The very first article in the first issue of The Way, published in January 1961, was entitled ‘Modern Spirituality’. This was before any of the changes associated with the Second Vatican Council, and before the burgeoning of Ignatian spirituality that got under way in the following decade. Yet the author of that article, Martin D’Arcy, was sure even then that a ‘spirituality with a new look’ was in the air. And the Jesuits of what was then the English Province founded a new journal to make this modern spirituality more available and accessible.
For more than six decades now the journal has focused especially on those areas where spirituality and the concerns of contemporary culture intersect. It has taken a broad approach. Teresa of Ávila, saints Francis and Dominic, Bernard of Clairvaux, Simone Weil and, in more recent years, other faith traditions, have all found a place in these pages. In this issue alone you will encounter the twelfth-century Richard of St Victor, the Alcoholics Anonymous Twelve-Step Programme and Greta Thunberg’s ecological activism. But Ignatius of Loyola and the spirituality derived from his Spiritual Exercises have always been closest to the journal’s heart. As we commemorate the five hundredth year since Ignatius’ conversion and the fourth centenary of his canonization, it is Ignatian spirituality that takes centre stage here.
Michael Smith, ‘Discernment for All’, 7–14
Discernment is a tool that is being increasingly used by religious organizations to guide their planning. At the same time religious organizations often include in their number people of various faiths and none. Does this suggest that the discernment should be left solely to the religious core members, or might it be used by all? Michael Smith argues for the latter position.
Matthew B. Pinson, ‘Outgroup Prejudice and the Ministry of the Spiritual Exercises’, 15–26
The first paragraph of the Spiritual Exercises speaks of their purpose as that of helping to rid the soul of disordered affections. Drawing on contemporary psychological insights, Matthew B. Pinson identifies a human tendency to divide the world into ‘us’ and ‘them’ as a key element of this disorder.
Gail Paxman, ‘‘When His Eyes Were Opened A Little’: The Role of Noticing in the Spiritual Exercises’, 27–41
Contemporary Western cultures tend to undervalue interiority. By contrast, the prayer of the Spiritual Exercises aims to foster that noticing of what is going on, interiorly as well as exteriorly, so that the actions of God may be more clearly perceived. Gail Paxman looks carefully at that process here.
Jean-Marc Laporte, ‘Three Ways, Four Degrees and Four Weeks?’, 43–53
In the Middle Ages a number of typical patterns of spiritual progress were described. Readers of The Way will be familiar with the later ‘Four Weeks’ of the Ignatian Exercises. Here Jean-Marc Laporte compares these with the outline to be found in an earlier work, Richard of St Victor’s ‘The Four Degrees of Violent Love’.
Kevin Leidich, ‘‘Every Increase in Hope Faith and Charity’: Understanding Ignatian Consolation’, 55–64
Those beginning to train as spiritual directors are told firmly that consolation is not to be simply equated with ‘feeling good’. A painful awareness of one’s own sinfulness can be, for instance, a deeply consoling experience. Should the director look out for, then, a distinct form of ‘spiritual’ consolation? Kevin Leidich argues that it is not helpful to think in this way.
Anonymous , ‘A Higher Power: Revisiting the Parallels between the Spiritual Exercises and the Twelve Steps’, 65–69
For some time it been recognised that the Twelve-Step programme followed by members of Alcoholics Anonymous has points in common with the Spiritual Exercises of St Ignatius. In this essay the anonymous author draws on his own experience of both patterns of reflection to draw out the parallels and contrasts more fully.
Elizabeth Liebert, ‘System Dynamics and the Election: The Social Discernment Cycle’, 71–79
Over recent decades many attempts have been made to forge a strong link between spiritual direction in the Ignatian tradition and work for social justice. Here Elizabeth Liebert describes a programme originating in the Bronx in New York that applies the election of the Spiritual Exercises to complex contemporary social situations.
Niall Leahy, ‘Dear Greta’, 81–84
Over the last few years Greta Thunberg has emerged as a key ecological activist, speaking out powerfully against environmental degradation. In this piece, originally printed in the Jesuit online journal Thinking Faith, Niall Leahy suggests how she might profitably enter into a dialogue with the story of Ignatius Loyola.
Gem Yecla, ‘Seasons of the Soul: A Personal Reflection on the Structure and Dynamics of the Spiritual Exercises’, 85–97
The Spiritual Exercises are not to be offered a rigid programme, carefully and tightly adhered to, but rather need to be adapted and applied to the needs of any individual exercitant. Here Gem Yecla describes what that application looks like in the case of a particular lay single woman from the Philippines.
Deborah Ross, ‘Ignatian Spirituality and Action Research: Exploring Lay Ecclesial Ministerial Formation’, 98–110
Here Deborah Ross describes ‘action research’, a process enabling individuals and organizations to reflect on and improve their professional practice, links it with Ignatian spirituality, and shows how it can be used to support the formation of lay minist