Joe Laramie - Abide in the heart of Christ : a 10-day personal retreat with St. Ignatius Loyola based on the spiritual exercises

This book provides an eminently simple and accessible yet profound way to build the habit of praying from the heart. The person of Jesus becomes so knowable and we become known to him in this mode of prayer. Any prayer group or lay formation program from high school through adulthood desiring an introduction to Ignatian spirituality and Christocentric prayer would do well to read and practice this book.

Rev. Christopher Collins, S.J.

Author of Three Moments of the Day

Fr. Laramie is your tour guide who takes you on a journey with Christ. Like a good tour guide, he leads you to a special place and then steps back and allows you to have your own experience.

Rev. Mark Thibodeaux, S.J.

Author of Reimagining the Ignatian Examen

Fr. Joe Laramies Abide in the Heart of Christ is a beautiful introduction to St. Ignatiuss Spiritual Exercises . I hope that those who long for a deeper dive into prayer will take up this accessible, user-friendly book with a pen and journal in hand in order to discover the ways that God invites us into greater life and love.

Tim Muldoon

Author of The Ignatian Workout

St. Ignatius never meant for the Exercises to be for Jesuits alonethis wisdom is meant for the whole Church. In Abide in the Heart of Christ , Fr. Joe Laramie has made the genius of Ignatius available to all Catholics.

Zac Davis

Associate editor at America Media and cohost of the podcast Jesuitical

Imprimi Potest
Very Reverend Ronald A. Mercier, Provincial
USA Central and Southern Province of the Society of Jesus

Scripture texts in this work are taken from the New American Bible, revised edition 2010, 1991, 1986, 1970 Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, Washington, DC, and are used by permission of the copyright owner. All Rights Reserved. No part of the New American Bible may be reproduced in any form without permission in writing from the copyright owner.

Excerpts from the Spiritual Exercises refer to the translation by George E. Ganss, S.J., Chestnut Hill, MA: Institute of Jesuit Sources, 1992. Used with permission from the Institute for Advanced Jesuit Studies.

____________________________________

2019 by Joseph Laramie

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever, except in the case of reprints in the context of reviews, without written permission from Ave Maria Press, Inc., P.O. Box 428, Notre Dame, IN 46556, 1-800-282-1865.

Founded in 1865, Ave Maria Press is a ministry of the United States Province of Holy Cross.

www.avemariapress.com

Paperback: ISBN-13 978-1-59471-891-5

E-book: ISBN-13 978-1-59471-892-2

Cover image of St. Ignatius of Loyola Julie Lonneman, courtesy of Trinity Stores, www.trinitystores.com , 800-699-4482.

Cover background gettyimages.com .

Cover and text design by Katherine J. Ross.

Printed and bound in the United States of America.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Names: Laramie, Joe, author.

Title: Abide in the heart of Christ : a 10-day personal retreat with St.

Ignatius Loyola based on the spiritual exercises / Joe Laramie, S.J.

Description: Notre Dame, IN : Ave Maria Press, 2019. | Includes

bibliographical references.

Identifiers: LCCN 2019016253 | ISBN 9781594718915 (pbk.)

Subjects: LCSH: Ignatius, of Loyola, Saint, 1491-1556. Exercitia spiritualia.

| Spirituality--Catholic Church. | Spiritual exercises. | Spiritual

retreats.

Classification: LCC BX2179.L8 L37 2019 | DDC 248.3--dc23

LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2019016253

Contents

Acknowledgments

Thank you to my family and friends for their encouragement and support throughout this project. Special thanks to my Jesuit brothers, superiors, spiritual directors, and mentors. Our best conversations about St. Ignatius and the spiritual life were usually over morning coffee or evening beer. I appreciate your love, prayers, and suggestions. My Jesuit and Franciscan proofreaders offered invaluable feedback.

Im also grateful to all the fine teachers who shaped me in my Catholic and Jesuit schools as well as the teachers and colleagues I worked with at Jesuit schools, parishes, and retreat centers. I admire your faithfulness, creativity, and generosity. My current and former students, retreatants, and spiritual directees inspired me by sharing their stories, prayers, joys, and sorrows. If you live or have lived in these places, thank you (you know who you are): Florissant, Missouri; St. Louis, Missouri; St. Paul, Minnesota; Chicago, Illinois; Kansas City, Missouri; Denver, Colorado; Boston, Massachusetts; Bethlehem, Connecticut; Portland, Oregon; and Belize.

Catherine Owers, editor, and the staff at Ave Maria Press were professional, wise, and faithful every step of the way. Theirs is a holy ministry.

I dedicate this book to the Sacred Heart of Jesus and the Immaculate Heart of Mary. Lord Jesus and Mother Mary, you love us very much. Unite our hearts to yours!

Ad majorem Dei gloriam.

INTRODUCTION

A Retreat with the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius

Come away by yourselves to a deserted place and rest a while.

Mark 6:31

Youre busy. I know. And you want to grow in your faith. But who has time to pray? Perhaps when you do pray, you feel distracted. Then the thought occurs to you, What am I supposed to pray about? Have I got a book for you! In fact, its the one that youre holding right now.

WHATS THIS BOOK ABOUT?

Abide in the Heart of Christ will help you to grow closer to Christ and to live more fully in his love each day. In this book, youll use the writings of St. Ignatius of Loyola as a guide to deepen your relationship with Jesus. Ignatius founded the Society of Jesus (more commonly known as the Jesuits) and helped people to deepen their faith in Europe in the 1500s. Ignatiuss Spiritual Exercises continue to help thousands of people around the globe to grow in their relationship with Christ and live their faith in the world today. Abide in the Heart of Christ is based on the Spiritual Exercises . Written at an introductory level, this book can help you strengthen your Christian life, no matter your age or experience with retreats. You do not need a theology degree to use it! All you need is a mind, a heart, and a desire to follow Christ more fully.

This book is not primarily focused on delivering information. There are many fine books with great information about Church history, understanding the Old Testament, and so on. However, this book will help in the formation of your heart according to Christ. Over the next several days, well embark on a retreat together. We wont be trying to learn a lot of facts here; rather, well seek to deepen our relationship with Christ. We will use our minds, of course: to help us know and love Christ more fully. To use an analogy, we wont be learning about geology; well be climbing a mountain. We wont be reading about flowers; well be growing a garden.

This book is written for Catholics and other Christians, but it can also assist anyone seeking deeper spiritual meaning and purpose in life.

WHAT IS A RETREAT?

A retreat is a time away with God. In the gospels, we see Jesus himself going to the desert for forty days of prayer (Mt 4:111). He also invited his disciples to take time for retreat when he said, Come away by yourselves to a deserted place and rest a while (Mk 6:31). Throughout the centuries, Christians have taken time for retreat in a variety of ways and locations: going to churches, monasteries, shrines, deserts, or retreat houses. Some retreats occur over a weekend, or over a week. Some people go on retreat in daily life, making special time for prayer amid their commitments to family, work, or school. Thats what well be doing: making a ten-day retreat in daily life.