About a year ago I got the idea of putting together a collection of short readings of inspiring and enlightening material from the Ignatian tradition.  My bosses said “do it,” and “presto” here it is.  Charged with Grandeur: The Book of Ignatian Inspiration has just been published.

The title comes from the first line of Gerard Manley Hopkins’s famous poem: “The world is charged with the grandeur of God.” The readings are arranged in themes, including finding God in all things, contemplation in action, discernment, relationships, and work.  Dozens of writers are included.  I tried to put together a book that shows the range, depth, and contemporary relevance of Ignatian spirituality.

If this interests you, take a look at the book on Loyola Press’s website.  Click on the blue button see inside for a preview.

Sunday is the feast of St. Ignatius Loyola. To mark the day, Loyola Press will give away a copy of Paul Coutinho’s book An Ignatian Pathway to one lucky dotMagis reader. To enter for your chance to win, please leave a comment on this post before end of day Sunday, July 31.

The winner will be announced early next week. There is no need to leave your personal contact information in your comment; I’ll contact the winner via e-mail for shipping details.

For an additional chance to win, visit People for Others, which is giving away its own copy of An Ignatian Pathway. And be sure to follow along with the final days of 31 Days with St. Ignatius.

Something to think about | The question to be constantly asked in decision-making is “what do I really want?” Deep down, that’s what God wants too.  God wants what is best for us.  This isn’t something repugnant, or burdensome, or sad, or difficult.  The way of life that God desires for us is the way of life we desire.  “What do I really want?” is a simple question.  But simple doesn’t mean easy.  Usually this question is quite difficult to answer.  Our deepest desires are obscured by pride, fears, ambitions, and attachments to money, honor, security, and a host of other things.  The process of discernment is essentially a process of stripping away these false desires and finding the desires at the core of our selves.  Discernment of spirits is a way of grasping what these deep desires are.

J. Michael Sparough, SJ
What’s Your Decision?

At the America magazine blog, Valerie Schultz lists the top ten reasons to stay Catholic.  A couple are whimsical (#5: We put on an excellent funeral); all of them are thoughtful.

Valerie’s post reminded me to mention a fine book that Loyola Press has recently published–Why Stay Catholic? by Michael Leach.   Publisher’s Weekly interviewed him and gave the book a starred review.  Leach has also been publishing an entertaining blog that’s well worth a look.  Excellent stuff.

A listening exercise by Vinita Wright, from her book Days of Deepening Friendship.

Over the next several days, practice listening. Listen to everything—traffic sounds, nature sounds, speaking sounds, and the sounds of peace and quiet. Try to listen with great attention for five or ten minutes every day. Do this during a coffee/tea break, if that helps.

Then, gradually tune in to God’s voice. This voice will come through many of the sounds you have already been noticing. It will also emerge as you partake of the arts—books, music, paintings, dance, and so forth. You will hear God’s voice during worship or while your children are playing.

Try to spend a few moments each day quietly listening for God. Don’t say anything or ask for anything. Or if you do ask for something, may it be, “God, help me tune in to your voice.”

Paul Coutinho, SJ, has just published a new book. It’s called An Ignatian Pathway: Experiencing the Mystical Dimension of the Spiritual Exercises. Coutinho is an Indian Jesuit who has been teaching at St. Louis University for several years.  He brings an Eastern sensibility to his reflections on the Spiritual Exercises.  He’s different, provocative, always probing and personal.

Here’s a sample:

Ignatius suggests that when theology becomes an experience of the heart it evokes greater reverence. It is in the heart where life decisions are made and transformation takes place. The heart is the sacred ground where we truly encounter and experience the Divine.

To me, this means that in my day-to-day interactions with people I should strive for a union of hearts more than a union of minds. With our hearts in union, Ignatius believes that even when we disagree with another, or with their understanding of life and truth, we will always listen with greater reverence and respond with greater respect.

At America’s “In All Things” blog, Bill Van Ornum invites reflection and opinions about C.S. Lewis’s fable The Screwtape Letters. He points out the parallels between the circumstances today (war in Libya) and the time when Lewis wrote the book (World War II).  Van Ornum comments that Lewis “refers several times in Screwtape to the conflict and enmity between pacifists and those adhering to just-war theories, pointing out that each side becomes so certain of their righteousness that this issue becomes more important than what we ask for each time we say the Lord’s Prayer.”

Van Ornum sees an Ignatian streak in Lewis’s thought:

where he encourages us to live each day to the fullest, to be concerned about only each day’s bread, and to remember those lilies of the field that sway so beautiful and remain so protected. Simple pleasures—taking a walk, tea-time or coffee break, reading or re-reading a book, having a pint in a pub—were staples in Lewis’s life and he encouraged others to find activities like this. And like Ignatius, for him gratitude was a cardinal virtue.

