Impelling Spirit: Revisiting a Founding Experience: 1539, Iqnatius of Loyola and His Companions - Softcover

Conwell S.J., Joseph F

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0829408649 ISBN 13: 9780829408645

Publisher: Loyola Press, 1997

Synopsis

Impelling Spirit is a book about Jesuit spirituality as seen in its origins. As such it responds to the challenge of Vatican II that the appropriate renewal of religious life demands a return to the sources of Christian life and the spirit and aims of the founders of an institute. The instrument the author employs is a 1539 document Ignatius and his companions drafted for Pope Paul III as an apostolic letter addressed to themselves; this document - long neglected and largely unknown - clearly reveals how they understood themselves and their way of life. It demonstrates that the spirit and aims of the Society, though radical in 1539, were also deeply rooted in the Christian tradition.

About this title

About the Author

Joseph F. Conwall, S.J., is currently Scholar in Residence at Saint Michael's Institute, Jesuit School of Philosophy and Letters, Gonzaga University.

Review

Joseph Conwell's Impelling Spirit revisits the activities of Ignatius of Loyola and his companions in 1539 as they founded the "Society of Jesus" which came to be known throughout Christendom as the Jesuits. Impelling Spirit informs the reader of the spirit and aims of this unique order as revealed in the founders' proposed Papal letter approving the Society. The themes that ran through the founding of the Jesuits including personal and communal discernment, companionship in the mission, the founding experience of a religious order and its religious roots. Impelling Spirit concludes with a ringing challenge to face today's issues and concerns with courage, creativity, and hope of the original Jesuits, and calls upon the readers to follow their vocation "wherever the spirit leads". Impelling Spirit is an invaluable contribution to Jesuit historical studies and the effective Christian response to the contemporary problems facing today's Christian communities. -- Midwest Book Review

Edition details

• Publisher: Loyola Press
• Publication date: 1997
• ISBN 10: 0829408649
• ISBN 13: 9780829408645
• Binding: Paperback
• Language: English
• Number of pages: 624