By Carrie MacGillis
Heart to Heart: Eight Day Retreat-A Personal Journey based on Ignatian Spirituality (by Kuenja Chung) walks through one woman’s intimate experience of a Catholic silent retreat. The author opens her heart to the readers just as she opened it up to Jesus during her time at Jesuit Spirituality Center, as she shares her prayers, visualizations, fears, struggles, breakthroughs, and poems.
The first eight chapters of the book each cover one day of the retreat. The reader can use this format to create their own retreat by following the prayers, or just enjoy learning about the personal experience shared by the author. These chapters cover the prayers for the day, the instructions provided by the retreat director, the author’s reflections, a review and general thoughts. At times the reflections and thoughts reveal deep transformations of the author, which can lead to self-reflection for the reader.
The second section of the book is devoted to discussing four points of the “Contemplation to Attain Love” from The Spiritual Exercises of Saint Ignatius. The author explores the four points and how they apply to her own life and circumstances so she can integrate them more fully into her own life.
I found this book to be very thought provoking. As I read each chapter I could feel myself going on my own spiritual journey of exploring my relationship with God. Each chapter was an adventure beginning with a quote from a saint and the prayers for the day; and ending with the author’s thoughts and sometimes a poem or passage from another author. At times I was surprised at my emotional reaction that developed as I read.
I highly recommend Heart to Heart for anyone who would like to strengthen their relationship with Jesus and to those who are curious about retreats and silent retreats. This book is a lovely introduction to retreat experiences. It can be used for the readers own retreat or just for meditative reading. Heart to Heart: Eight Day Retreat-A Personal Journey based on Ignatian Spirituality can be purchased at www.Amazon.com.
Carrie MacGillis is the Editor and Publisher of Michigan Scrapbooker Magazine, a Scrapbook Artist, and owner of Scrapbook Services with a Personal Touch. She can be reached at editor@michiganscrapbooker.com. Information on Michigan Scrapbooker Magazine can be found at www.michiganscrapbooker.com.
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Photo:
Kuenja Chung, Heart to Heart: Eight Day Retreat-A Personal Journey based on Ignatian Spirituality (Drayton Plains, MI: Bezalel Books, 2010).
