19th Annotation

Ignation Spirituality

The Spiritual Exercises in daily life ('19th-annotation' retreats)

The Spiritual Exercises of Ignatius can be made over a long period, with a commitment to regular meetings, perhaps weekly or fortnightly, with a guide (who may live at some distance). This arrangement is often called a 19th-annotation retreat, in reference to Ignatius' note about this way of making the Exercises. The retreat may be spread over nine months or a year, or even longer. As with other Ignatian retreats, this form entails a commitment to daily personal prayer and to keeping a journal, which aids reflection and which can be reviewed before meetings with the guide.

A 19th-annotation retreat is a considerable undertaking, so it is important to have experience of Ignatian spirituality and of ongoing spiritual accompaniment before embarking upon it. It may be possible to arrange an exploratory period of such guidance before commitment to the Exercises as a whole.