 3rd and 4th week because this retreat had limited time — and could not dedicate sufficient time for all the topics. It is most important to form a solid foundation in the Principle & Foundation and in Week One. Later, even during the midst of daily living, you can gain many of the fruits of the later weeks. 

Nearing the end of these Exercises, reconsider the statement: There is no Resurrection without the Passion and there is no Passion without the Resurrection. With this in mind, the method of the Spiritual Exercises might be infused in the way you think and operate in the midst of daily activities.

The Exercises considered in their entirety — one week leads to another. Joy comes from sharing a part of Christ’s struggle. Friendship with Christ is proved in commitments made. Supernatural Joy results from the considerations and efforts put forth in the Principle & Foundation, Week 1, Week 2, and Week 3.

It is very commendable to persevere through 5 days of the Exercises. It is a true reason to rejoice and to give thanks! This is much more than rejoicing after a difficult thing has been accomplished (5 days of silence and effort). The greater reasons for happiness are that one has found new insights to Christ and has chosen to follow after Him.

Making decisions:

The Exercises should lead to decisions and commitment. A fruitful retreat is seen above all in resolutions lived out. These are signs of a good retreat. The will of God is concrete and specific for each individual. In general, He desires– holy families, vocations to religious life, Catholics in the workforce — but specifically, He calls individuals to concrete and specific actions and commitments.

Certain decisions made in the retreat are quick and influence the rest of our lives. Others, may become clear over time, but have been greatly aided by things learned or experienced in the retreat.

Should I go to college? Should I relocate? Should I stop something, I am doing. Should I begin something I have never done?

As seen previously, holy indifference is an essential element to making good decisions. Even if someone does a 30 day Spiritual Exercises, if he does not have indifference, he cannot make good decisions or resolutions. One may spend an entire lifetime in indecision, simply because he or she is not docile. The Exercises help acquire these essential disposition which makes life more enjoyable and peaceful.

Three types of decisions: Remaining in Grace, State of Life, Perfecting my State of Life

1. Remaining in the Sanctifying Grace: This is the most fundamental. If I am continually falling in and out of sanctifying grace, this must be what I make decisions about. God will probably speak about resolutions or commitments for avoiding mortal sin. In this situation, continue to consider and ask God to give clarity.
2. Decisions about a State of Life: For those not committed to a vocation, it is likely that God will propose a State of Life as the primary thing in the Retreat. One should strive for docility. For most people, God attracts them to the broader commitments of life — a State of Life, and over time sanctifies them within the context of it. For those already committed to a State of Life, God will be leading them to decisions on how to perfect the commitments already made. Ignatius says the following about making decisions and commitments:

In every good choice, as far as it depends on me, my intention must be simple. I must consider only the end for which I am created, that is, for the praise of God and our Lord and for the salvation of my soul. Hence, whatever I choose must help me to this end for which I am created.

I must not subject and fit the end to the means, but the means to the end. Many first choose marriage, which is the means, and secondarily they choose to serve God. In a similar manner, others choose to have benefits, and after obtaining them, to serve God through them. But such persons do not go directly to God, but want God to conform wholly to their inordinate attachments. Consequently, they make the end a means, and of the means an end. As a result, what they ought to seek first, they seek last.

Therefore, my first aim should be to seek to serve God, which is the end, and only after that, to decide other things…[69]

…There are things that fall under an unchangeable choice, such as the priesthood, marriage, etc. There are other matters which our choice may be changed, for example to accept something or relinquish something.

With regard to those choices that cannot be changed …, for instance, by marriage or the priesthood, etc., since it cannot be undone, no further choice is possible. If the choice was not made as it should have been…one should (be sorry)..take care to live well in the life he or she has chosen. This would take humility to acknowledge a poor or imprudent choice, but it would in itself be meritorious and unlock many graces for the person going forward, by honoring the commitment for God’s glory. [170]

3. Decisions that perfect my current State: The Reform of Life. For someone committed to a state of life (vocation), the decisions that make up the Reform of Life are important because in them a person is sanctified or not. One is to see, by holy indifference, what is God’s will for them, concretely. At this point in life, what is God’s will for them? Does he want them to take up a new commitment? Is he leading them to stop an activity or acquire a virtue? It takes courage and trust to honestly ask God about these things and to commit to them.

Confidence in Decision Well-Discerned:

[173] …if one has made a choice well, without yielding to the worldly incentives, there seems no reason why he should make it over again. Let him perfect himself according to the decision made.

Ignatius took the same advice for himself: at the beginning of his conversion, after spending a night in prayer and led by God’s will, he made a decision and was determined in this decision unless God clearly led him elsewhere. Ignatius got up from his prayer, left his sword and knife at the altar, went out and gave away all his fine clothes.

We have gone through the great effort of the Exercises — doing our part to work for holy indifference and to make good resolutions. Be confident in resolutions made after honestly seeking God’s approval. If God has led you to make the decision, there is not need to circle around many times to make sure it is still His will. God is simple and works simply. The thing that complicates matters is man’s emotions or attachments.

Conclusion:

Consider what is happening in the Spiritual Exercises, especially the Principal & Foundation and Week One. Discovering the purpose for which I have been made and acknowledging the reality of sin as an offense to God. These are foundations. Only after such foundations can one understand the coming of Christ, His sufferings, and the joy of His victory.

Decisions and Commitments must be founded on these points and they are to be the fruitful sign of someone who desires to share all things with Christ. Trusting in honest effort, but also in the power of grace, one finds joy in commitments.