Brian O’Leary, an Irish Jesuit, has been researching and writing on Ignatian spirituality since the 1970s. Over that period he has authored five books, the last of which (God Ever Greater, 2018) was a selection of his lectures and talks. His new offering, To Love and To Serve, is also a selection – this time of essays that have appeared in spirituality journals in a number of countries. Since these are not easily accessible, O’Leary made the decision to gather together the best of his work in this genre into one book, so making that work more widely available. The essays vary considerably in content, purpose, and style. Some are short and aimed at a popular readership, others tend to be more academic or written with practitioners of Ignatian spirituality in mind. All are eminently readable and display great clarity of style.

 

Ignatian spirituality is most commonly associated with the Spiritual Exercises. Consequently these figure largely in O’Leary’s writings. However, the Exercises do not represent the totality of Ignatian spirituality and so there are a number of pieces on the Jesuit Constitutions – a spiritual classic that is surprisingly relevant outside its original context.  The Constitutions are frequently quoted today in the context of spiritual formation and of leadership. And then there is spiritual direction – is there a specifically Ignatian model of this ministry? There are also intriguing questions around St. Ignatius Loyola himself, perhaps most of all around his mysticism. And what would such mysticism look like if lived out in the post-modern world? The range of topics is remarkable.

• Cover
• Title
• Copyright
• Contents
• Preface
• PART I: The Spiritual Exercises
  • Introduction
  • Magnanimity: An Ignatian Virtue
  • Sin Revisited: A First-Week Reflection
  • Ruminating on the Two Standards
  • Discernment and Decision-Making
  • The Mystery and Message of the Third and Fourth Weeks
  • The Third and Fourth Weeks: What the Directories Say
  • The Third Week: The Divinity Hides itself
  • The Fourth Week: The Joy of the Risen Christ
  • Consoler, Consolation and the Apostolic Mandate
• PART II: The Jesuit Constitutions
  • Introduction
  • The Constitutions: An Overview
  • Labourers in Christ’s Vineyard: Apostolic Formation in the Thinking and Praxis of Ignatius Loyola
  • The More Universal the More Divine: An Enigmatic Dictum
  • Peace and Reconciliation in the Constitutions
  • Spiritual Governance: The Jesuit Model
  • Living with Tension: The Jesuit Way
  • Mary Ward and the Ignatian Constitutions
  • Marie Madeleine d’Houët and the Jesuits: A Complex Relationship
• PART III: St Pierre Favre
  • Introduction
  • Pierre Favre: Contemplative in Action
  • The Jesuit and the Carthusian: An Intriguing Friendship
  • Encouragement to Religious Dialogue: A Letter of Pierre Favre
• PART IV: Ignatian Varia
  • Introduction
  • The Mysticism of St Ignatius Loyola
  • Everyday Mysticism and Contemporary Culture
  • An Ignatian Model of Spiritual Direction: What Is Specific to It?
  • Ignatian Spirituality and Jesuit Identity: Thoughts on the Election of Pope Francis
  • Jesuit Spirituality before and after the Suppression
  • An Unlikely Pairing: Ignatius Loyola and John Wesley
• PART V: Spirituality General
  • Introduction
  • Exploring the Riverbed: Christian Spirituality Today
  • Mary: A Brief Meditation
  • Spirituality and Imagination
• List of Sources