L'incendie de la cathédrale Notre-Dame de Paris : un retour à la foi

Il y a sept ans cette semaine, un moment que je n'oublierai jamais. Le lundi 15 avril 2019 à 18h18, des flammes ont jailli de la toiture de la cathédrale Notre-Dame de Paris et, au cours des heures suivantes, la forêt datant des XIIe et XIIIe siècles a été ravagée.

J'ai suivi avec une grande minutie la reconstruction de ce lieu sacré. Cela a changé ma vie.

Plaidoyer pour un christianisme spirituel

J'ai écrit ceci le 25 décembre 2022.

Je cherchais une réponse à ma question: rester chrétien, ou peut-être simplement m’identifier à l’Église de mes parents, sans pour autant accepter tous les excès doctrinaux et l’insistance sur l’adhésion. Je me disais que si je prenais du recul par rapport à mon esprit hypercritique, si je me détendais et observais simplement la situation, un argument convaincant pourrait se présenter. J’aime la musique et l’art de l’Église. Ils sont une véritable source de nourriture spirituelle. Peut-être pourrais-je pleinement embrasser une forme d’agnosticisme spirituel.

Le 15 avril 2019, alors que je regardais en direct les images de l'incendie catastrophique qui a failli détruire la magnifique cathédrale Notre-Dame, j'avoue avoir pleuré. Je suis francophile; j'aime Paris; quand j'étais étudiante dans le nord de la France, j'ai visité la cathédrale à de nombreuses reprises. Voir le feu embraser tout le transept m'a anéantie. Cela m'a profondément touchée, au-delà du chagrin et du choc.

Puis, je me suis souvenu d'une autre catastrophe. Voir les tours jumelles de Manhattan brûler et s'effondrer, les pertes humaines et cette destruction gratuite et extrême étaient horribles. J'étais moi aussi dévasté, mais différemment. C'était un attentat terroriste. J'éprouvais un mélange d'horreur et de peur.

Les tours jumelles et Notre-Dame étaient des symboles emblématiques des grandes villes. La construction des tours jumelles a débuté le 6 août 1966 et elles se sont effondrées lors des attentats terroristes du 11 septembre 2001. Le pape Alexandre III a posé la première pierre de la cathédrale Notre-Dame en 1163. Sa construction a duré des siècles; la dernière grande restauration a été entreprise par Viollet-le-Duc au milieu du XIXe siècle.

J'ai suivi les travaux de remplacement et de rénovation des tours jumelles et de Notre-Dame. Le processus de conception de la reconstruction à New York a, comme on pouvait s'y attendre, suscité de vives controverses. Experts et promoteurs immobiliers ont été sollicités. Des débats ont eu lieu sur la conception, la reconfiguration du site, l'intégration d'activités commerciales, les liaisons de transport et le souvenir des victimes. Bien qu'il s'agisse toujours du World Trade Center, il serait différent. Le processus était typiquement américain et, du moins en apparence, se voulait démocratique. En France, le débat portait sur l'opportunité d'autoriser des modifications lors de la rénovation. Au départ, certains ont suggéré un nouveau design pour la flèche, une innovation moderne lors de sa reconstruction au milieu du XIXe siècle. Rapidement, le Sénat français a adopté une loi exigeant que la reconstruction soit fidèle à son "dernier état visuel connu ". Ils reconstruiraient la flèche exactement comme elle était, au millimètre près, en utilisant les matériaux et les techniques de construction spécifiés par Eugène-Emmanuel Viollet-le-Duc, les seuls aménagements étant des améliorations pour la technologie moderne, l'électricité et la sécurité du bâtiment, ainsi que de nouveaux plans pour la place devant la cathédrale, le parking souterrain et les bâtiments adjacents sur l'Île de France.

