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Journey with Jesus: Discovering the Spiritual Exercises of Saint Ignatius

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Journey with Jesus provides a road map for the true disciple to follow Jesus more closely, know Him more intimately and love Him more deeply. What could be better than that! Larry Warner in his book is able to keep the purity and integrity of St. Ignatius's exercises while offering great insights, additional questions and strong teaching for the journey. It contains encouragement along the way that helps keep you on track and prevents you from losing steam if you miss a day or even a week of the exercises. The daily prayer and purpose filled exercises help you to experience the depth of Jesus' love for you and all humanity.
The extra resources in part 4 are especially helpful in providing instruction for taking others through the exercises, as well as a section that offers shorter options for completing the exercises. My journey through the exercises has changed the way I see, know and interact with Jesus ~ through prayer and scripture reflection, one day I was with Him at his birth, another day I felt the anger and resentment of the crowds and then eventually I journeyed with Him to the cross. If you want to deepen your relationship with Jesus ~ read and experience this book.

Having spent the better part of a year working through the exercised outlined in this book I can tell you that engaging in them will introduce you to new ways of experiencing God, and in the process change your relationship with Him. Larry Warner has taken these exercises, which have been used for hundreds of years by those who have desired to come close to God, and made them accessible to our time. Beginning with developing a complete understanding of God's love for us, the exercise then take you on a journey designed to take you beyond learning about Jesus to helping you learn what it is actually to walk with Him. You will be encouraged to develop the kind of rhythm of life and vision of heart that will help you to find God in all things. This book is easy to use and helpful in building into your life the kind of pace that makes developing greater intimacy with God possible.

I warn you, this book is not for everyone. If you do not wish to discover what may be keeping you from experiencing spiritual freedom, if you do not desire to know Jesus more intimately and if you have no interest in discovering the fullness of God's love for you then click on the next link. If, however, you desire to press through your current spiritual experience to something far deeper and richer then I would recommend you find time in your life to implement the exercised outlined in this book. Come to them with an open mind and open heart. Though engaging in the exercises in this book, the Spirit will challenge your thinking about what it means to be in relationship with Jesus, and help you develop new ways of relating to Him. You will be confronted with the truth of your own heart as well as His. This knowledge will result in greater intimacy with Him. If this is your desire, pick up this book.

Journey with Jesus is not a book that will give you five easy steps to a deeper relationship with God, rather it is a guide to building the kind of rhythms in life that enable you to learn what it truly means to journey with Jesus.

The gracious heart of an experienced spiritual director is evident on these pages. Larry has done the work of studying St. Ignatius and his exercises and is offering them to us in a way that is accessible and even feasible for the modern reader to undertake. As much as possible, Larry tries to come alongside the reader anticipating what the reader needs when completing these exercises.

My own experience of working through the material of this book was nothing short of transformative. I experienced the love of God and His grace for me in these exercises. I feel like I was able to encounter Jesus personally through imaginatively entering into the Gospel accounts of His life. I was also incredibly grateful to have someone to witness my journey through this and discern along with me what the Lord was inviting me to at any given point in the exercises.

And as a spiritual director myself, I appreciate that Larry also has done the work for directors desiring to take directees through this. In his loving and straightforward manner he tells you what you are signing up for and what you need to mindful of.

Be prepared for a journey with Jesus when you get this book. It is not a weekend read, but an ongoing opportunity to go deep in both knowing the Lord and knowing yourself more intimately.

I have been fascinated by Saint Ignatius' spiritual exercises for some time now. I find it remarkable that these were written between 1522-1524 and became a 200 page booklet for people to follow over a 28-30 day period. I once heard someone I respect immensely say that every Christian should do the Ignatius Spiritual Exercises at least ONCE in their life. I have read books about them and have attempted to do them, but you are advised to attempt the exercises with a spiritual advisor.

Larry Warner has done a wonderful thing with this book, allowing the everyday Christian to go through the exercises on their own. Of course, a spiritual director would be wonderful - and Warner does argue the benefits of having a spiritual director or listener. However, life does not alway allow for such benefits and Warner has skillfully, with incredible clarity and ease of use, produced a piece of work whereby ANYONE can now be exposed to the Spiritual Exercises, easily follow along AND be blessed by doing so.

The first three chapters are all about getting the most out of the exercises, while the rest of the book has been written and laid out so well that all the reader has to do is to carefully and prayerfully work through the material. This is not a book to be rushed, but to be absorbed - to stop, ponder, reflect and then move on.

If you have never done the Spiritual Exercises, but have always wanted to, then this is the book for you. If you have never done the Spiritual Exercises - then I suggested you do them, at least once - and this is the book for you.

A great devotional work arranged for the modern age.

Highly Recommended.

One of the most intriguing things about picking up this book is that the author immediately takes you through a list of questions to see if this book is right for you. Rather than a play on reverse psychology to hook you into reading, it is an early example of how the book was written to help the reader along the path of growing in Christ.

Intensely practical, the book was written as a companion for someone in a spiritual direction relationship- so much so that the author says he would make it a criminal offense to go through the Exercises without a spiritual director if he could!

Rather than a heady experience of spiritual formation as we conceive it today, this is a guide-book for practical exploration into meeting Jesus afresh.

