John O’Malley SJ

The Creator Deals Directly with the Creature

by Jim Manney

A comment about the early Jesuits There was, however, one “doctrine” that was fundamental for them, one that gave orientation to all their ministries and to the way they wanted to lead their own lives. It was the basic premise of the Exercises, even though it was buried unobtrusively in the fifteenth “Preliminary Observation”: the [...]

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O’Malley on the Spiritual Exercises

by Jim Manney

John O’Malley, SJ, is the featured speaker in the first of a series of videos on the Spiritual Exercises produced by Georgetown University.  The series looks at the dynamics of the Exercises and examines new ways that they are being given.  Other speakers in the star-studded lineup include Jesuits George Aschenbrenner, John Padberg, and William [...]

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How the Jesuits Got So Worldly

by Jim Manney

Historian John W. O’Malley, SJ, ponders Jesuit worldliness  in a recent article.  He starts with a Jesuit joke, but the “worldliness” of the Jesuits is no joke.  It’s real. The decision to operate schools gave the Society a big shove in the worldly direction.  But O’Malley traces the roots of worldliness to the Jesuits’ early [...]

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The List 5.25.09: What Happened at Vatican II

by Jim Manney

The List is a weekly feature highlighting something remarkable, offbeat, or otherwise noteworthy from the world of the Jesuits and Ignatian spirituality. Pope John XXIII proposed the idea of Vatican Council II 50 years ago.  The debate about what happened there continues today.  Was the Council a break with the past?  Or did it reaffirm [...]

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