Les Tours Jumelles et Notre-Dame ont toutes deux pris feu et se sont effondrées en l'espace de quelques heures, l'une entièrement détruite et une grande partie de l'autre. C'est là leur seule véritable similitude. À New York, un nombre considérable de personnes ont péri. À Paris, il n'y a eu aucune mort. L'une a été causée par un attentat terroriste, l'autre par un accident ou par négligence. L'une était un bâtiment commercial, l'autre un lieu sacré. J'ai été profondément bouleversé par ces deux tragédies. Je les ai vues se dérouler en direct à la télévision. Bien que j'hésite à interpréter mes réactions émotionnelles face à une catastrophe comme un chemin vers la foi, l'analyse de celles-ci s'est révélée instructive.

Pour prolonger ma métaphore théologique, la reconstruction du World Center était comparable au concile de Trente, en réponse au bouleversement culturel, politique et intellectuel massif de la Réforme, et la rénovation de Notre-Dame s'apparente à une méditation attentive, à une prière sur la source de notre foi.

J’ai suivi la rénovation de Notre-Dame, épluchant internet à la recherche du moindre article, du moindre débat et de la moindre découverte au fur et à mesure de l’avancement des travaux du chantier du siècle. Lorsque les plans de réaménagement de l’espace intérieur pour l’adapter aux pratiques liturgiques actuelles ont été dévoilés, Alexandre Gady, historien de l’art, a déclaré: "Curieusement, ce n’était pas le clergé qui parlait du sacré ce matin; c’étaient des historiens comme moi qui défendaient les monuments historiques. Notre-Dame est sacrée, non seulement au sens catholique, mais aussi parce qu’elle nous unit, qu’elle nous parle et qu’elle raconte notre histoire."

D'autres critiques affirmaient que le clergé parisien, trop zélé, était déterminé à transformer son attrait touristique en un Disneyland spirituel.

Si tous ceux qui aiment Notre-Dame, qu’ils soient catholiques pratiquants ou non, qu’ils appartiennent à d’autres religions ou à aucune, qu’ils aient contribué financièrement, en temps ou en talent à la préservation de ce précieux artefact de notre patrimoine spirituel, ou qu’ils aient simplement envoyé leur amour, si le résultat est un remake lisse et astucieux de Disney du roman de Victor Hugo…Notre-Dame de Paris. Je saurai alors que nous sommes véritablement au crépuscule de la civilisation occidentale.

Qu'est-ce que j'en sais ?

La veille de Noël, j'ai commencé à regarder une petite vidéo sans prétention," Au cœur du Vatican, épisode 1," sur YouTube. Soudain, un homme très beau, doté d'une voix magnifique, s'est mis à chanter. Mark Spyropoulos est un baryton britannique d'origine grecque qui a intégré la plus ancienne chorale du monde, la chorale personnelle du pape, la Cappella Musicale Pontificia.

Mark a commencé à parler de chanter le Credo de Nicée en solo pendant la messe télévisée suivie par des millions de personnes. Un jour, il a réalisé combien de personnes l'avaient entendu faire cette profession de foi. Il l'avait chantée à chaque messe papale pendant trois ans.

Il a cité le Credo in Unum Deum en latin."Je crois en un seul Dieu."Il a poursuivi:" Je n’ai pas chanté: "Nous croyons en un seul Dieu”."C'est lui, Marc, qui a fait une profession de foi très personnelle. Il s'est demandé: croyait-il vraiment en un seul Dieu? Et qu'est-ce que cela signifiait au juste? "Je ne sais même pas. Parfois, j'ai l'impression d'être un imposteur. Je viens de réciter le début du Credo de Nicée devant le Pape et le monde entier; je devrais pourtant être sûr de ce que je dis. Parfois, je sais ce que je chante, et parfois non."

"Si vous me demandez si je crois en Dieu, je réponds que je ne comprends pas la question. Qu’entendez-vous par Dieu? (J’entendais son interlocuteur lui souffler: Dieu tel que défini par l’Église catholique) Ce sont des questions fondamentales."

"Je suis baryton. Qu’est-ce que j’en sais?"

Et cela s'est transformé en une sorte de crise de foi personnelle. Mis à part la plaisanterie entre initiés, il n'en savait vraiment rien. Puis il a raconté une histoire de révélation personnelle assez touchante; je crois que c'était en chantant un morceau de Bach, la version de 1747 par opposition à celle de 1745, celle que Francis préférait. Apparemment, Francis est un patron très impliqué dans les moindres détails.

