Creighton University’s Online Retreat, which has been available on Creighton’s Online Ministry Web site since September of 1998, is now available in book form. ‘Retreat in the Real World: Finding Intimacy With God Wherever You Are’ guides readers on a 34-week journey through St. Ignatius’ Spiritual Exercises and is designed to fit into the lives of very busy people.
The idea for the online retreat came after Creighton’s Online Ministry began publishing daily reflections in August of 1998. These reflections were written by over 50 faculty and staff from Creighton and were originally intended for a local audience. Their following quickly became worldwide, however, and two members of the Collaborative Ministry Office saw the need to create a way for these people to access further resources for spiritual guidance. So a month later, Maureen Waldron, associate director of collaborative ministry, and the Rev. Andy Alexander, S.J., set up Creighton’s Online Retreat, which has been a success over the past 11 years.
“We have found over the years that people hunger for a closer relationship with God. [These exercises] will change your relationship with God and bring you to a greater intimacy with Him,” Waldron said of the online retreat
Before the retreat became available to the public, many had expressed an interest in going through such spiritual exercises. Since not enough spiritual directors were available to meet such a high demand, the online option proved to be an effective alternative.
One of the unique things about this retreat is the way in which it guides people through spiritual exercises. Instead of “retreating” away from the world, as is done for most spiritual retreats, the followers of the Creighton Online Retreat become more focused and reflective in the midst of their daily lives. As such, this retreat is perfect for people with demanding schedules, and that includes Creighton students.
“Students are a wonderful audience for this retreat. Students at Creighton understand our mission of men and women for and with others, and they know that we are trying to form women and men of competence and compassion,” Alexander said. “It can help students who don’t have a lot of time become more focused and reflective and understand more about our relationship with God.”
The retreat is followed by people all over the world and has been translated into Spanish, Japanese, Swahili, Chinese and Russian. With its user-friendly layout and availability on the Web, the spiritual guide is a great way for busy people to practice Ignatius’ Spiritual Exercises. The authors of this resource, however, realized that many people who used the online retreat also wanted a print version that they could read without having access to a computer. Some readers actually chose to print off PDF versions of the spiritual guide each week, although this method was costly and inconvenient. So several years ago Loyola Press approached the authors of the online retreat and asked to publish it in a book.
“One real advantage for people making this retreat is that they will have a book instead of having to print it off their computer,” Alexander said. ” They want to take it with them on a trip and have it with them away from their computer. Now to have it in a book makes it very portable and a companion for your daily life.
“Also, it allows people to share it with those who may not have frequent access to the Internet.”
The authors of the retreat hope its availability both over the Internet and in print will increase the number of people who can benefit from its guidance and grow in intimacy with God. The Web version of the retreat is available on the Online Ministry’s homepage, http://onlineministries.creighton.edu/CollaborativeMinistry/online.html, and the book can be purchased at the Creighton Bookstore.