James Guide Horde
St. Ignatius Loyola (1491-1556), the founder of the Society of Jesus (aka the Jesuits), was known for his practical spirituality. The "way of Ignatius" has helped millions of people—from the doubtful seeker to the devout believer—find freedom, make friends, live simply, work sensibly, fall in love, experience joy, and enter into a kinship with God.
The Ignatian goal of "finding God in all things" eans that each portion of our lives may lead us to God. The Jesuit Guide to (Almost) Everything shows us how this is possible, with user-friendly examples, humorous stories and anecdotes from the heroic and inspiring lives of Jesuit saints and intermediate priests and brothers, as well as examples from Martin's twenty years as a Jesuit. The traditionalisti wisdom that Jesuits use to support other humans in their each day lives is effortlessly applied, but not often explained well to the frequent public. The Jesuit Guide to (Almost) Everything translates these perceptivities of St. Ignatius for a modern audience and reveals how we may find God—and how God may find us—in the real world of work, love, suffering, decisions, prayer, and friendship.
From Publishers WeeklyIgnatius of Loyola's "way of proceeding" as lived by the Jesuits, the community of men he started in 1540, forms the basis of this spiritual handbook. Author Martin, a Jesuit for 20 years, claims anybody may gain from the methods Jesuits utilize in conducting their lives. This includes not only believers in God, but those who eschew religion, reject God, explore the spiritual terrain, or are just plain confused. After all, Martin writes, the Ignatian way is with regards to "finding freedom," and the Jesuit founder wanted it to be available to everyone, not only members of his community. Martin provides a brief history of Ignatius and the Jesuits, followed by a how-to that covers prayer in it is respective forms; the Jesuit vows of chastity, poverty and obedience; friendship and love; discernment; and finding a life path. Readers intimate with the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius-an ordered set of spiritual themes and practices-and other facets of Jesuit life will find this rather elementary, but Martin has done a creditable occupation of making the Ignatian way applicable to a contemporary audience.
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From BooklistFor over 500 years, the Jesuit Order of Catholic priests, founded by St. Ignatius of Loyola, have enjoyed a well-deserved reputation as a society of scholars, educators, free-thinkers, and activists. In this digestible account of all things Jesuit, James Martin, S.J., encapsulates the in a unique manner Ignatian conception of spirituality. Translating the essence of the Jesuit doctrine into layman’s terms, he uses both traditionalisti stories and personal anecdotes to vividly illustrate the Jesuit approach to God, friendship, social justice, decision-making, prayer, simplicity, obedience, and self-actualization. Martin’s engaging, intimate tone will appeal to any person fascinated in understanding the history, the efficacy, and the universality of the Jesuit mission and way of life. Martin, the author of My Life with the Saints (2006), has a way of popularizing severe religious issues without trivializing their affect and significance. --Margaret Flanagan
Review“An magnificent introduction to Jesuit spirituality for a general reader.... [Martin’s] writing is accessible, comprehensive, and often times humorous.” (Commonweal )
“[The Jesuit Guide to (Almost) Everything] becomes like a read-along spiritual director, somebody to prompt you with questions, redirect your look with fixed eyes and aid you, Martin says, to ‘discern where God might be speaking to you.’” (USA Today )
Writing beautifully, and with ordinary touches of humor, James Martin, SJ, shows us what he’s learned in religious life, and in the routine offers us a rich spiritual feast. (Catholic Digest (Editor's Top Pick of the Month) )
“User-friendly...The Jesuit Guide to (Almost) Everything…helpfully unpacks core precepts like ‘finding God in all things.’” (Time.com )
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181 of 182 humans found the following review helpful.
 "The Jesuit Guide to (Almost) Everything: A Spirituality for Real Life," by Fr. James Martin
By Ann W. Turner
If you are looking for a associate to take along on your spiritual journey, you couldn't pick a better one than Fr. James Martin, S.J. His new book is a marvel. It is clear and concise when it comes to all those troubling questions you always wanted to ask when it comes to God and finding God. It offers a map (thoughtfully provided by St. Ignatius of Loyola and built on by Fr. James) for seeing God in your life and putting into exercise this wisdom. This includes simplifying your life, confronting the nature of suffering, how Ignatian spirituality helps with making decisions, how to become the person you were produced to be, and more. I particularly liked the percentage on role of desire--our hearts' deepest longings--and how they fetch us closer to God. Add in Fr. James's flashes of incisive humor as well as respective accounts from his personal journey, and you have a fine book.
If I had one word to utilise to this book (I considered "inspiring," "educating," "enlightening," and "transforming") it would be clarity. We are in outstanding need of a clear thinker as we ponder together the nature of our humanity and who we are called to be while alive on this earth.
137 of 138 persons found the following review helpful.
A readable religious book that still makes you think.
By Derek Emerson
Religious, and specifically Christian, books may be a challenging lot. On the one hand there are a great deal of outstanding theological texts to read (Augustine, Aquinas, Calvin, Rahner, Barth, etc), but suffice it to say they are not the type of book you curl up with at the end of the day. On the other hand, there are too a great deal of "Christian-lite" books (I'll be nice and not name names) which touch on Christian themes, but lack the depth to genuinely challenge the faithful.