"Eh bien, qu'est-ce que j'en sais? Je vais vous dire ce que je sais. Je peux vous dire que lorsque je suis plongé dans cette musique, je me sens en contact avec quelque chose."

En chantant, il réalisa qu'il croyait véritablement en une force supérieure à lui-même. Il était en réalité bien plus éloquent que mon argumentaire jésuite.

Projet d'archives Medici, Programme musical. Vox Medicea (dirigé par Mark Spyropoulos).

The Cathedral of Notre-Dame de Paris Fire, a return to Faith

Seven years ago this week, a moment I will never forget. At 6:18 pm on Monday, April 15, 2019, flames erupted in the roof of the Cathedral Notre-Dame de Paris, and over the following hours, the 12th- and 13th-century forest would be destroyed.

I followed the rebuilding of this sacred building meticulously. It changed my life.

The Case for a Spiritual Christianity

I wrote this on December 25, 2022.

I was searching for an answer to my question about remaining Christian, or perhaps just identifying with the church of our mothers and fathers, without accepting all the doctrinal overreach and the insistence on adherence. I thought that perhaps if I took a step back from my hypercritical mindset, relaxed and simply observed the landscape, a convincing argument might present itself. I love the church's music and art. They are a real source of spiritual nourishment. Perhaps I could fully embrace a kind of spiritual agnosticism.

(Thibault Camus/AP)

On April 15th, 2019, as I watched the live coverage of the catastrophic fire that almost destroyed the magnificent Cathedral of Notre Dame, I confess, I was in tears. I am a francophile; I love Paris; when I was a student in northern France, I visited the cathedral many times. Watching the fire engulf the whole transept, I was devastated. It touched me on a very deep level, beyond grief and shock.

Then I remembered another catastrophic disaster. Watching Manhattan’s Twin Towers burn and collapse, the loss of life, and the extreme wanton destruction was horrific. I was also devastated, but in a different way. It was a terrorist attack. My feelings were mixed with horror and fear.

Both the Twin Towers and Notre Dame were iconic markers on the skyline of major cities. Construction on the Twin Towers began on August 6th, 1966, and they fell after a terrorist attack on September 11th, 2001. Pope Alexander III laid the cornerstone for Notre Dame Cathedral in 1163. It took hundreds of years to build--the last major restoration was by Viollet-le-Duc in the mid-19th century.

I followed the work on replacing and renovating both the Twin Towers and Notre Dame. The design process of rebuilding in New York was predictably contentious. Experts and property developers were called in. There were debates about the design, reconfiguring the site, accommodating commercial uses, providing transportation links, and remembering the victims. Though still the World Trade Center, it would be something different. The process was very American and, at least in form, attempted to look democratic. In France, the debate was about whether to allow any changes during the renovation. Initially, some suggested a new design for the spire that was a modern innovation when it was rebuilt in the mid-19th century. In short order, the French Senate passed a bill requiring that the reconstruction be faithful to its “last known visual state.” They would rebuild the spire exactly as it was, to the millimeter, using the materials and construction techniques specified by Eugène-Emmanuel Viollet-le-Duc, the only accommodation being improvements for modern technology, electricity, and building safety, plus new designs for the square in front of the cathedral, underground parking, and adjacent buildings on the Ile de France.

Both the Twin Towers and Notre Dame caught fire and fell within several hours, one completely and large portions of the other. That is really the only similarity. In New York, a huge number of people perished. In Paris, no one died. One was caused by a terrorist attack and the other by accident or negligence. One was a commercial property and the other a sacred space. I was shaken deeply by both tragedies. I watched them both unfold live on TV. Though I hesitate to trace my emotional reactions to a disaster as a path to religious belief, examining my responses has been revealing.

To extend my theological metaphor, rebuilding the World Center was like the Council of Trent in response to the massive cultural, political, and intellectual shift of the Reformation, and renovating Notre Dame is like a careful meditation, a prayer on the source of our faith.

