Ignation Spirituality: Finding God in All Things
Before he was to be founder of the Jesuits, St. Ignatius of
Loyola was a war-wounded soldier. The year 1521 found him recovering from
grave injuries suffered during the battle of Pamplona. Those many months of
convalescence proved to be a journey of healing, not just for his body, but
also his soul. Ignatius documented his conversion experience in the
"Spiritual Exercises." They would become the foundations of Ignatian
spirituality.
This spirituality is deeply rooted in becoming more aware
of what is happening in your daily experience – finding God in all things.
You can then begin to discern where the spirits of light or darkness may
be trying to lead you. We become more aware of God’s presence in our lives
and more attentive to His desire’s rather than our own.
St. Ignatius had mystical experiences that gave him an
understanding of the importance of the Trinity–Three Persons in One
God–Father, Son and Spirit. He was also committed to laboring with Jesus
Christ carrying the Cross. Ignatius understood that God is an active God,
ever at work in people’s lives. We are called to be attentive to this
active God and promptly respond.
Ignatius found that what attracted and fascinated him,
filled his imagination with hope and motivated him, often came from God.
He learned that God encounters us in these affections, in powerful emotions
that move us to act. We need to be truly free to discern among the various
spirits that move us. Ignatius referred to them in terms of "consolation
and desolation." When we learn to properly interpret them we have a sure
way to distinguish between good and evil spirits and opt for life and not
death.
God thus encounters us interiorly and beckons us to fall
in love with and follow him by contemplating the Gospel, entering deeply
into the mystery of Jesus Christ. The habit of daily prayer is the key
for this ongoing process. We are called to follow Christ as disciples,
thus integrating our life through loving service of others, especially
the poor and marginal. And we live Christ’s values in the Church, in
Christian community.
We integrate our lives into our community by faithfully
responding to God’s creative generosity. We gratefully love in return
showing it "more in deeds than in words." Ignatian spirituality stresses
that the marvelous gift of "finding God in all things" is possible for all.
We become contemplatives in action united with God in ordinary activities
and not just in special moments of prayer. Ignatian spirituality breaks
down the barriers between the sacred and the secular, and so it is
specially suited to the laity, to men and women who seek to make sense out
of their busy lives.
Loyola
Inspired by the gospel of Jesus Christ, rooted in the spirituality of St. Ignatius, Loyola House of Retreats provides a sacred setting for retreats and programs of growth and development for people in the contemporary Church and society.
Loyola House of Retreats is staffed by Jesuit priests and religious women and is located on 30 acres of beautiful lawns, gardens and woodland in a quiet section of Morristown, New Jersey. It is in this peaceful atmosphere that thousands of retreatants have paused to search, ask and wonder since 1927. All are invited to come here to do the same - to sense God’s presence in a fresh and contemplative way.
Mission
Loyola House of Retreats is inspired by the person and Good News
of Jesus Christ in the tradition of the Spiritual Exercises of St.
Ignatius Loyola. The Jesuit and lay staff is committed to providing
spiritual retreats and spiritual support to laity, clergy and
religious in a contemplative atmosphere. We desire to foster growth
in the Gospel freedom and spiritual fire necessary for the
modern day apostle.
The Many Ways to Help Loyola House of Retreats
There are a number of ways -- large and small -- that you can support the mission of Loyola House of Retreats and its ministry. While outright gifts are most immediately helpful to Loyola, donors may make a contribution in a variety of ways. Many of these offer substantial tax, estate planning, and other financial benefits. As a result, donors may enhance financial security for themselves and their families, while also making a substantial commitment to strengthening the future of Loyola. The following lists some of the various ways you may be able to contribute.
If you itemize on your tax returns, your gift to the Jesuits will allow you to receive a full charitable income tax deduction.
Outside of financial contributions, there are many special projects that benefit Loyola. An examples of a current projects is the restoration of the stations of the cross. Please contact Loyola for areas of special need.
