On the Ignatian Spiritual Exercises

Hans Urs von Balthasar on the Ignatian Spiritual Exercises: An Anthology by Hans Urs von Balthasar, edited by Jacques Servais, SJ, translated by Thomas Jacobi and Jonas Wernet, 262 pages

This volume gathers together thoughts inspired by the Spiritual Exercises of St Ignatius of Loyola found scattered throughout the writing of Hans Urs von Balthasar.  These thoughts are not those of an idle commentator, but of a man who had both repeatedly conducted the Exercises and been conducted through them.  What emerges are something like notes towards a theology of the Exercises, a theology of election and direction and therefore of movement and mission.  St Ignatius' spirituality is presented as distinctively modern, viewing the spiritual life as an endless struggle, but also strikingly theocentric, concerned not with human needs and ends but with the worship and service of the Almighty.  For Balthasar, the Suscipe of St Ignatius is one more echo of the Marian fiat which lies at the heart of the Church, itself the perfect reflection of the Son's obedience to the Father.