I’ve watched the renovation of Notre Dame, searching the internet for every report, argument, and discovery as the work progressed on Le chantier du siècle. When plans were revealed for redesigning the interior space to accommodate current liturgical practice, Alexandre Gady, art historian, said, “Curiously, it wasn’t the clergy talking about the sacred this morning; it was historians like me who defend historical monuments. Notre Dame is sacred, not just in the Catholic sense but also sacred in the way it unites us, that it speaks to us, and that it tells our history.”

Other critics said that the overzealous clergy of Paris was set on turning their tourist attraction into a spiritual Disneyland.

If all the people who love Notre Dame, whether or not they are committed Catholics or not, whether they belong to other religions or none, whether they’ve have contributed money, time or talent to preserve this valuable artifact of our spiritual heritage, or simply sent their love, if the result is a slick Disney remake of Victor Hugo’s The Hunchback of Notre Dame I’ll know that we are really in the twilight of Western civilization.

What do I know?

On Christmas Eve, I started watching this bit of fluff, “Inside the Vatican, episode 1” on YouTube. Suddenly, a very handsome man with a magnificent voice began singing to the world. Mark Spyropoulos is a British baritone with Greek roots who found himself in the oldest church choir in the world, the personal choir of the pope, Cappella Musicale Pontificia.

Mark started talking about singing the Nicaean Creed solo during the televised mass that goes out to millions upon millions. One day, he realized how many people had heard him make this profession of faith. He’d sung it at every papal mass for 3 years.

He quoted the Latin: Credo in Unum Deum. “I believe in One God.” He went on, “I didn’t sing, ‘We believe in One God.’” It was he, Mark, who made a very personal profession of faith. He asked himself: Did he really believe in the One God? And what did that even mean? “I don’t even know. Sometimes I feel like a fraud. I’ve just declared the beginning of the Nicaean Creed in front of the Pope and the world; surely I should be sure of what I’m saying. Sometimes I know what I'm singing, and sometimes I don’t.”

“If you ask me if I believe in God, my reply is that I don’t understand the question. What do you mean by God? (I could hear his interviewer prompt him: God as defined by the Catholic Church) These are massive questions.”

“I’m a baritone. What do I know?”

And it became a kind of personal crisis of faith. Aside from the musical insider joke, he really didn’t know. Then he told a story of a rather beautiful personal revelation; I think it was while singing a Bach piece, the 1747 version as opposed to the earlier 1745, the one that Francis preferred. Apparently, Francis is a hands-on boss when it comes to certain details.

“Well, what do I know? I'll tell you what I know. I can tell you that when I am immersed in this music, I feel in touch with something.”

Singing, he realized he truly believed in a power greater than himself. He was actually far more eloquent than my Jesuitical argument.

Medici Archive Project, Music Program. Vox Medicea (directed by Mark Spyropoulos).

The Enneagram — “Histoire de Jour”

"What's your soup du jour today?" "Cream of tomato, just like every other day."

Originally published Wednesday, December 28, 2022

Yuval Harari says it would be nearly impossible to get 20 baboons to organize a coordinated effort that would produce a widespread effect. But homo sapiens has created narratives that allowed our species to organize large-scale efforts to subdue and exploit every inch of the universe we can reach. This is our propaganda for the superiority of the human race. If 20 baboons had been able to organize themselves and create a convincing narrative, we’d be living in ”The Planet of the Apes.''

In the history of religions, the creation of a supernatural narrative spearheaded the invincible superiority of monotheism. Modern scholarship has shown that the story of the Exodus was fabricated by the rabbinic and prophetic leadership after the destruction of the First Temple in Jerusalem in 586 BCE. The Narrative of the Good News was created and propagated by mostly Gentile Jews after the death of Jesus. About 600 years after Jesus, the Prophet was visited by the Archangel Gabriel and set the world on course for a more militant form of monotheism. In another part of the world, stories about the Buddha's enlightenment touch on another side of the human psyche that propelled meditation into legitimacy. The Bhagavad Gita played a pivotal role in the 19th and 20th-century Hindu revival by modernizing its teachings into a practical, accessible philosophy for social action and national identity.

