19th Annotation

Getting away for a 30-day prayer retreat and spending time on the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius may seem blissful, yet impossible. 

The kids, the job …  just too much to do.

But even in today’s busy world, there’s still a way to make the commitment and find peace through the 19th Annotation.

Even in the 16th century, St. Ignatius recognized not everyone can take a month away for prayer and meditation. So as an endnote to his journal of exercises (#19), he offered a method for taking them as a “retreat in everyday life.” 

This all may sound good but who is the 19th Annotation meant for? Anyone, from teen to busy mom, career-focused people and even retirees (retirees often have their own “booked calendar” bustling with grandchildren, volunteer work, all those things they have been asked to do because it’s  assumed “they have nothing else to do”).

The exercises are extended through several months, and retreatants do weekly prayer practices, readings and meditations. They are not an adaptation, but the full exercises. 

This allows people to incorporate the exercises while keeping their commitments to daily life. 

There’s still discipline involved. People should expect to devote 45 minutes or more each day to it.

For this gradual retreat, a path can be forged through technology, as the exercises are also offered online. Through gatherings with small groups during the course of the retreat, people also have the benefit of developing new, or deepening relationships with others, either from within their own church parishes or beyond.

Through the daily spiritual discipline, people can still find answers to their deepest questions.

The 19th Annotation has been especially helpful for people considering a transition or discerning a major life decision, such as accepting a call into ministry, getting married or just listening for “what’s next.” But it is not necessary to have a question in mind to benefit from them.

And even though people are not physically present at a retreat center, some find the 19th Annotation refreshing and want to go deeper. It’s not uncommon for some retreatants to go a little longer than they might just “by the book.”

So pack the kids’ lunches and send them off or bring them to school (and smile in the carpool lane), give that “hitting it out of the ballpark” presentation in the boardroom, take care of the “must do” items on your checklist and keep your commitment to that volunteer project. But don’t leave behind St. Ignatius! 

And relax as he travels with you through the “craziness” called daily life and helps you get a new divinely inspired viewpoint on it all!