The year 2025 marked the twenty-fifth anniversary of the death of the renowned Welsh poet R. S. Thomas. His 1975 collection Laboratories of the Spirit, from which the title of this issue is taken, explored the elusive presence of God in the spaces opened up by language. The collection begins with the poem ‘Emerging’, in which he proposes: ‘There are questions we are the solution / to, others whose echoes we must expand / to contain’. Such questions were also envisioned by St Ignatius when he devised a system of formation for novice Jesuits based around a series of practical experiences that would help them to grow into their vocation before God. The articles in this issue show in different ways how literature, language and experience create experimental spaces in which we can attend to the movements of God deep within us.
Christopher Staab, ‘Literature, Ignatian Spirituality and Narrative Experiences’, 7–23
This year’s Joe Veale Memorial Lecture at Trinity College, Dublin explored how language and images can open up spaces for the working of the Spirit, and discovered the true source of words in the loving heart of God.
Joseph Veale, ‘How the Constitutions Work’, 24–42
The first companions decided to form a body whose spirit was animated by the Spiritual Exercises and bound together by the Jesuit Constitutions. This seminal article explores how the tensions this produces generate a creative impulse in Jesuit life.
Nicholas Austin, ‘Writers’ Retreats: An Ignatian Perspective’, 43–56
Have you ever been on a writers’ retreat? It can be a cherished time to explore writing as a spiritual activity, holding everything together gently with Ignatian practices that let language deepen in the presence of God.
Robert E. Doud, ‘The Face of the Other in Emmanuel Levinas’, 57–66
In the ethics of Emmanuel Levinas, the face designates the actual experience of encountering another human being in his or her need. This overview of his thought also reminds us that such encounters have a cumulative effect over time on our morality.
Tim McEvoy, ‘Ignatius the Courtier’, 67–77
Although St Ignatius appeared to reject his military and courtly formation after his conversion, his autobiography betrays the influence of motifs from chivalric literature, suggesting that God was repurposing his formation for a new mission.
Mathew Bomki, ‘The Synodal Church: A Synthesis from an African Perspective’, 79–88
Synodal conversations offer us a deeper way of participating in the life of the Church, opening up a new theological space where the Spirit is at work. Mathew Bomki explores what this might mean from an African perspective.
Philip Endean, ‘The Two Vocations of Gerard Manley Hopkins’, 89–94
Gerard Manley Hopkins concealed his poetic heart in order to live the dual vocation of poet and priest. An esteemed former editor of The Way, Philip Endean, plumbs the depths of an apparently ordinary Jesuit life.
Ambrose Mong, ‘A Lion Returns to Rome: Legacy of Leo XIII’, 95–111
Pope Leo XIII held office from 1878 to 1903, leaving a legacy that would open the doors of the Church to the world. In his efforts to re-Christianise society and bring the Church closer to the poor, he offers a model for his namesake Leo XIV.