Description
Book SynopsisJohn W. O’Malley gives us the most comprehensive account ever written of the Society of Jesus in its founding years, one that heightens and transforms our understanding of the Jesuits in history and today.
Trade ReviewNeither fazed nor overwhelmed, Father O’Malley never loses sight of the forest among the myriad trees… In this book three tenacious myths bite the dust. The first is that Ignatius had a detailed blueprint for his companions… A second myth is that the Jesuits were founded to combat the Reformation and to spearhead its Roman Catholic riposte, the Counter-Reformation… The third myth is that the Jesuits were founded as the pope’s shock troops… Far from being a simple chronicle, it is an account of how the Jesuits, led by the internal dynamism of the Holy Spirit, responded to unpredictable events and new needs. -- Peter Hebblethwaite * New York Times Book Review *
A masterly account of the first generation [of Jesuits]…carried out with an economy and insight that compel admiration. -- Anthony Grafton * New York Review of Books *
This is surely the best book ever written in English on the first Jesuits and the early Society of Jesus. It may well be the best book on that topic ever written in any language. This is a work that is deeply original, always clear, often brilliant. -- John Padberg * America *
A magnificent achievement both of synthesis and interpretation. -- Philip Endean, S.J. * The Way *
This is a major study of the first crucial years of one of the most important institutions of modern Europe. Perhaps the price of the impact of the Society of Jesus is that both hagiographical and demonic myths have encrusted its early history. This learned and eloquent study scrapes away those myths in order to tell the complex, almost improvisational history of the first twenty-five years of the Society of Jesus… No study in any language provides such an authoritative and fascinating picture. -- Paul F. Grendler * Journal of Modern History *
Table of ContentsIntroduction 1. Foundations before the Founding Ignatius and the First Companions The Spiritual Exercises 2. Taking Shape for Ministry The Basic Framework The Campaign for Self-Understanding Pastoral Ideals and Practice Programs of Ministry 3. Ministries of the Word of God Preaching Sacred Lectures Conversation and Publication Teaching Christianity Missions to the Countryside The Exercises in Practice 4. Sacraments, Worship, Prayer Confession and Casuistry Holy Communion and the Eucharist Holy Orders Music and Worship Prayer 5. Works of Mercy Peacemaking Hospitals and Prisons Ministry to the Dying Ministry to Prostitutes Orphans and Daughters of Prostitutes Jews and New Christians Confraternities and the Marian Congregations 6. The Schools Toward Messina and Beyond The Faith in Education Transcending the Modus Parisiensis Jesuit Education Failures, Frustrations, and Crisis Training the Clergy The Impact of the Schools 7.
