By Nicholas Wansbutter, Esq.
...in the Retreat of Manresa, St. Ignatius learned from the Mother of God herself how he should fight the combats of Our Lord. It was as from her hands that he received this code so perfect, and in all truth we can so call it, of which every soldier of Jesus Christ ought to make use. We are speaking of the the Spiritual Exercises, which according to tradition, were given from Heaven to Saint Ignatius. Not that we should not esteem other spiritual exercises, but that in those organized according to the Ignatian method, everything is disposed with such wisdom, everything is so well coordinated that, if man does not oppose Divine Grace, they renew him completely and render him fully submitted to Divine Authority.
Pope Pius XI, Meditantibus Nobis, 3 December, 1922
1533: St. Ignatius of Loyola recieves the Spiritual Exercises directly from the hand of the Blessed Virgin Mary in the cave at Manressa
On Monday, I will embark on a five day retreat preached by a priest of the Society of St. Pius X according to the Ignatian method. This will be the first time for me to attend a retreat according to the exercises as St. Ignatius recieved them, rather than the bastardized, modernized, new-agey versions that I experienced attending first a Jesuit high school then college in my younger years.
The original spiritual exercises, in their complete form, are preached over a period of thirty days. However, due to the demands of the new wage-slave masters of the Industrial Revolution, God raised up Fr. Francis de Paule Vallet (1883-1947) who condensed this into a 5 day retreat. The retreat according to Fr. Vallet was preserved through the changes of Vatican II by Fr. Ludovic Marie Barrielle who held firm to the traditional format because of Fr. Vallet's wise injunction that nothing must be changed or else all the fruit would be lost. Fr. Barrielle volunteered his services to Abp. Lefebvre in the 1970s and since that time Ignatian retreats have been a mainstay in S.S.P.X seminaries and priories throughout the world.
A retreat, of course, is not meant as in a surrender but a withdrawal from the world and secular things in order to focus on the supernatural. Such retreats consist of a series of spiritual conferences, structured meditations and an opportunity to make a General Confession. Silence is kept throughout the Retreat. It is highly recommended by most traditional priests that Catholics attend a retreat at least once a year.
I realise that a retreat every year could be very difficult, especially for married people with many children. However, I agree with Mr. Stephen Heiner who maintained that there is no excuse for a married man to attend such a retreat any less than once every five years.
Of course, all people who possess a desire to save their souls and to do something more for Christ should attend such retreats, but I would argue that husbands, fathers, and heads of households have a special duty to attend these retreats for their own perfection. We husbands and fathers are the leaders of our homes and we must set the example. Pope Pius XI said that "all soldiers of Christ ought to make use" of the Spiritual Exercises -- how much more important for the officers and generals to make use of this powerful tool? And not a one of us is so strong on his own to live up to his full potential without these retreats. They are for the lukewarm or the man who finds his religious duties becoming mere routine. For the man mired in sin that needs to find a way out. For the recent tradvert who wants to learn more about living the a good Christian life in today's madness. For the man trying to discern his vocation or to gain the graces and tools to be successful in the vocation he's already embarked upon. For the person who simply wants to become more fervent. For anyone aspiring to sainthood. If we are serious about bringing counter-revolution to the world, we must first bring it to ourselves and retreats are as key to this as boot camp is to soldiers.
And no, there is really no excuse. Even wage slaves get two or more weeks of vacation per year and the retreats are reasonably priced ($225 for 5 days all-inclusive). If you are serious about the eternal salvation of your own soul and that of those under your authority, you will find the time. Most S.S.P.X priories offer these retreats every year, in addition to those at their retreat houses in Ridgefield, Connecticut; Los Gatos, California; Phoenix, Arizona; Mission, British Columbia; and Shawinigan, Quebec (see http://www.sspx.org/retreats.htm and http://www.sspx.ca/retreat_houses.htm) just to name the North American locations. And the S.S.P.X are far from the only ones who offer Ignatian retreats and many more could be found with a little digging.
As for myself, I shall be totally cut-off from the world starting on Monday so you won't see any posts from me until early March. My apologies to anyone who sends correspondence to me during that time; I shall answer as quickly as I can upon my return.
Posted on the Feast of St. Peter’s Chair at Antioch, a.D. MMVIII
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