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Stretched for Greater Glory: What To Expect From The Spiritual Exercises
The joy and freedom to be found in the Ignatian exercises comes to life in this book by George A. Aschenbrenner, SJ. While many scholarly books and commentaries have explored the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius, Aschenbrenner introduces readers to the dynamics that are at the heart of these Ignatian exercises in Stretched for Greater Glory . His straightforward commentary and vast knowledge make this book appropriate for both the novice spiritual seeker and the experienced spiritual director. For further information on Ignatian Spirituality, please visit our sister www.IgnatianSpirituality.com
- GenresSpirituality
225 pages, Paperback
First published November 1, 2004
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
September 16, 2020
I'm not sure why this book was written, other than that it could be. Aschenbrenner offers a discursive and loquacious companion commentary to the full text of the Spiritual Exercises for those about to embark on them for the first time. The chief problem is that the text of Spiritual Exercises was written for retreat directors, not for retreatants. In so doing, he may appear to transgress Ignatius' own prenote, "It is helpful to him who is receiving the Exercises in the first week, not to know anything of what he is to do in the second." Aschenbrenner is, of course, demonstrably aware of this since since he can't resist from commenting on the prenotes as well as the later supplementary material, writing about that exact prenote, "This seems very practical and clear: do not run ahead of yourself in the experience" (21)—yet he takes pre-retreatants precisely through the entirety of their retreat before they've even begun their experience, giving them explanation and insight on meditations they won't encounter still for many weeks (if not longer) and for which they have no appropriate experiential groundwork. At worst, this risks priming retreatants with preconceptions that spoil the beginner's mind with which they can approach a contemplation solely from the lens of their unfolding retreat experience (as Ignatius expressly desired). At best, Aschenbrenner gives them an absolutely overwhelming amount of information and overprepares them with contemplation-by-contemplation, annotation-by-annotation detail for an experience explicitly intended to be received only momently.
As a book in its own right, it's frankly bad. It's thoroughly overwritten and often imprecise, frequently working in unclear phrases ("Desolation's disenchanting ring on the skin of your soul") and dropping unsubstantiated declarations in passing ("To attain something is to focus your mind and heart upon it"), more than a few times sloppily mixing metaphors. The organization too leaves a lot to be desired. Some chapters are dedicated to a single or famous pair of contemplations within the Exercises; elsewhere, the book treats both the Third and Fourth Weeks under a single chapter—almost none of them use to titling to clearly communicate how their content corresponds with the structure of the Exercises. Finally, the failure to use multiple levels of subheadings is baffling, especially when, at one point, a subsection treating subpoint 2(a) interrupts the flow between points 2 and 3 by representing the same hierarchy. In the end, I have to wonder if anyone at Loyola Press edited this at all, because it thoroughly reads like a writer following all of their own instincts without the discipline of a good editor keeping them in check and advocating for the reader.
All of this said, I would recommend this book neither to a retreatant nor to a director or, really, any student of the Exercises. It's confusingly if not poorly executed and offers, by my clearly brutal estimation, no particular and unique insight or perspective.
As a book in its own right, it's frankly bad. It's thoroughly overwritten and often imprecise, frequently working in unclear phrases ("Desolation's disenchanting ring on the skin of your soul") and dropping unsubstantiated declarations in passing ("To attain something is to focus your mind and heart upon it"), more than a few times sloppily mixing metaphors. The organization too leaves a lot to be desired. Some chapters are dedicated to a single or famous pair of contemplations within the Exercises; elsewhere, the book treats both the Third and Fourth Weeks under a single chapter—almost none of them use to titling to clearly communicate how their content corresponds with the structure of the Exercises. Finally, the failure to use multiple levels of subheadings is baffling, especially when, at one point, a subsection treating subpoint 2(a) interrupts the flow between points 2 and 3 by representing the same hierarchy. In the end, I have to wonder if anyone at Loyola Press edited this at all, because it thoroughly reads like a writer following all of their own instincts without the discipline of a good editor keeping them in check and advocating for the reader.
All of this said, I would recommend this book neither to a retreatant nor to a director or, really, any student of the Exercises. It's confusingly if not poorly executed and offers, by my clearly brutal estimation, no particular and unique insight or perspective.
July 11, 2020
Fantastic although I don't think people who are going through the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius should read this book. I think it reveals too much about the experience and would tempt the exercitant to read ahead. It is a wonderful resource for spiritual directors to lead exercitants through the Spiritual Exercises.
January 29, 2026
Very helpful read. The thought of undertaking the Spiritual Exercises is daunting.... This is much like your Spiritual Advisor or Professor taking you through them to understand and clarify how the process works and how it comes together. His analogy of sails in the wind throughout is the perfect imagery ! So happy I read this !
April 13, 2019
This book was an outstanding preparation for the Ignatian Spiritual Exercises. I highly recommend it to anyone who wants a deeper understanding of the process of the Exercises.
September 4, 2022
The author does a great job of “translating” Ignatian spirituality to graphic images and clear language. Very spiritually rich book!!
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews