Before Amir Hussain became the chair of Theological Studies at LMU, he wanted to complete the Spiritual Exercises through the Center for Ignatian Spiritualty. “Part of it was deepening my own experience of prayer. I pray, but this was different from the ritual daily prayers that I do as a Muslim,” said Hussain.
“Another benefit was going back over and reading the biblical texts that were assigned, to spend time with them each week. And, I guess, the last benefit was the gratitude, the understanding of my place in the world, held in the love of God.” Hussain said he also enjoyed spending time with Randy Roche, S.J., who was his spiritual director. What Hussain completed was the 19th annotation of the Spiritual Exercises — sometimes called an Ignatian Retreat in Daily Life, which is done over about nine months.
The Center for Ignatian Spirituality provides a variety of opportunities to experience Ignatian prayer and discernment. For three years, the center has invited faculty and staff to take part in Meeting Christ in Prayer, an eight-week program of daily meditation and contemplation based upon the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius of Loyola.
Meeting Christ in Prayer asks for a daily commitment to an assigned mediation exercise. The types of exercises include reflection, consideration, imaginative prayer, review of prayer, the Examen or review of the day, and journaling. The programs also ask for participation in a weekly spiritual conversation session. Given the restrictions due to COVID-19, the weekly spiritual conversation sessions have occurred via Zoom.
Past participants have expressed gratitude in forming a spiritual community with their colleagues especially during the pandemic, listening to one another’s experiences of prayer, learning from one another, experiencing different forms of prayer, and finding God in their daily life. Many participants have found the program a helpful renewal process during the seasons of Lent and Easter. But Ignatian prayer is not just for Christians, and persons of all faith wishing to go deeper in prayer are invited to participate in the program.
Hussain said he would recommend some form of the Spiritual Exercises to all faculty and staff. “It was a great opportunity to deepen my own understanding and compassion,” said Hussain. “It’s an opportunity to set time aside each day to do work. We might do that with physical exercise and see the benefits that come with daily physical training. This is daily training for the soul, as well as the body.”
The orientation sessions for Meeting Christ in Prayer will happen the week of March 7-11, 2022. For more information, visit here or contact Wayne Negrete, S.J., at Wayne.Negrete@lmu.edu or 310).568.6170.