THE WAY a review of Christian spirituality published by the British Jesuits January 2003 Volume 42, Number 1 I will instruct you and teach you the way you should go. Editorial office Campion Hall, Oxford, OX1 1QS, UK Subscriptions office THE WAY, Turpin Distribution Services Ltd, Blackhorse Road, Letchworth, Hertfordshire, SG6 1HN, UK THE WAY January 2003 The Ignatian Spirituality of the Way 7 Philip Endean Ignatian sources bear witness to a spirituality of movement, of continual discovery, of ‘the way’. This converges strikingly with contemporary developments in the study of spirituality. It is from this convergence that The Way draws inspiration and energy. On Receiving an Inheritance: Confessions of a Former 22 Marginaholic James Alison James Alison’s personal story reveals much about how the marginalised are prone to self-deception, but even more about how God’s love is untouched by such manipulative behaviour. Our inheritance is assured. The Impact of Transition 34 Barbara Hendricks Whenever we try to communicate across cultural boundaries, we are ourselves drawn into a process of self-questioning, growth, and transformation. A distinguished Maryknoll missionary explores this experience. Theological Trends: Jesuit Theologies of Mission 44 Michael Sievernich Michael Sievernich explains how the idea of ‘inculturation’ was developed in Jesuit circles around the time of Vatican II, and discusses its relationship with other key notions in the contemporary theology of mission such as justice and interreligious dialogue. From the Ignatian Tradition: Guidelines for Pilgrims 58 Simão Rodrigues How early Jesuit recruits would live out the spirituality of the Exercises by going on a pilgrimage. THE WAY January 2003 The Early Jesuits and the Road 71 Mario Scaduto A vivid account of what it was like to travel on mission in Italy in the years following Ignatius’ death. September11 and Christian Spirituality in the United States 85 Thomas Hughson Thomas Hughson reflects on how the events of September 11 2001 have drawn many US citizens into a more Christian form of civil spirituality. Recent Books 98 Andrew Hamilton is unconvinced by Passionate Uncertainty, a provocative study of contemporary US Jesuits Brendan Callaghan on two recent books about psychology and Christianity Gerard J. Hughes on Stanley Hauerwas and natural theology Michael Barnes on a new collection of essays by Sarah Coakley Paul Nicholson on Theology and Sexuality, a set of readings both classic and contemporary Michael Kirwan on an anthology of Radical Christian Writings John Ashton on a fine new account of the Book of Revelation from Ian Boxall A. M. Allchin on two new studies of Celtic spiritual literature Damian Howard is sceptical about a new book on European religion John Pridmore on Quaker peace spirituality, and on the relationship between self-esteem and self-denial The Way is an international journal of contemporary Christian spirituality, published by the British Jesuits. Through writing informed by critical and creative scholarship, it aims to provide a forum in which thoughtful Christians, from different walks of life and different traditions, reflect on God’s continuing action in human experience. Among particular concerns of The Way are: • the role of spirituality in the struggle for justice • the spiritual issues raised by intercultural and interreligious dialogue • the interactions between spirituality, politics and culture • the fostering and development of the Ignatian spiritual tradition The Way warmly invites readers to submit articles with a view to publication. They should normally be about 4,000 words long, and be in keeping with the journal’s aims. The Editor is always ready to discuss possible ideas. Further details about how to submit an article can be found on The Way’s website, www.theway.org.uk. The Special Number for July 2004, marking the centenaries of a number of distinguished twentieth century Jesuit theologians, will explore the relationship between the Spiritual Exercises and contemporary theology; contributions on this theme would be especially welcome. Why not give a friend a subscription to THE WAY? Personal Subscription Rates 2003 UK £25 N. America $40 US Post-Communist Countries €32 W. Europe €43 Developing Countries £18 Rest of the World £27 Contact: THE WAY, Turpin Distribution Services Ltd, Blackhorse Road Letchworth, Hertfordshire, SG6 1HN, UK 44/0 1462 672555 ext 6050 (phone); 44/0 1462 480947 (fax) [email protected] FOREWORD With this issue, The Way enters on a new phase in its life. Rest assured, however: the most valuable things about it will not change. The Way will remain a wide-ranging, exploratory journal of contemporary spirituality, drawing in a special way on the Ignatian tradition. The first article in this number, ‘The Ignatian Spirituality of the Way’, sets out one account