Description
Book SynopsisThis book uses the Spiritual Exercises of St Ignatius to help you embark on a life-transforming journey toward Christlikeness. If you hunger for something deeper, this book is for you.
Trade ReviewFrom The Church Times - November 2011 In 1521, a worldly young Basque nobleman, Inigo de Loyola, participated in a battle against invading French forces at Pamplona in northern Spain. In the course of the fighting, Inigo's legs were shattered by a cannonball and he was carried from the battlefield, alive but helpless, and transported to his father's home. There he spent the next nine months in slow convalescence. Pinned to his bed, frustrated and bored, Inigo called for some books of popular romance to while away the time, only to be presented with the Carthusian Ludolph of Saxony's Life of Christ and Voragine's Lives of the Saints. For sheer lack of anything more appealing to hand, he began to read, then to reflect, and, finally, to pray. Thus began the process of conversion by which this soldier-courtier was transformed into the man we now know as St Ignatius Loyola. One enduring result of Ignatius's conversion was a book that he called the Spiritual Exercises. In it, he lays out a plan for a 30-day retreat based on his own path of spiritual discovery: a period of withdrawal and reflection spread over four weeks. Each day, the retreatant would meditate on some incident in the life of Christ, examine his or her fidelity to Christian values, and make a deeper commitment to God's service. Above all, Ignatius conceived his Exercises as leading others, as they had him, towards making a life-choice. They would provide a catalyst for discerning God's will in every circumstance, and move people to follow that will wherever it might lead. Ultimately, they would open the heart to love. In Discovering the Spiritual Exercises of Saint Ignatius by Larry Warner, Ignatius's text is re-presented in a modern format and with the needs of people today in mind. Warner himself is an experienced Ignatian retreat-giver, and there is a solidity and assurance to his presentation which inspires confidence. As in the case of the original, this is not a book for armchair spiritual reading, but a manual for those who wish to incorporate the Exercises into their life. But Warner is merciful to those whose time is limited, and rich in suggestions for alternative modes of practice where necessary. Larry Warner is an Evangelical, founder of "b", with a particular interest in resourcing ministers and pastors. Into that slot his book might well be taken. Sister Gillian is a Carmelite nun at Quidenham in Norfolk.