Generations To Come Endowment
Since 1927 Loyola House of Retreats has provided a place of silence, peace and contemplation for those who wish to come apart from the busyness and noise of life to listen intently for how God is moving in their lives. To continue our mission for generations to come a $4 million campaign is underway. Please join us! Click to download Generations to Come pdf.
If you itemize on your tax returns, your gift to the Jesuits will allow you to receive a full charitable income tax deduction.
Matching Gifts
If your employer will match your gifts and you complete the necessary forms, you will benefit Loyola and those they serve two-fold. Contact your personnel office for details or call the Loyola Development Office for more assistance.
Outside of financial contributions, there are many special projects that benefit Loyola. An examples of a current projects is the restoration of the stations of the cross. Please contact Loyola for areas of special need.
Remember Loyola in Your Will
As you provide for your loved ones in your will, you may also wish to leave an additional amount for your charitable interests. You may name a specific amount, a percentage of your estate, or "what’s left" (the remainder or residual). Because bequests are exempt from federal and state inheritance taxes, and subject to an unlimited deduction, you may find that a commitment through your will - combined with an outright pledge - may allow you to contribute more significantly to Loyola than you thought possible.
Our Retreats
Loyola House of Retreats provides a refuge to feed today’s spiritual
hungers by enabling people to discover God’s life within them through
contemplative silent retreats. People come looking for answers and
solutions and leave with insight and enthusiasm. They return home with
a renewed sense of peace and are empowered to act on the call of Jesus
Christ to communicate and share that life with others.
In silence and solitude, in conversation and discussions, let the hours
of this experience at the Jesuit Retreat House heighten your awareness
of His presence. Let this be a journey of the soul. Nourish your hunger
for growth as a person.
Think of your experience at Loyola House of Retreats as a gift to yourself.
Capture the sense of your own place as a child of God called to goodness,
filled with hope, and rich in love. Live with confidence in a time of
restlessness.
Have you taken enough time to care for yourself?
Newsletters
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Media Gallery
Permanent Retreat Directors
A New Jersey native, Fr. Bill Rakowicz, S.J. entered the Jesuits in 1966 after graduation from St. Peter’s Prep. He then was graduated by Fordham University in 1972 and did his graduate work in theology at Loyola University, Chicago. A year before his ordination in 1980, Fr. Rakowicz worked at Loyola House of Retreats. Afterwards, he was assigned to work in the Caroline Marshall Islands in various positions from director of the local Jesuit high school to spiritual and retreat director. In 1987, he received a licentiate and masters in canon law from St. Paul’s and the University of Ottawa and afterwards served as the judicial vicar in the two dioceses of the region while continuing to assist in Jesuit, parish and school work. Father Rakowicz returned to the United States and after a sabbatical was reassigned to Loyola.
Sorry. Bio Not Available for Fr. Pugliese, S.J.
Fr. Kirk Reynolds, S.J. has a Masters in Social Work and is fluent in Spanish. Most of his ordained life was divided between parish work and retreat work. His parish work consisted of 5 years in our former predominantly Hispanic parish of Nativity on the Lower East Side and 8 years in our parish in Oceanside, N.Y., where he served as pastor 7 of those 8 years. Fr. Reynold´s spent 2 years at St. Ignatius Retreat House in Manhasset, N.Y. (´84–86) in retreat work and spiritual direction. He has been on staff here at Loyola since 2001, where he continues his retreat work and spiritual direction.
Adjunct Retreat Directors
Fr. Dan Fitzpatrick S.J.
Fr. Steve Schoenig S.J.
Fr. Ken Boller S.J.
Fr. Richard Grogan S.J.
Fr. Tom Benz S.J.
Mrs. Anna Graziano
Adjunct Retreat Staff
Sr. Margaret Ellen Burke, S.C.
Sr. Helen Beairsto, RC
Mrs. Judy Warenkiewicz
Mrs. Anna Graziano
Sr. Marylin Gramas, SU
Mrs. Carol Otto
Mrs. Judy Slominski
Mrs. Pat Davies
Sr. Sheila Brosnan, SC
Sr. Pat Reid, OSF
Ms. Judy Schiavo
Fr. Tom Benz, S.J.
