Spiritual Exercises Latin Text
The Spiritual Exercises of St Ignatius are an experience of prayer, meditation, reflection, self-assessment - every way of preparing and disposing the soul to rid itself of all inordinate attachments, and, after their removal, of seeking and finding the will of God in the disposition of our life for the salvation of our soul. [Sp.Ex. 1]
Master Ignatius and his first companions were giving and guiding exercises for prayer and spiritual growth for many years before a text of the Spiritual Exercises was published. The text of the Spiritual Exercises is rooted in Ignatius notes on his own and other's experiences. What they 'gave' is what had been given them by Ignatius or another of the early Jesuits such as Favre or Lainez. St. Ignatius wrote in the first paragraph of the Spiritual Exercises: For just as taking a walk, journeying on foot, and running are bodily exercises, so we call Spiritual Exercises