[easyazon-image align=”none” asin=”1594713782″ locale=”us” height=”333″ src=”http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51bVRavvv2L.jpg” width=”222″ alt=”Michael Hansen” ]A Deeper Spiritual Practice
A Feature Review of
The First Spiritual Exercises: Four Guided Retreats
Fr. Michael Hansen, S.J
Paperback: Ave Maria Press, 2013
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Reviewed by Kimberly Roth.
Sitting at lunch with my dad, I excitedly described a book I was reviewing. He listened patiently, trying with all his might to hide the bit of skepticism behind his eyes, as his emergent daughter rambled on about this book that made the Ignatian First Spiritual Exercises accessible as an at-home guided retreat. Attempting desperately to avoid making it sound individualistic or isolationist, and hoping to keep the conversation focused on the merits of the book, I grabbed my smart phone to search for the name of the author which eluded me in the moment: Michael Hansen, S.J.
“Oh,” my father perked up, and the twitch in the corner of his eye weakened, “so he’s a Jesuit?”
Note to self: always lead with the author’s credentials. Clearly my very Catholic father feared this book was a watered down version of an ancient spiritual practice to make free-form Protestants feel like they were doing something liturgical.
I first became aware of and interested in the Ignatian Exercises on a silent prayer retreat. I had participated in some different forms of silent and listening prayer, as well as sessions of spiritual direction. On this particular retreat, we were given the Ignatian prayer of Examen to practice each evening before we retired to sleep. I fell in love with the deep spiritual work that could come from what appeared to be such a simple practice. I later discovered that the Retreat in Daily Life was being offered at a local monastery, but the 2 ½ hour drive (each way) made the 30 week commitment a daunting task.
In The First Spiritual Exercises, Fr. Michael Hansen, S.J. adapts the four guided retreats of Ignatius of Loyola’s first Spiritual Exercises into an accessible format, while keeping true to the heart of the exercises. “The First Spiritual Exercises were intended from the beginning to serve three needs: to give me the retreat I desire now, to provide me with spiritual exercises I can use for the rest of my life, and to teach me these exercises so that I may teach others. This is very different from the Full Spiritual Exercises, which are usually made once in a lifetime for one purpose. Indeed, I may make the First Spiritual Exercises as many times as I wish.”
The retreats in this book, and exercises practiced within, are intended to be stepping stones of a daily practice of grace. All together, the actual steps of the four retreats make up only about half of the book. The other half is devoted to introducing the Spiritual Exercises, pursuing spiritual progress, and guides to everything from different forms of prayer, to spiritual conversations, to listening and discernment. It is this half of the book that makes The First Spiritual Exercises such a dynamic and rich resource.
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Thanks. It does sound inviting. It reminds me of 2 other guides to the Spiritual Exercises written by Protestant Evangelicals.