One of the driving forces behind the rediscovery in the English-speaking world of Ignatian spirituality in the 1970s and 1980s was the annual conference held in St Beuno’s, the Jesuit-run spirituality centre in north Wales. The papers presented there were frequently published in The Way and its supplements. Currently St Beuno’s is reviving this tradition, and the 2018 special issue of The Way presents material from their most recent conference. Entitled ‘Ignatian Spirituality for a World in Flux’, it was held in December last year, and drew a mixture of participants interested in both the practice and the theory of the contemporary application of the Spiritual Exercises. Most of the main papers given at the conference are offered here, together with presentations from a number of the accompanying workshops. There are also essays written in response to the theme of the conference from some of The Way’s regular contributors.
Austen Ivereigh, ‘To Discern and Reform: The ‘Francis Option’ for Evangelizing a World in Flux’, 9–24
In the years since Pope Francis was elected in 2013, Austen Ivereigh has become one of the foremost expositors of his thought writing in English. Here he presents his conviction that the Pope’s outlook ‘offers a captivating recovery of the radically pastoral direction set by the Second Vatican Council’
Helen Berry, ‘What the Future Holds: Current Issues for the Next Generation’, 25–31
Helen Berry has worked for two decades with young people in higher education. Her contribution to the St Beuno’s conference singled out a number of specific issues of particular concern to those with whom she works, analyzing them in the context of the ki
Robert E. Doud, ‘Catholic Morality and Process Morality’, 33–43
Robert Doud is a regular contributor to The Way. He responds to our ‘world in flux’ by suggesting that traditional Roman Catholic moral teaching is compatible with a ‘process’ perspective which emphasizes the importance of relationship and of fidelity to
John Moffatt, ‘Five Challenges to Discerning the Good in a Complex World’, 45–59
Our complex world presents challenges when we have to make decisions, particularly collective decisions. John Moffatt here presents five ideas for thinking about why this should be so, in the hope that by understanding the potential obstacles more fully, we can refine the discernment process needed.
Philip Shano, ‘Movements of the Spirits in a World in Flux’, 61–68
Philip Shano’s article starts by considering what it means to live in a state of flux, by contrast with a peaceful stability that may well be wholly beyond our grasp. Ignatius of Loyola, he argues, lived in just such a state, and the Spiritual Exercises, drawn up on the basis of his experience, offer tools for addressing the challenges that a world in flux presents.
Damian Jackson, ‘Prayer and Outreach in North Wales’, 69–75
Damian Jackson is a Jesuit who has been part of the team at St Beuno’s Jesuit spirituality centre for many years. His particular concern is with a programme aiming to support the mainly rural parishes of North Wales. Here he describes how this work has evolved, especially through helping lay-people to develop strong lives of prayer.
Stephen Noone, ‘Our Growth and Our Freedom: New Approaches to Mental Well-being’, 91–99
Drawing on his experience of working as a clinical psychologist, Stephen Noone here considers how a range of newer psychological therapies involving meditation techniques can lead to a better understanding of human vulnerability and the promotion of well-being and flourishing.
James Menkhaus, ‘Generosity, Relationship and Imagination for a World in Flux’, 100–106
Large-scale immigration is a characteristic of our ‘world in flux’, and is often viewed primarily as a problem in need of solution. Using the example of Mexicans seeking work in the United States, James Menkhaus considers how three insights derived from the Spiritual Exercises might promote a more just response to this situation.
Kenneth Overberg, ‘Papal Wisdom for the Long Term’, 107–118
It can be argued that two issues above all threaten the long-term security of the human race: nuclear weapons and environmental destruction. For more than fifty years successive popes have addresses these concerns, building up a substantial body of social
Nikolaas Sintobin, ‘The Two Standards and Ignatian Leadership’, 119–128
In his mediation on the Two Standards in the Spiritual Exercises Ignatius explores two dynamics operating in the world, one promoting evil and the other good. Nikolaas Sintobin traces their effects on possible approaches to leadership through interior monologue.