THE SPIRITUAL EXERCISES OF ST IGNATIUS LOYOLA outlines the Church s classic means of orienting one s soul toward God and eternal salvation And this is probably the best edition of the book available anywhere because it is a self taught version i e it does not require a retreat master Explained step by step for independent use this book enables a person to make a retreat on his own THE SPIRITUAL EXERCISES cover a period of four weeks but they can be shortened They are designed to make a person stop to examine the direction of of his life and seriously to redirect himself toward Heaven and away from Hell These meditations are intended to engage much more than the mind St Ignatius emphasizes that THE SPIRITUAL EXERCISES are intended to result in firm decisions of the will that are to be carried out for the rest of one s life This is a book which inspires the reader to make a new and holy beginning to his life no matter where he is at and no matter ho