of what that vision might mean. A number of the changes that have been made are administrative. The Way Supplement will no longer exist as a separate publication, but will continue as an annual Special Number of The Way, published in July of each year. As many of you have discovered, we have entered into agreement with an outside agency, Turpin Distribution Services, for the management of our subscriptions. Thanks to this change, and to computer technology, The Way is now happily accommodated in far smaller office space than it needed previously. Before long, we hope to have all our back numbers easily available in electronic form, through our website and on CD-ROM. We hope that the journal in its new form can be more interactive. This is a major reason why we have decided that three of the four issues each year will be varied in their themes—it is our hope that you, our readers, will feel inspired to send in the material which you want to write, rather than be constrained by the themes which we choose. The Way appears too infrequently for us to publish regular Letters to the Editor, but we hope that our website will soon include a Guest Book, where readers and authors can exchange views and opinions about what we publish. We are hoping, too, to extend still further the international character of The Way. First steps in this regard include the appointment of a wider range of Editorial Correspondents (the successors of the Associate Editors), including some from the continent of Europe; and the introduction of a discount rate subscription for readers in post-Communist and developing countries. Thank you for your support as we have been working on this re- launch. We hope that you will find The Way in its new form a source both of pleasure and of profit. Philip Endean SJ A stile near St Beuno’s Spiritual Exercises Centre, North Wales THE IGNATIAN SPIRITUALITY OF THE WAY Philip Endean HE INSTINCT TO DESCRIBE LIFE AS A ‘WAY’ or a ‘journey’ is, of course, Tuniversal. We find such expressions both within and beyond contexts we would readily identify as religious. Equally obviously, ‘the way’ has a special meaning for Christianity. The Fourth Gospel’s Jesus understood himself as ‘the way and the truth and the life’ (John 14:6), a formula enshrined in The Way’s logo; and the Acts of the Apostles refers to Jesus’ disciples as ‘followers of the Way’ (Acts 9:2). Yet there are also distinctive reasons why an Ignatian journal of contemporary spirituality should call itself The Way. When dealing with new converts, Ignatius was concerned ‘to set them better into the way of the Lord’.1 This way might have begun with the Exercises and with various forms of ascetical practice, but eventually it opens out into a way of unpredictable service, a way of ministry beyond conventional boundaries. The Way therefore needs to draw on resources of two kinds. It must explore the documents of the Ignatian tradition, but not simply for the own sake or in isolation. Rather, it must also follow the invitation the Exercises have always given to anyone who takes them seriously: an invitation to explore how the Spirit is at work in our changing culture and our changing selves. Rules for Moving Forward Ignatius was well aware of the need for good order; his secretary, Juan Alfonso de Polanco, deserves an honoured place in any history of bureaucracy. At the outset of the Constitutions that he wrote for his Society, Ignatius tells us that laws and regulations are necessary: the 1 Examen, c. 4. n. 34 [91]: enderezarlos mejor in viam Domini. The Way, 42/1 (January 2003), pp. 7-21. 8 Philip Endean Pope requires them; the witness of the saints and common sense confirm it. But these laws are only secondary: . the supreme wisdom and goodness of God our creator and Lord is what must preserve and govern and carry forward in his holy service this very little Society of Jesus, just as he deigned to begin it, and on our part, more than any exterior constitution, the law from within of charity and love which the Holy Spirit writes and impresses upon hearts . 2 Moreover, the purpose of the laws is not to instil a spirit of conformity, but rather to keep people moving: . we hold it necessary that constitutions be written, that should help us move forward better, in conformity with our Institute, along the way that has been started which is the divine service. ‘Institute’ here has the connotation of ‘beginning’: what Christ our Lord has begun must be carried forward with equal creativity. Ignatius has not laid down a blueprint, but rather initiated a ‘style of moving forward’ (modo de proceder).3 A similar set of ideas can be found at the outset of the Spiritual Exercises. When Ignatius introduces what we call a retreat director, he speaks of ‘the person who gives to another the style and structure (modo y orden) of meditating and contemplating’.