30-Day Spiritual Exercises

The 30-Day Spiritual Exercises is a silent Ignatian retreat held at the West Virginia Institute for Spirituality (WVIS) in Charleston, West Virginia. It is a full month of silence and solitude spent in the Spiritual Exercises of Ignatius of Loyola, a collection of meditations, prayers and contemplative practices meant to deepen a person's relationship with God. It is written for experienced retreatants in the Catholic and wider Christian contemplative traditions who are ready to leave family, friends and work behind for the discipline of silence and prayer.

What to Expect

Each day follows the same simple rhythm. Retreatants pray four to five hours, meet with their spiritual director for an hour to reflect on how prayer has gone, and otherwise keep silence and solitude. The Exercises are described as a proven school of prayer and discernment, a kind of map for the human heart, leading into contact with the risen presence of Jesus Christ. The director's guidance is central: the Exercises are meant to be made with someone who can help you attend to God at work amid the movements of human desire.

Between periods of prayer, there is room to be outdoors and to make things by hand. Art supplies are provided, including watercolor, acrylic paints, colored pencils, and materials for cutting, pasting and drawing.

The Setting

WVIS offers two places to stay, both on the retreat house property. The retreat house has a private room with a shared bath. The Hermitage is a private suite. The grounds include gardens with a hand labyrinth, and the Chapel (Nazareth House of Prayer), where you can pray in the presence of the Eucharistic Lord.

The surrounding historic neighborhood in Charleston invites quiet walking. You can visit the West Virginia State Capitol, walk an outdoor labyrinth, or sit beside the Kanawha River. WVIS is a drug, alcohol and smoke free environment.

Before You Go

This is an advanced retreat. It suits someone who has:

- made one or more individually directed, silent Ignatian retreats of five to eight days;
- a habit of daily contemplative prayer;
- recently received ongoing spiritual direction, showing they can put their experience of prayer into words and trust another person with it.

Admission is by application, with two letters of recommendation speaking to your readiness for the 30-day Exercises.

Included are all meals and linens, Wi-Fi access, art supplies, and use of the gardens, hand labyrinth and Chapel. Food allergies are accommodated when you let the staff know. The retreat is conducted in English.