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sometimes years at a time, during my training: David Donovan, Ken Hughes, J. J. Bresnahan, Jack Replogle, Dick Anderson, George Drury, Ozy Gonsalves, George Anderson, Jeff Chojnacki, and Damian O’Connell. Also, to those men and women who have directed my annual retreats and deepened my appreciation for God’s activity in my life, heartfelt thanks: Ron Mercier, Joe McHugh, Jim Gillon, Phil Shano, Harry Cain, Jim Bowler, Bill Devine, Jim Keegan, Paul Harman, Dick Stanley, John Kierdejus, Paul Fitterer, Pat Lee (Jesuits all) as well as Gerry Calhoun and Maddy Tiberii, S.S.J. Thanks also to Bill Creed, S.J., and Martha Buser, O.S.U., who led me through a summer-long training program on the Spiritual Exercises at the Jesuit Spiritual Center in Milford, Ohio, and to Maureen Steeley, S.U., and Eleanora Murphy, S.U., for their spiritual direction practicum at the Linwood Spiritual Center in Rhinebeck, New York.

Second, thanks to a group of exceedingly wise, generous, and patient men and women who read this book in its early stages and offered their wisdom, insights—and corrections! Some are experts in Ignatian spirituality, others in Jesuit history, others in Scripture, theology, or psychology. Some were asked to read the manuscript with a particular audience in mind. All of them spent a great deal of time poring over what I had written in very rough form. And all of them helped make this book more accurate and more accessible.

So abundant thanks to the following Jesuits: Bill Barry, John O’Malley, John Padberg, David Fleming, John Donohue, Charles Shelton, Dan Harrington, Drew Christiansen, Richard Leonard, as well as to Margaret Silf, Maureen Conroy, R.S.M., Ron Hansen, Robert Ellsberg, and Matt Weiner—and to my mother, Eleanor Martin, and my sister, Carolyn Buscarino. Also thanks to the following Jesuits who helped with specific portions of the book:Jim Siwicki, Joseph Koterski, Peter Schineller, Antonio Delfau, and Bill Campbell.

Third, thanks to my dear brothers in the Society of Jesus, to whom this book is dedicated—fratribus carissimis in Societate Jesu—for accompanying me along the way of Ignatius. For more than twenty years they have offered me their love, friendship, encouragement, and prayers, as well as their insights on Ignatian spirituality and their example as faithful priests and brothers. Special thanks to the members of my faith-sharing groups over the years, and also to George Williams, Steve Katsouros, Bob Reiser, Chris Derby, Dave Godleski, Ross Pribyl, Kevin White, Matt Cassidy, Bob Gilroy, David McCallum, Tim Howe, Myles Sheehan, Jack McClain, Bill Campbell, Tom Reese, Brian Frain, George Witt, and Kevin O’Brien.

Fourth, there were some generous souls who helped me type this manuscript when my carpal tunnel syndrome was acting up, including Veronica Szczygiel, P. J. Williams, Kaitlyn Rechenberg, Regina Nigro, and Jim Keane, S.J.

Fifth, thanks to Heidi Hill, possibly the world’s best fact checker, who saved me from numerous factual errors (which included misquoting something from one of my own books).

Sixth, thanks to my literary agent, Donald Cutler, for helping to shepherd this book to completion, and to Roger Freet at HarperCollins for his initial and continued enthusiasm for the project and his superb edits and suggestions, which greatly helped to tighten and focus the book. Also great thanks to Carolyn Holland and Mary Ann Jeffreys whose careful editing improved the book greatly and saved me from some real howlers.

Finally, thanks to—who else?—St. Ignatius Loyola. And, of course, God, with whom all things are possible.

For Further Exploration

Rather than include a lengthy bibliography of the books used in writing this one, I thought it would be more helpful to recommend some favorite books for specific areas. This list is also by way of thanks to these authors, whose superb works have helped me to follow the way of Ignatius.

THE LIFE OF ST. IGNATIUS LOYOLA

The starting point for any study of Ignatian spirituality is the Autobiography, a relatively short book of which there are multiple