Reaching into the past to glean modern lessons from spiritual masters can be inspiring and useful. But what is a seeker to do when the ancient master has the wisdom and the message, but his writing style doesn’t easily translate across the centuries?
Ignatius of Loyola, the 16th-century mystic and founder of the vast Jesuit religious order and private school system of the Catholic Church, is just such a spiritual source, according to Mark E. Thibodeaux, a Jesuit priest, teacher, and author who lives and works in Grand Coteau, La. Thibodeaux’s new book, God’s Voice Within: The Ignatian Way to Discover God’s Will (Loyola Press, Dec.) aims to present Ignatius’s ideas on discernment, or prayerful decision making, in a modern light.
Canonized as a saint in 1622, Ignatius was “the first psychologist,” Thibodeaux argues, a student of the inner life who believed that spiritually intelligent decision making starts with taking the time to sort through the myriad choices that confront us each day, and refusing to make any important choice from a negative emotional place.
“To make a good decision, we have to determine the sources of our inspirations,” says Thibodeaux, who in 2001 published Armchair Mystic: Easing into Contemplative Prayer (St. Anthony Messenger Press), which has sold more than 50,000 copies. “The ones that Ignatius would say are from ‘the good spirit’ are the ones we want to go with,” he tells RBL.
God’s Voice Within has an initial print run of 5,000 copies, and publicity plans concentrate on radio and magazine coverage by both general and Catholic media outlets. Reviews are confirmed from some top national Catholic magazines, including America, U.S. Catholic, and St. Anthony Messenger, and Thibodeaux has plans for several retreats and speaking engagements in the coming months.
Loyola Press hopes that by tapping into the ubiquitous problem of how to make wise and grounded decisions in a world of nearly endless options, God’s Voice Within will have appeal beyond a Jesuit or even Catholic readership.
Calling Thibodeaux a “calm, folksy guy,” editor Joe Durepos compares the author’s style to that of others who have illuminated universal spiritual questions with faith-based principles that resonate both within and outside their traditions, like Philip Yancey, Rick Warren, and Pema Chödrön.
“What we offer is a way to ask the essential questions of life, and a way to be attuned to hear the answers,” says Durepos, Loyola Press’s trade acquisitions editor. “You don’t even have to be spiritual to be curious about the mechanics of how to make a good decision.”
Holly Lebowitz Rossi is a freelance writer in Arlington, Mass. Visit her online at http://hollyrossi.com.