I have a friend whose family members hang onto grudges and slights. They are people who remember everything ever done to them, against them – and by whom. They just can’t let of the wrong that has been done to them and they carry it with them every day.

“Refusing to forgive someone who has wronged you,” he says, “is like taking rat poison and hoping the rat dies.”

Forgiveness is an incredibly difficult task, and for many whose lives have been so much more difficult then mine, perhaps a seemingly impossible job.

That’s why I was so struck by a brilliant passage in Loyola Press’ Thrift Store Saints by Jane Knuth. She writes about the customers she meets in her volunteer work in a St. Vincent de Paul store. One day a woman comes in for clothes, a woman whose life and body speak of manual labor, long hours on her feet and poverty. She chooses the clothes she needs and as she stands at the checkout counter, she begins to talk about her life.

“Some church people, they talk about forgiving all the time, but they don’t have any idea how hard it is to forgive because I don’t think they’ve ever had something really wicked done to them. I’ve had a hard time forgiving my dad. I left home when I was 15 because of him.”

She continues talking to Jane as the clothes are bagged. “Don’t get me wrong. Forgiving is the most important thing. If you can’t forgive, it eats you up inside.” She says she is now the only one in her family who speaks to their dad. Jane is stunned at this woman’s insights and asks how the woman how she forgave her dad.

“Well, you know how church people say you have to forgive because Jesus forgave the people who crucified him? They say he forgave them while he was hanging on the cross. I heard that over and over.”

She pauses and explains to Jane that what “they say” isn’t quite right. She looked it up in the Bible, she said. “What actually happened, what he really did say was: ‘Father, forgive them, they don’t know what they are doing.’ He was talking to God, not to them. He was praying for them.”

What a profound lesson from a streetwise theologian who apparently found the peace she was looking for. May we all find that peace and ability to forgive.

One day at Loyola Press I was given a manuscript to read  and asked to give an opinion.  Nothing unusual about that — but I was completely enthralled.  (Now that’s unusual.) I read the whole thing in about three hours.  It was one of the most artfully written, interesting, and entertaining manuscripts I’d ever read.  The author was James Martin, SJ.  The manuscript became the book A Jesuit Off-Broadway. It’s just been published in paperback.

It’s the story of Jim Martin’s six months as the theological consultant to a theater troupe rehearsing The Last Days of Judas Iscariot for its New York debut several years ago.  The playwright, director, and cast had many questions about scripture, Jesus’ life and mission, the historical accuracy of the gospels, and many other topics related to the subject of the play. Martin’s account of how he answered them is delightful–sophisticated catechesis for a band of secular  artists.

The other great pleasure of the book is its insider view of the life of theater people.  You’ve probably heard of some of them.  The play was directed by Philip Seymour Hoffman and Sam Rockwell played Judas.   An excellent book.  Buy it here.

I try to live in sync with the liturgical year because doing so provides a glorious framework for daily living. I mention this because revising my book, Come to the Table: A Passover Seder for Parish Use during Advent felt downright weird.  But an author needs to do what an author needs to do, so that’s what I did to make  this second edition available before Lent.  Come to the Table is now available! Buy it here.

Come to the Table has undergone many changes over the years. Me too.

As an adult convert from Judaism,  I became acutely aware of the hunger I witnessed among Christians to connect more – and more authentically – with Jewish heritage.  As you might imagine, I’m often asked, “Why did you become a Christian?” I did not anticipate how frequently I’d be asked to teach and write more about the Jewish roots of Christian…everything.

Realizing that parishes already were and would continue offering a seder experience during Lent, I felt compelled (Veni, Sancte Spiritus!) to create one that I, someone raised Jewish, could endorse. Believing strongly it would be totally inappropriate to replicate a Jewish seder, I created one that draws upon core Christian concepts and scripture to enhance appreciation for the Last Supper as a Last Seder.

In addition to a liturgy, I provided commentary (in footnotes) about the long and often grievous history of Christian-Jewish relations. I wrote about preparing the heart as well as preparing the table.  I was happy with the first edition, written specifically for use by Roman Catholic Christians. Indeed, it has been used by many parishes and I treasure notes I’ve received over the years.

Change happens. As a practical matter, some instructions needed clarification.  Some users asked if they could simply photocopy the liturgy! Also, I could not ignore how changes to the Roman Missal would create “huh?” moments in my own text.

More important, my ongoing formation has sparked a deeper yearning to reach out to Christians beyond my Roman Catholic sisters and brothers, something I do in part by serving as abbess of @virtual_abbey.  As a result, the second edition has been revised for easy use by any liturgical church whose Holy Week observances would be enhanced by a seder.

For Jews, Passover is a holiday commemorating liberation from bondage as well as God’s faithfulness.  My hope is that the new edition of Come to the Table deepens users’ appreciation of Judaism and serves as a reminder that Jesus invited everyone to the table.  Thanks be to God.