Even though I've made the 30 day Ignatian retreat and loved it, I would have no idea how to help someone else do this. This book is what I need. It has helped me understand the big ideas I lived in the Spiritual Exercises of Ignatius of Loyola, especially discernment and indifference. It makes an ideal walk-along-side companion for people moving through the retreat. It also makes a good textbook for exposing students to the retreat, and I'm planning to use it.

A distinct advantage of this book is that Larry is not a typical left-brain only thinker. He's got several interactive (even goofy) things for right-brain thinkers or kinesthetic learners to do. As a spiritual director, I get frustrated that so many spiritual practices are supposed to occur only between a person's ears. Over the years I've had directees who are ESFPs (Myers Briggs) so I'm always looking for practices that work well with these folks. Too often spirituality is considered only a quiet, reading-oriented practice. It can be, but it's much more. Another advantage is that the book contains specific examen questions for different exercises. This will help people who get stuck. Larry has led people through the exercises often enough that he's thought about how to present them in ways that work.

You can trust this book to follow the spirit and method of Ignatius. Because I know Larry personally, I know that his thinking is drenched in the exercises. You could tell him you're enjoying a scrumptious hamburger and he would relate that to Ignatian thinking--somehow! Enjoy!
Jan Johnson, author of Invitation to the Jesus Life: Experiments in Christlikenessand When the Soul Listens: Finding Rest and Direction in Contemplative Prayer (Spiritual Formation Study Guides) [...]

I lead a lot of individuals and groups in spiritual growth and formation, and so I've seen a lot of guides and devotionals. Some are not quite right for my purposes because, while they have great insights about God, Jesus and the life of faith, they don't really lead us into actual ongoing relationship with him. Others aren't quite right because, while they do walk us into relationship with God, they lack an unfolding plan or progress; the daily meditations have a certain randomness.

When I saw Warner's book, I breathed a sigh of relief. Here is a book that leads us directly into relationship with Jesus, laying down tracks for nine months of formative prayer and intimacy with the Lord. The practices of prayer here are concrete and yet profound, coming from the foundation St. Ignatius exercises that have been followed for nearly 500 years. And they are solidly biblical: centered daily around scripture meditation, confession of sin, wise discernment, and a deep reception of the love of God (for "he who has been forgive much, loves much").

The nine-month progress of this book is a commitment: an hour or so a day, which includes returning to God in midday and evening prayer. However, the breadth and the creativity of the exercises give the repetition a richness that deepens and expands the life of prayer. Christians I lead know intuitively that growth in our faith requires something like what Warner lays out--something that cultivates unceasing prayer, and calls them into a deepening, daily intimacy with the Lord. I will be using this book with those under my care, and I can't wait to see what the Lord does as they open themselves to these practices.

This book gives you the opportunity to have greater intimacy with Jesus, to experience what believers throughout church history have experienced as they learned to find God in all things.

Since I was new to the Spiritual Exercises of Saint Ignatius, there were many parts of this book that I found uniquely helpful. It explained the spiritual practices that made this rich tool accessible to me, a beginner. The tips that the author weaves in throughout the exercises occur at just the right time to bring encouragement and offer flexibility amidst the structure of the exercises. I especially enjoyed the author's creative optional exercises. From blankets to bubbles, these were a meaningful way for what I learned to sink deep into my heart.

The best part is how the author describes how to go about the exercises. He says it well on page 68 "..ask God to help you to enter these exercises freely and lightly, dancing on the unforced rhythms of God's grace." Imagine that kind of time with God and you will get a sense of what this book is about. It is invaluable for anyone who wants to Journey with Jesus.

I love that this book is accessible and available to anyone! This is not just a book to pick up and read. Rather, it is a guidebook that comes alongside as you begin this rich spiritual journey. And, it offers a trustworthy and fresh tool that comes out of an honest man's experience. As a Protestant, I hadn't run across St. Ignatius' work. Warner's book opened me to the benefits of learning from this sincere follower of Jesus.

When I started, I had no idea what to expect. I knew very little of the heart behind the exercises and simply, I was scared of the 9 month commitment. Yet, I was curious and hopeful for a more relational and intimate encounter with Jesus.

Throughout the exercises, I was surprised by the gentleness and graciousness of Warner. He is practical, realistic, encouraging, and honest in his approach. He anticipates the challenges and joys of the experience. Specifically, "Part One" is not only a necessary place to start, but a place I returned to many times over the course of the exercises.

This journey will challenge you deeply, but it isn't something to avoid. After-all, the invitation is to spend time with God who deeply loves us.

This book is a beautiful guide to a beautiful journey.

Warner has blessed us with a book that makes the exercises of St. Ignatius accessible to anyone willing to go on a journey. While this is not a fast-track approach to transformation (the Exercises are spread over a period of nine months), the invitation for a daily encounter with Jesus is presented through Warner's book in creative, honest, and tangible ways.

While I believe going through this book with a spiritual director or guide is optimal (I found this to be true in my own process of going through the Exercises), Warner himself inserts his own direction and encouragement as a seasoned spiritual director within the pages of this book. I found his suggestions to be wise and helpful for me in my journey.

While everyone will likely approach this book in a different place along their present journey with Jesus, Warner's book is useful for anyone with a desire to daily present themselves to God, know Jesus more intimately, and seek to find God in all things.