Spiritual Exercises Blog

The Apostleship of Prayer began in a Jesuit seminary in France in 1844. The spirituality of making a daily offering comes right out of the "Spiritual Exercises" of St. Ignatius, the founder of the Jesuits. In his final "exercise," he invites the one making the "Spiritual Exercises" to respond to God's tremendous love by making a total offering of him or herself. The daily offering that we promote in the Apostleship of Prayer is a way that one can renew this total offering one day at a time.

As Apostles of Prayer, however, we try to focus not only on the daily offering and our prayer for the Pope's two monthly intentions. Jesus told the first Apostles at the Last Supper: "I no longer call you slaves,... I have called you friends..." (John 15: 15). to be an Apostle is to be a friend of Jesus.

Lent, with its greater emphasis on prayer along with fasting and alms-giving, is an opportunity to set aside some quality time for our friend. The "Spiritual Exercises" can help us go deeper in our relationship with Jesus. For the second year in a row, a group of young Jesuits is putting together a blog to help people make the "Spiritual Exercises" during Lent. I invite you to make the "Spiritual Exercises Blog" a part of your Lent.