James Martin, SJ, The Jesuit Guide to (Almost) Everything: A Spirituality for Real Life (Harper One: New York, 2012)
This is the book that introduced me to Jesuit spirituality while I was living in Colorado. I can’t remember if I read it just before or just after going on a retreat at the Sacred Heart retreat house in Sedalia, but I do know that the book had a big impact on me. Although I’m not a Roman Catholic, I’m attracted to the Jesuit idea of being a ‘contemplative in action’, and I find Jesuit spirituality very accessible. Perhaps this sense of accessibility was helped by reading this book. Written by the editor of the Jesuit America magazine, the goal of this book is to present Jesuit beliefs to a wide audience and show the relevance to ‘real life’.
Following a brief introduction to the history of Ignatius of Loyola and the foundation of the Society of Jesus in the Catholic Reformation of the C.16th, the book focuses on the practical aspects of the Jesuit spirituality. It introduces the Jesuit daily Examen, the Spiritual Exercises, various Jesuit approaches to prayer, the importance of detachment, the ideas of consolation and desolation at the heart of Jesuit decision making, and various other aspects of Jesuit faith and practice. These insights are illustrated using examples from James Martin’s own life, and stories from friends and from the Jesuit tradition. Occasionally the anecdotes can get a little repetitive and make for quite a long book. But The Jesuit Guide is engaging and insightful throughout. As I pursue a vocation in self-supporting ministry in the Church of England, there is much that is useful in this book, not least the importance of work to Christian faith, which is discussed in the final substantive chapter: ‘Be Who You Is!’
Religion, Environment, History 