The Ignatian Workout: Daily Exercises for a Healthy Faith

This is a great program for all interested in getting their spirit in shape. It is an easy to follow, understandable, program to keep your spirit in tip top shape. Very easy to read and well thought out.

I've been using this book to guide me in the spiritual exercises. The author does an excellent job of making the Ignatian exercises accessible (without watering them down so as to make them ineffective) to modern Christians who seriously want to grow and strengthen their faith. Not for Roman Catholics only. This book will be very useful for all Christians.

Author Tim Muldoon begins the introduction of his book THE IGNATIAN WORKOUT with an observation: the busiest time at athletic complexes on college campuses is after the spring break when people realize the summer is near and the need to shed winter pounds before bathing suit season becomes urgent. He's familiar enough with college campuses as a student and later as a professor at Mount Aloysius College (where he taught when he wrote the book) and now at Boston College. He believes this is a somewhat futile activity, and uses his own training as a member of a crew team to show that the best way to exercise is to begin slowly, remain committed, and work toward a goal. He believes the same principles can be applied to the spiritual life and expands his ideas in the book. The book is an introduction to the spiritual life based on the writings of St. Ignatius. He gives some basic insights into prayer then has four sections or "workouts" which are modified versions of the thirty day retreat. The key to getting the most from the exercises is perseverance and Muldoon believes that the workouts can be a springboard to a deeper spiritual life. He also includes a bibliography pf some wonderful books for further reading and includes some of my own favorites in his list: Margaret Silf's THE INNER COMPASS, James Martin SJ's IN GOOD COMPANY, Thomas Merton's THE SEVEN STOREY MOUNTAIN, and Gerard Hughes' GOD OF SURPRISES. He also includes websites for Creighton University and Sacred Space which have great materials and a list of retreat houses. Readers have more than an abundance of suggestions to deepen their spiritual life after reading. Muldoon's writing style is engaging and the book should have a broad appeal. As I read it, the athletic analogies reminded me of someone else who saw the spiritual life as similar to athletics--St. Paul. I also appreciated Muldoon's view of spirituality--that it is more than just building up a relationship with God in order to feel good, that it extends beyond us too, clearly an Ignatian ideal and one that is central to Christian spirituality. This book is clearly aimed at people trying to integrate faith and life and while it has something to say to anyone who strives to live a life of faith, it is perfect for a mature high school or college reader or anyone trying to figure a way in the world.

Tim Muldoon has done an excellent job making Igantius' Spiritual Exercises relevant to the world we live in today. He also has an engaging writing style that absorbs the reader.

The Ignatian Workout Daily Spiritual Exercises for a Healthy Faith ISBN: 0-8294-1979-9 Publisher: Loyola Press (...) A new form of physical workout? Judging from the book cover and its head title (sans the sub-title), this book could well be perceived as a new method of physical workout. The cover features a man walking briskly on what seems like hot dry desert space. When I was reading this book on the train to work, I felt like the other commuters who had casually glanced my way would figure that I was reading a health book. Perhaps they're thinking I was trying to lose weight! Tim Muldoon, the author, uses the image of rowers hard at practice to explain the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius of Loyola, founder of the Jesuit order in the Catholic Church. Here the author presents the Four Weeks of the Spiritual Exercises in simple layman and contemporary language. It is beautiful how he works the spiritual jargons into modern language and how he uses the nuances and practices of men who spent much time to perfect their craft of rowing. I think this is a creative way to make the Spiritual Exercises more readable and understandable. The essence of the Spiritual Exercises remains as St. Ignatius taught, that is, bible passages are given for reflection but the contemplative stance has a modern flavour to it. If you care for a spiritual workout in layman's terms, pick this book up. Have a happy journey!