Presenter: Marian Cowan, C.S.J., has taught courses on the Spiritual Exercises at Creighton University, Aquinas Institute of Theology and in the Bridges Program in St. Louis. She has mentored directors in the Exercises in St. Louis, Denver, Manresa, Spain and Indonesia. She is co-author (with John Futrell, S.J.) of Companions in Grace: A Handbook for Directors of the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius of Loyola.

When introduced to the possibility of making the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius, many persons shudder at the thought, because the only thing they know about the Exercises is that there is a strict structure to them, especially in the 30-day retreat that appears quite formidable: four or five prayer periods a day, 30 days of silence.. What they need to know is that this extended period of structured prayerfulness in their lives has an inner dynamic that is designed to open them more and more to a deepening relationship with God. During his long convalescence after a battle injury, St. Ignatius came to realize that his own conversion followed a pattern that actually could be quite universal. Testing his theory in the years that followed, he eventually formulated the Spiritual Exercises, which have endured to this day.

It is the inner dynamic of the Spiritual Exercises that we will explore in this workshop, noting the connections to the outer structure. The process will include lecture and discussion.