SPIRITUAL EXERCISES

Dear Friends: An interview I had with Fr Gerry W Hughes SJ of the British Province. He is a well known writer and director of Spiritual Exercises. He lives in Edinburgh. I did this interview for Jivan. As I sent it to the Editor of Jivan, I thought of sharing this with you too. Take care. Pray for me. I assure my prayers for you.

VICTOR EDWIN SJ

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You have been offering Spiritual Exercises to many who seek God's will. What aspects of the Exercises attract exercitants in using it as a tool in discerning God's will for their lives?

I have worked mostly on the individually-given retreat and my answers are in that context. Annotation 2 strictly observed is what the majority find most helpful i.e. the Exercises given in such a way that the pilgrim can discover for h'self. In this way pilgrims are not burdened with instructions, exhortations, advice from the retreat-giver. The less the retreat-giver interferes, the more profitable it is for the retreatant! Religious difference and skepticism seem to mark the life of many people in the West. How do Exercises help people to come closer to God? In Augustine's words Deus intimior intimo meo' 'God is closer to me that I am to myself'! The retreat-giver can never have enough practice in listening and so enabling the pilgrim to recognise more clearly what God is communicating. How do you use Spiritual Exercises at the service of building up ecumenical relations in the UK?

I never use the Exercises in order to build up ecumenical relations, but I do try to ensure that all the retreats I give are open to people of all Christian denominations and none. Then God does the ecumenical work. It is astonishing. I have learned so much from pilgrims of other Christian/religious traditions about God, about the power of the Spiritual Exercises. And through making a silent retreat together, praying together in silence, people across the denominations find unity.

Can the Exercises have the space for relating with people of other faiths? Jerome Nadal, asked in the 16th. century, for whom these Exercises are suited, answered 'For Catholics, for Protestants and for Pagans' I have done much of this kind of work and every experience has confirmed the truth of Nadal's works, I have also worked much with other Christian denominations in giving retreats and in training others, across the denominations, to give these retreats.

What would you suggest for promoting Exercises as an apostolic tool in increasingly post Christian cultures?

Start doing it. There is an ancient rabbinic saying, 'Do, and you will understand'. To which one might add 'Fail to do and you will never understand'.

You are a celebrated writer with several titles at your credit. How your writing and the ministry of Exercises mutually help each other? Giving the Exercises individually, provided one reflects on the work and has good supervision, brings growth in the knowledge of God and of oneself. One becomes more aware of one's own inner resistances to the promptings of God.

How the laity could be involved in carrying forward the legacy of Exercises in the West?

This is a most important question. Unless the laity are involved, there will be no promotion of the Exercises. There is a wealth of spirituality among 'ordinary people' across the denominations and outside them. I have encountered this fact continually in the last thirty years. Spirituality is usually presented in religious terminology and language which fails to address peoples' deepest longings, so most people are not aware of their own spiritual gifts. If they do become aware of them, they are usually unable to find training/openings into this kind of work, unless they are relatively wealthy and have plenty of free time. I know it is possible to involve the laity and train them in passing on the Exercises to others, and to do it at little or no expense and to organise training (non-residential) which does not interfere with working hours. I have seen it happen frequently. I know many gifted spiritual directors/retreat-givers who have developed their gifts in this way at little or no financial cost and in spite of living busy lives. This way of working is very hard work, requires much thought, reflection, prayer and cooperation. The harvest is great: the labourers are remarkably few! Sorry to end on such a note, but if we are to do anything effective in promoting the Spiritual Exercises, we need to begin by facing the facts. Yes, great work has been done on promoting the Spiritual Exercises in UK since the 2nd Vatican Council, through promotion of the individually-given retreat, but as far as SJs are concerned, it tends to be work with the wealthier and more leisurely sections of the population. This is not a popular message. But facts speak louder than words!

-- In Him

Victor Edwin SJ Manresa House 10 Albert Road Harborne Birmingham B17 0AN United Kingdom victoredwinsj@gmail.com JVE871@bham.ac.uk

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vmalpan@gmail.com