The Spiritual Exercises of Ignatius Loyola are now available even to those with a modern, busy lifestyle.

 The Spiritual Exercises are a compilation of meditations, prayers and contemplative practices developed by Ignatius Loyola. The 18th Annotation Spiritual Exercises, which use an abridged version of the exercises, are being held for Loyola faculty and staff.

While the ordinary exercises last four weeks, the 18th Annotation Exercises last eight, giving people more time to practice them. The commencement meeting will be held Monday, Jan. 23, while the closing meeting will be held on March 30.

The exercises mainly take place during an hour of daily prayer and are guided by the instruction of a spiritual director. Loyola last held such a retreat, using the 19th Annotation Exercises, in the 2007-2008 school year. It was directed by the Rev. Jim Bradley, S.J.

The most intense way to perform these exercises is in a 30-day retreat, which is to be spent in solitude and silence. More common in recent years have been the 18th and 19th Annotations of Spiritual Exercises, which devote short segments to the exercises over longer periods of time.

Faelynn Carroll contributed to this report. She can be reached at

[email protected]. Daniel Quick can be reached at [email protected]