Spiritual Exercises and Laudato Si’
How integral ecology questions our way of giving the Exercises. The CIS Conference for guides of the Spiritual Exercise and those working within Ignatian Apostolates took place between 5 and 7 March 2021. 130 people of different ecclesial vocations, charisms and from different associations participated in this conference.
The aim of this conference was to encourage a method of reflection on the way Laudato si’ inspires us to change the experience of the Exercises in their various forms into an “integral” and “interconnected” form.
Mauro Bossi sj and Paolo Foglizzo, editors of the magazine «Aggiornamenti sociali», conducted an experiment on the use of the Encyclical as material for the Spiritual Exercises. On Friday afternoon, there was a sharing of the experience of prayer on the texts of Laudato si. This prayer experience, which consisted of a reflection on three prayer cards, was intended as a preparation for the conference in order to experience first-hand the effectiveness as well as the difficulties of this type of prayer. On Saturday morning, we worked on two exercises: the call of the king (cf. EESS nn. 91-98) and the two standards (cf. EESS nn. 136-147). In the afternoon, retreats were organized on the contemplation of beauty, which is one of the main themes of the encyclical.
This experiment, which was privileged with a communal research, gave rise to a deeper observation and a more intense listening to social and everyday reality, a greater harmony with the Church, the drive to seek new expressions and adaptations of the Spiritual Exercises to be able to give them also to non-believers and people who are searching. Positive questions have been raised about how to integrate the documents of the Magisterium into the various approaches of the Spiritual Exercises. During this conference the desire to experience integral ecology in a more conscious way emerged so that the Exercises could be given in different ways according to personal experience.
On Sunday morning there was a sharing about the strengths and weaknesses of the CIS network. It seemed to us that the Holy Spirit was asking the guides of the Ignatian exercises and those working within Ignatian apostolates, territories, associations and centres of spirituality to grow in personal and mutual responsibility for more and better coordination among themselves; to share personal and collective experiences and skills; to share the difficulties and joys of our service of accompaniment; to communicate to the people of God that we desire to be a living, contemporary, and credible cell of the Church!