With his rather bold title, The Jesuit Guide to (Almost) Everything, James Martin, SJ looks like he would fall in the latter category. But happily, what we find here is a treatment of the Christian faith (through a Jesuit lens) which is not difficult to digest, but will challenge the reader to reexamine their stance toward faith. This is not just wordplay when I say "stance toward faith." Martin candidly and respectfully engages readers who may be atheists or agnostics, as well as any Christian still examining their faith. He does note that much of what he offers from his Jesuit life could be adopted by non-Christians. But give Martin credit for not being embarrassed of his faith and making a strong case for Christianity.
Martin acknowledges his own wordplay when he addresses his title. "It's not a guide to understanding everything regarding everything (thus the Almost). Rather, it's a guide to discovering how God may be found in each dimension of your life." The essence of the book is that each aspect of your life is spiritual -- faith is not just concerned with your thoughts on God, but what you say in those emails to a coworker. This is the original of four definitions that comes from Jesuit spirituality, namely, that everything in your life is important. The second idea is "contemplative in action," in which Martin outlines how a contemplative life translates into an active life. This theme plays a major role allround the book as Martin explores how those of us who are not Jesuits may still actively comprise spirituality into our lives. Third, not only is everything important, but God may be found everywhere. This carries the theological phrase of incarnational spirituality, but the idea is simple. Finally, a great deal of readers may be amazed to listen that humans who pledge obeisance see their spiritual life as one of freedom and detachment from distracting influences as opposed to a set of rules to follow.
Martin spends a great deal of time looking at the role of prayer in our lives. Again he is not affrighted to challenge, as he does with the traditionalisti pardon of "busyness," when it comes to why we find prayer challenging. One of Martin's amount of energy is that he grasps the challenges of the working world. He came to his own faith conclusions after a, ahem, active collegiate experience and after having a successful business career. He knows what some persons deal with daily, and even though not the head of a family, he grasps the stresses the life of a parent has to contend with in addition to finding prayer time. But he points out that all relationships need nurturing, and our kinship with God is no different.
He offers assorted options, but his focus on "The Examen" is the most enlightening. This Jesuit prayer is central to the Jesuit way of life. Created by the Jesuit founder, St. Ignatius Loyola (and Jesuit spirituality is oftentimes called Ignatian spirituality), this prayer takes a person through five steps at the end of the day. The prayer focuses on the course of the day. In Martin's version (and we learn all around that Jesuits are a finelooking flexible lot on faith issues) we commence with gratitude for what went well, and then review all actions of the day. When we recall events we are sorry for we have reached the third step, which leads naturally to seeking forgiveness, step four. Finally, we seek God's grace for the coming day.
Simple as it sounds, and it is simple, the prayer reinforces that idea of all distinct elements of your life are necessary to God. All our actions must reflect our faith, and when we fail, we will have to seek to remedy our wrongs. Regardless of one's faith inclination, a indepth review of the day and an accounting for one's activenesses is bound to develop chances to move forward.
Martin's explanations of the vows of obedience, chastity, and poverty are enlightening in not only understanding what those vows mean, but what they have to do with the rest of us. No, he is not advancing international chastity in the normal sense, but he does argue that loving chastely lets those even in sexual relationships realize there are a great deal of ways to express love. In a sex-obsessed culture, this rather apparent line of thinking is desperately needed.
This is how Martin works all around the book. He explains how Jesuit's think and why, and then looks to tie it in with each day life for the non-Jesuits of the world. While it sounds simple, it is challenging in both content and translation to life. If you just want an easy "feel good" book or "10 steps to live like a Jesuit," look elsewhere. If you want to think regarding faith and how it underlies your life, this is the place to start. But not to worry, Martin does all this with a sense of humor. He knows when a good deal of thinking sounds funny, and he points it out. He loves to tell Jesuit jokes, almost always at the expense of Jesuits, and the book is filled with real-life stories to illustrate his points. How ofttimes do you get to read a priest talk when it comes to being overwhelmed by sexual obsession just weeks before ordination? Martin does, and he spares himself little in the telling of tales. But his honestness and humor make all this thinking that more fun. And after all, if we can not take pleasure in our faith, we must be missing something.
Martin likewise keeps a friendly, informative Facebook page where you may read regarding his other remarks on life.
76 of 78 humans found the following review helpful.
Great book for anybody looking to comprehend spirituality
By J. Sioson
This book outlines the basic tenets of Ignatian spirituality and applies it to the dissimilar paths that a person may take spiritually. Fr. Martin does an splendid occupation of making spirituality more practical and available to everyone, not just those who are fortunate sufficient to recognise a Jesuit. If you're confused in regards to spirituality and religion and everything in between, this book is an easy-to-read primer for how to integrate your spirituality in daily life and how to find God in all things. I exceptionally like the portion when it comes to SBNR (Spiritual but not religious).
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