Fr. Ken Boller, S.J.
Fr. Steve Schoenig, S.J.
Fr. Dan Fitzpatrick, S.J.
Sr. Barbara Connell, SC
Msgr. James Burke
Sr. Marion Baumler, SSMN
Sr. Corita Clarke, RDC
Sr. Mary Gilmore
Sr. Marlene Butler, GNSH
Dr. Joann Heaney-Hunter
Fr. Jim Croghan, S.J.
Fr. Tom Smolich, S.J.
Fr. Tom Scirghi, S.J.
Fr. Charles Moutenot, S.J.
Management Staff
Mrs. Teresa Elko, Controller
Mr. John Lucchese, Executive Chef
Renee R. Owens, Director
Mr. Luis Muņoz, Manager – Maintenance
Wanda Zimniewicz, Supervisor – Housekeeping
Loyola Board of Trustees Members, September, 2009
Mr. Hughes Bakewell
Mr. Frederick Bender
Mr. John Bergin
Rev. Dave Ciancimino, S. J., Provincial NY Province
Mr. John Farmer
Mr. Thomas Floyd
Dr. Joann Heaney-Hunter
Mr. Charles Kelchner
Mr. Raymond Lemanski
Mr. Joseph Marino
Mr. Edward Nolan, Chair
Rev. Patrick O'Donovan
Rev. Edward Quinnan, S. J.
Rev. Bill Rakowicz, S. J.
Rev. Kirk Reynolds, S. J.
Mr. Sam Singer
Mrs. Dorothy Soi
Mrs. Mary Weinstein
Sr. Margaret Ellen Burke, S. C.
Mr. Frederick Bender
Mr. John Bergin
Rev. Dave Ciancimino, S. J., Provincial NY Province
Mr. John Farmer
Mr. Thomas Floyd
Dr. Joann Heaney-Hunter
Mr. Charles Kelchner
Mr. Raymond Lemanski
Mr. Joseph Marino
Mr. Edward Nolan, Chair
Rev. Patrick O'Donovan
Rev. Edward Quinnan, S. J.
Rev. Bill Rakowicz, S. J.
Rev. Kirk Reynolds, S. J.
Mr. Sam Singer
Mrs. Dorothy Soi
Mrs. Mary Weinstein
Sr. Margaret Ellen Burke, S. C.
What To Expect
What should I expect from a weekend retreat?
Loyola offers a time to relax, away from business problems and family worries; a time to reflect and get a fresh slant on your life; a time to pray, to reawaken a sense of the reality of God and to grow in the precious gift of faith.
Retreat directors offer scripturally-based reflections for prayer and meditation each day. Relaxation, prayer and growth in awareness of the presence of the Lord all are enhanced by an atmosphere of silence.
Below is a sample schedule for a weekend retreat. Attendence at each function is optional. You are encouraged to spend time with God, as the Spirit moves you.
Loyola offers a time to relax, away from business problems and family worries; a time to reflect and get a fresh slant on your life; a time to pray, to reawaken a sense of the reality of God and to grow in the precious gift of faith.
Retreat directors offer scripturally-based reflections for prayer and meditation each day. Relaxation, prayer and growth in awareness of the presence of the Lord all are enhanced by an atmosphere of silence.
Below is a sample schedule for a weekend retreat. Attendence at each function is optional. You are encouraged to spend time with God, as the Spirit moves you.
Friday
7:15 – Dinner
8:30 – Orientation – Reflection for prayer
Saturday
8:00 – Breakfast
9:00 – Morning prayer - Reflection for prayer
10:15 – Free time, consultations
11:15 – Communal service of Reconciliation
12:15 – Lunch
1:00 – Stations of the Cross
2:00 – Free time, consultations
3:15 – Reflection for prayer
4:45 – Healing (anointing) Eucharist
5:45 – Dinner, followed by optional recreation (first floor only)
7:30 – Night prayer, followed by Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament and Benediction.
