The Ignatian Journey Cohort will be offered this Fall 2023 at The Springs in Indiana. This group will be specifically for Spiritual Directors and spiritual formation leaders who are committed to taking a 32-week journey in community through The Ignatian Journey: A Contemporary Approach to the Spiritual Exercises. Each week of material will lead through the themes of the Exercises as they are presented in The Ignatian Adventure: Experiencing the Spiritual Exercises of Saint Ignatius in Daily Life by Kevin O’Brien, SJ. Taking into account different learning styles and spiritual pathways, The Ignatian Journey offers additional weekly content including prayers and poems, reading, teaching, videos, and art that has been specifically curated to enhance the experience of the Exercises. The weekly content will be available online as well as in a 6-volume hard copy that will be included in the cost of the cohort.
In the Introduction to The Ignatian Adventure, Kevin O'Brien says,
“The purpose of the Exercises is very practical: to grow in union with God, who frees us to make good decisions about our lives and to ‘help souls.’ Ignatius invites us into an intimate encounter with God, revealed in Jesus Christ, so that we can learn to think and act more like Christ. The Exercises help us grow in interior freedom from sin and disordered loves so that we can respond more generously to God’s call in our life (SE 2, 21). The Exercises demand much of us, engaging our intellect and emotions, our memory and will. Making the Exercises can be both exhilarating and exhausting; it’s no wonder that Ignatius compared making the Spiritual Exercises to doing physical exercise, such as ‘taking a walk, traveling on foot, and running.’ (SE 1)”
sample of Weekly Content
The 9-month cohort experience will consist of 4 retreats which will meet on the following dates:
October 9-11, 2023 January 29-January 31, 2024 April 22-24, 2024 August 5-7, 2024
Location The Springs Indiana 8173 Davison Road Oldenburg, IN 47036
https://www.thespringsindiana.org/
Click here for directions.
Each retreat begins on Monday at 5:00pm and ends on Wednesday at 12:00pm. Cabin reservations at The Springs have already been confirmed for Monday and Tuesday nights for each retreat.
The retreats will be led by Lori Shoults and Sibyl Towner.
Required Books (included in cost)
The Ignatian Adventure: Experiencing the Spiritual Exercises of Saint Ignatius in Daily Life by Kevin O'Brien, SJ
Putting on the Heart of Christ: How the Spiritual Exercises Invite Us into a Virtuous Life by Gerald M. Fagin, SJ
The Selfless Way of Christ: Downward Mobility and the Spiritual Life by Henri Nouwen
The cost for the Cohort is in three parts:
Program Cost: $1800 which includes the required books, online access to the Ignatian Journey course, and a 6-volume hard copy of the weekly content (a $400 value). A $400 non-refundable deposit is required to hold your space. You may pay the entire cost in full, or the remaining balance of $1400 in 4 equal payments of $350, due September 1, November 1, January 1, and March 1.
Housing Cost: Individual donations are made at each retreat using the supplied envelopes in the cabin making checks payable to The Springs Inc. If you prefer to make your donation online, you may do so by following directions on our website: General Donations. We are grateful for your support of the ministry here at The Springs while you are here.
Meal Cost: Each small group will provide and prepare meals for one retreat which includes one lunch and one dinner.
According to Gerald M. Fagin in Putting on the Heart of Christ, Ignatius wrote about what he hoped people would derive from these experiences.
“He hopes people will grow in knowledge, but not just head knowledge. He was more interested in felt knowledge or interior knowledge - the intimate understanding of a truth. It is the difference between knowing about Jesus and knowing Jesus, between knowing in our heads that God loves us and experiencing that love in our hearts. This kind of knowledge touches the heart and motivates us to act in an entirely new way. Ignatius is looking for an intimate interior felt knowledge. ‘For what fills and satisfies the soul consists, not in knowing much, but in our understanding the realities profoundly and in savoring them interiorly.’ (Sp. Ex. 2)”
We are in prayer for you already as you consider joining us for this exciting, unpredictable, challenging and perhaps life-changing adventure.
Limit of 12. Click below to reserve your spot.