This book is truly a labor of love.  Not only does it attempt to bear witness to the years of formal education and insight of George Schemel, S.J. and our 30-plus years of personal experience of directing the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius, but it looks seriously at the religious experience of thousands of men and women who participated in directed retreats and the many dedicated directors who have reflected on that experience with George and me.

          Handicaps and illness have been a great inconvenience but not an obstacle to these writings.  Early in 1991 Therese Wenzel typed the first drafts of these writings through the last stages of Lou Gerig’s disease.  Fr. Herb Sperger, her friend and very busy parish priest, typed the final chapters for her so that George and I could have a copy for editing.  After his stroke in 1992, George Schemel, S.J. and Judy Roemer together edited each paragraph orally, one hour at a time, with Judy rewriting the updates and final additions.  It took six years to put the chapters in shape.  Even in the hospital a few days before he died on June 18, 2000, George was suggesting further updates and revisions.

          One of George’s great disappointments was that the finished work was not published during his lifetime.  Both of us were convinced the materials could be very useful and promising for directors of the Ignatian Exercises. They represent a mystical, rather than a devotional or ascetic stance toward the Christian spiritual life by working through the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius.  Further, we were deeply aware that like all works, these chapters represent a time and a perspective that hopefully would inspire other directors in the 21st century to form groups that continue the practice of theological reflection among staffs.  This is what our teachers had done for us, what we had done during our apostolic life together, and what we hope to pass on to you.

          Thank you to all who have been a part of our apostolic life and work, and thank you for inviting us to be a part of your on-going apostolic effectiveness as we begin the new millennium.  We have always considered this work our honor and privilege: noble work with noble companions.