When suggesting that new Jesuits should make the Exercises, Ignatius sees this not as a self-contained practice, but rather as part of a wider scheme involving six experiencias principales: the others being time spent in a home for the marginalized (what in the sixteenth century was called a hospital), a pilgrimage with very little money, household chores, teaching the unlettered, and normal ministry as a preacher. Of course, Ignatius’ dominant concern in this context is flexibility, but clearly these six experiences are somehow normative. and a case needs to be made for any departure from them. What, then, are experiencias principales? One of their purposes is to test the candidate; they are experiments to see if the candidate is really suitable for the way of life Ignatius envisages. But another nuance that is surely present is that of a ‘formative experience’. Like the time of retreat in which the Exercises are made, these other human situations foster in a particular way human openness to God’s touch as it deepens and specifies our discipleship. The articles which follow look at different aspects of contemporary experience which might today realise the concerns underlying Ignatius’ experiencias principales.
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