Welcome to Day 16 of the Spiritual Exercises. Todays marks the move from Week 1 (‘stage 1’) to Week 2, beginning with the Meditation on The Kingdom of Christ. While Week 1 focused more on the Principle and Foundation (our goal in life) and sin (deviating from our call, its effects, etc.). Today’s meditation serves as a new kind of Principle and Foundation for the rest of the exercises. Servant of God Fr. John Hardon says: 

“The contemplation on the Kingdom of Christ has been accurately called the heart of Ignatian spirituality. It epitomizes two ideals to which the exercitant is invited to aspire and which, if he follows, will bring him to “the pinnacle of perfection in the imitation of Christ.” The first is a willingness to go beyond mediocrity in the service of Christ, the Son of God; the second a projection of personal love into the world outside, so that other souls may also “yield a higher than ordinary service to Christ their King.””