Sunday
8:00 – Breakfast
9:00 – Morning prayer – Reflection for prayer
10:15 – Consultations, free time
11:15 – Rosary
11:30 – Eucharist
Dinner
Departure
Free Will Offering
Weekend and Midweek Scheduled Retreats / Free Will Offering
Since opening its’ doors for retreats in 1927, Loyola has successfully adopted a Free Will Offering approach to request donations for its Scheduled Retreats. This is the primary source of revenue for Loyola. In this regard Loyola is unique, even compared to its other Jesuit Retreat Houses. In essence, all are welcome at Loyola – lay and religious, women and men, youth and seniors – regardless of their financial status. Said differently, no one should avoid coming to Loyola due to a particular financial hardship, and no one is ever turned away from Loyola. We understand that financial hardship is one of many hardships / life’s challenges which retreatants need to bring to Loyola for prayer / communication with God and healing.
We do ask all retreatants to consider the reality of the value of all that is received during their 40–hour weekend retreat. We disclose the recent cost per person for Loyola to provide a weekend retreat. This is presently $300 per Retreatant.
In actuality, with God’s blessings, many retreatants have donated generously – generally making up the shortfall of those less financially fortunate. Most importantly, we emphasize that each Retreatant should be comfortable with whatever they donate.
Since opening its’ doors for retreats in 1927, Loyola has successfully adopted a Free Will Offering approach to request donations for its Scheduled Retreats. This is the primary source of revenue for Loyola. In this regard Loyola is unique, even compared to its other Jesuit Retreat Houses. In essence, all are welcome at Loyola – lay and religious, women and men, youth and seniors – regardless of their financial status. Said differently, no one should avoid coming to Loyola due to a particular financial hardship, and no one is ever turned away from Loyola. We understand that financial hardship is one of many hardships / life’s challenges which retreatants need to bring to Loyola for prayer / communication with God and healing.
We do ask all retreatants to consider the reality of the value of all that is received during their 40–hour weekend retreat. We disclose the recent cost per person for Loyola to provide a weekend retreat. This is presently $300 per Retreatant.
In actuality, with God’s blessings, many retreatants have donated generously – generally making up the shortfall of those less financially fortunate. Most importantly, we emphasize that each Retreatant should be comfortable with whatever they donate.
President's Welcome
My sincere hope, and I know it
is that of our Staff and our other retreatants, is that you will
find God here – in perusing our web page and through an actual
retreat at Loyola. Please come and pray with us in and with our loving
God.We the members of the Society of Jesus
and our Lay Colleagues have been giving retreats at Loyola since 1927
when Mr. Welcome Bender and Fr. Hermann Storck, S.J. collaborated to
open Loyola as a place of prayer in the tradition of St. Ignatius Loyola’s
Spiritual Exercises - a unique path for personally appropriating the
Gospel of Jesus Christ for life.
Loyola sits on 33 acres of quiet, wooded land within a stone’s throw of Route 287 in Morristown, NJ, and about the same distance from the Morristown NJ Transit Train Station. Although not far from these two convenient transportation arteries, Loyola is a quiet place and lends itself to the contemplative atmosphere we cherish and carefully tend for all of our retreats.
Please take a look at our schedule for dates and themes of our retreats. Preached retreats for men and women are given just about every weekend from September to June (our prime retreat season). Two Matt Talbot retreats are given each year, in January and July, for those in recovery. Our summer program includes two week-long preached retreats, and three week-long individually directed retreats. The full Spiritual Exercises are also available during the summer for those who have experience in the spiritual life and want to deepen it in and with the Lord.
Loyola’s contemplative space is also available to groups in line with our values and mission statement who would like to use the facility for their own programs. Although weekends are limited in our prime retreat season, due to our own programs, other weekends and weekdays are available. Finally, individually directed and private retreats can be arranged outside of our regularly scheduled retreats, according to the availability and schedule of the Staff.
Please accept my invitation to visit Loyola and to take advantage of the peace and quiet of a holy space dedicated to God. We welcome your inquiries but most of all your presence.
Sincerely in Christ
Rev. Charles L. Moutenot, S.J.
Director of Spiritual Programs