By Andrew Tran
“What will God reveal to me,” I thought, as we crossed the border from Victoria to South Australia. On June 15th, five seminarians departed Carlton to Sevenhill Retreat Centre, embarking on the 30-Day Spiritual Exercises of St Ignatius of Loyola. For weeks, I had been anticipating this retreat – 30 days set apart, a pilgrimage into the depths of silence. The idea of spending 30 days in silence can sound quite daunting for some people, but for me, it was an opportunity – a chance to truly listen. In a world filled with so much noise – from notifications, conversations, and racing thoughts – true silence feels hard to come by. The Ignatian Exercises are designed to create that very space, guided by a spiritual director, to strip away the distractions, and allow the soul to encounter God in a deeply personal way.
The exercises themselves are structured into four ‘Weeks’, each with a distinct focus. The First Week began with us reflecting on our own lives, acknowledging and coming to terms with our sin in light of God’s boundless mercy and love. The Second Week drew us into the life of Christ. The Third Week led us to the depths of Christ’s Passion and Death. Finally, the Fourth Week culminates in the joy of the Resurrection and re-committing ourselves to His command to apostolate. Throughout these weeks, the focus was on contemplative prayer and deeply personal encounter.
Each day, we would spend four to five hours in prayer, along with Holy Mass and Holy Hour. The first few days I found myself grappling with my own internal thoughts. But as I faithfully engaged with the daily meditations, the contemplative prayers, and the guidance of my spiritual director, something began to shift. It was in this cultivated silence that God’s voice began to resonate. Not in an audible way, but in the gentle whispers of the heart, the subtle stirrings of grace, and the insights that arose from deep prayer. I found Him speaking through the Gospels and saw His presence in the movements of my affections – those spiritual states of consolation and desolation. These were moments of joy and clarity, and also moments of confronting my own imperfections. The Spiritual Exercises are not about escaping the world, but about encountering God within it. The silence has been a powerful presence – the presence of God speaking intimately, lovingly, and directly.
In a world screening for our attention, what might we discover if we spared some time each day to encounter God in the silence?
Suscipe Prayer of St Ignatius:
Receive, Lord, my entire freedom.
Accept the whole of my memory,
my intellect and my will.
Whatever I have or possess,
it was you who gave it to me.
I restore it to you in full,
and I surrender it completely
to the guidance of your will.
Give me only love of you
together with your grace,
and I am rich enough
and ask for nothing more.
Amen.
