Gaston Fessard employs Hegel’s dialectical logic to clarify how St. Ignatius’s Spiritual Exercises envisage and prepare the decisions and choices between contrasting options or major turning points in spiritual life, in moments of what Ignatius would call Election.

"Gaston Fessard, S.J. (1897-1978), was a major mid-twentieth century French intellectual. He was a Hegel expert, but also wrote on issues of the day ranging from the Vichy regime to Christian-Marxist dialogue. The product of several decades of reflection, Fessard's work on the Dialectic of the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius of Loyola is the only one of its kind, a careful and penetrating study into the structure and tension of life-changing choices that Ignatius had in mind in his four week spiritual exercises. The Exercises insist on the way of making a spiritual Election, or choice in keeping with God's will for oneself and for the Christian community at a particular moment in one's existence"--

This book presents a new translation of the Spiritual Exercises of Ignatius de Loyola, of his Spiritual Diary, of his Autobiography, and some of his letters. These translations are introduced by a hermeneutical commentary laying out the theory and practices of the decision-making power of imagining. Ignatius proposed in his Spiritual Exercises a form of decision-oriented mysticism, and through their use, gathered around him a group of associates who became the firs members of the Jesuit Order. Under the control of later, doctrinally oriented theologians, the practical, decision-oriented mystical character of the original Exercises was gradually replaced by a more theoretical and devotional character. Antonio T. de Nicolas recovers in his translations and through his critical apparatus, the original decision-oriented thrust of Ignatius.

The 'Spiritual Exercises' of Ignatius Loyola, composed in the 16th century, consist of a sequence of meditations on the life of Jesus aimed at promoting spiritual depth and discernment about how to live. In this work, Haight has set out to open this classic work to an audience encompassing all spiritual seekers.

"I would like one day," Hans Urs von Balthasar wrote in 1952, "to write a book on Ignatius of Loyola, the saint of whom I will always consider myself the least of sons." The Jesuit-formed theologian from Switzerland—widely considered one of the greatest thinkers and spiritual writers of modern times—never got the chance to fulfill this dream. Instead, Balthasar's whole theology, from Theo-Drama to Dare We Hope "That All Men Be Saved", is imbued with the influence of Saint Ignatius, founder of the Society of Jesus and author of the Spiritual Exercises, a multi-week retreat guide that has rejuvenated Catholic spirituality since the sixteenth century. Throughout Balthasar's priestly life, he led countless retreatants in the Ignatian Exercises, accompanying them in their discernment of God's call. This anthology is an aid for those either giving or making an Ignatian retreat. Full of citations and equipped with four indexes, as well as many texts never before translated into English, it sifts Balthasar's writings for insights into almost every element of Ignatius' "libretto", sometimes diving into themes scarcely explored by others. Moreover, it maps out those hidden strains of Jesuit spirituality that run unnoticed through the theologian's oeuvre. Yet the book may help anyone at all who wants to engage more deeply with Jesus or come to grips with Church doctrine, for as Balthasar himself says, the Spiritual Exercises are both a "great school of Christocentric contemplation" and a "genuine interpretation of the deposit of the faith".

Although oriented primarily to those less familiar with them, this book offers fresh insights for those experienced in the 'Spiritual exercises.' It includes explanations of their dynamics and correlations between the events of Ignatius' conversion experiences and certain aspects of the 'Exercises.' The meditations on the Kingdom and the Two Standards are viewed from the vantage of contemporary culture. Thus the medieval model of the lord-vassal relationship and the male-dominated imagery are illuminated with the help of insights from Jung. Deeper psychological insight into dying to self in our attachments and desires is linked to our contemplations on the suffering and death of Jesus. The suitability for lay people to make the 'Exercises' is suggested in their adaptation to an open setting of daily life. Finally, a developing personal encounter with Christ in the present is delineated as central to Ignatian spirituality.

After the Second Vatican Council, there has been within the Indian Church a growing interest in and concern for whatever is of perennial value in Hinduism. Keeping this in mind, the present study aims at comparing and contrasting the teachings of the Bhagavad-Gita and the Spiritual Exercises of Saint Ignatius of Loyola on the process of spiritual liberation. It is striking that in these two books under investigation the process of spiritual liberation is interwoven with the vision of service, the knowledge of God and His ways, and the experience of the love of God. The study makes use of the comparative method which incorporates historical, exegetical and critical analyses of the relevant texts of the two sources.

In a time of discouragement, how can the Church renew itself and its outreach to all people? Bishop Robert Barron, Auxiliary Bishop of the Archdiocese of Los Angeles, insists that a "dumbed down" Catholicism cannot succeed in today's highly educated society--instead, the Church needs to draw upon its great theological heritage in order to renew its hope in Christ. With Renewing Our Hope: Essays for the New Evangelization, Bishop Barron traces this renewal through four stages. "Renewing Our Mission" lays out the challenges that call for Catholics to become more aware of their own intellectual resources in encountering the "Nones." "Renewing Our Minds" showcases the importance of theological reflection as a font of wisdom and sanity in the Church, touching on Thomas Aquinas, Hans Urs von Balthasar, the recently canonized John Henry Newman, and Pope Francis. In "Renewing the Church," he proceeds to look at how Scripture, the family, the seminary, and Catholic college graduates can each contribute to this renewal. Finally, in "Renewing Our Culture," he returns to the judgments Catholics must make in assessing contemporary culture, specifically, family life, liberalism, relativism, and (surprisingly) the beauty of cinema. Bishop Barron, known as the host of the Catholicism PBS video series, was previously rector and professor of systematic theology at Mundelein Seminary outside Chicago, Illinois. He demonstrates again in Renewing Our Hope his ability to make the fruits of his wide reading accessible to a broad audience, while still giving his academic colleagues much to consider.