The Origin of the Enneagram

As one of Claudio Naranjo’s first students when he introduced the Enneagram, the nine-pointed diagram that he’d learned from Oscar Ichazo, I’ve become very interested in what’s become known as the Western transmission of the Enneagram. I’m fascinated by competing narratives about its esoteric roots. (I’ve written about it before). This is the exact phenomenon that Harari describes: proponents of particular Enneagram styles have crafted creation narratives to bring their products to market. One universal side effect of enlightening mankind through the Enneagram is that it separates you from your money.

This brand of histoire de jour is, at best, self-serving, pieced together from bits and pieces of hearsay evidence, and in some cases, outright fraud.

Here is a preposterous statement on the first page of Helen Palmer’s website for her Narrative Tradition: With a history of centuries, the Enneagram is arguably the oldest human development system on the planet. During the past decade, the system has undergone a renewal of scholarly attention within the context of current personality typologies.

In the interest of the scholarly attention that Ms. Palmer lauds, here’s a clear, distinct, verifiable historical record of the beginning of the Narrative Tradition of the Enneagram.

In the late Spring of 1975, in a large living room of a nondescript house on Berkeley’s Arlington, Kathy Speeth organized a series of nine evening presentations about the Enneagram for the “therapeutic” community. In attendance were approximately 15 therapists interested in the Enneagram who were not members of Naranjo’s SAT group. Among them was Helen Palmer. She’d heard about the Enneagram from Naranjo’s students in her own practice of psychic readings.

I remember these presentations very clearly. They were a departure from the usual work of Naranjo's SAT group. Speeth and Bob Ochs had asked me to be on a ‘panel’ of Seven’s, ego ‘Plan’ as both Ichazo and Naranjo referred to the point “Gluttony.” This was the first time several people with the same fixation spoke in front of a group and answered questions (the identical format of the Narrative Tradition). There was one evening for each of the 9 major fixations.

Naranjo began the sessions with psychological descriptions of the 9 points. In itself, this was not unusual, but his comments were definitely tailored to an audience of trained professionals rather than the conversational tone he normally used when directing a student’s personal work in SAT. The authentic tone of self-observation may have been present, but I felt that the professional/technical language distorted the feeling of each point.

There’s the Narrative Tradition's “history of centuries” condensed to about two weeks of evening presentations, and I was present! Voila

Other enneagram enthusiasts have fabricated other stories and sources. 

The source of the Enneagram, or Enneagon, is Egyptian Gnosis. In Heliopolis, the center of worship of the Ennead, there were nine deities of ancient Egyptian Mythology about which we know next to nothing, and we haven’t yet deciphered the hieroglyphics for fixation.

Other proponents of the system trace the variations of the Enneagram symbol to the sacred geometry of Pythagorean mathematicians and mystical mathematics, but Pythagoras left no clear teachings, though he apparently once went to Heliopolis, with its nine gods, or something.

Plotinus’s Enneads. There, at last, a use of the Greek word for 9. However, we have to credit a dude named Porphyry for the somewhat artificial division of Plotinus’s writings into six groups of nine. Connecting the Enneagram with Neoplatonic thought is perhaps a stretch too far, but fear not, there are other choices.

We can cite Adam and the Kabbalistic Trees — leave no stone unturned and rope in Jewish seekers.

The Secret Teachings of Jesus (via the Desert Fathers) — sure, why not? But in my view, far more persuasive is the Jesuit connection: the frontispiece of the "Arithmologia" by the Jesuit Athanasius Kircher (1601–1680), published in 1665, depicts a figure not identical to, but somewhat similar to, the Enneagram. Jesuits mucking around with esoteric religious writing lends credibility.

Many purveyors of various Enneagram systems say it was originally created by the esotericist George Ivanovich Gurdjieff via the Naqshbandi Sufi order about 100 years ago. However, there is absolutely no evidence in Gurdjieff's voluminous writings that he ever used the Enneagram as Naranjo, Ichazo, et al. do. Zero. I repeat ZERO Evidence.

Dr. Naranjo claims his source of the teaching was his mystical experiences in the Arican desert. He claims the Enneagram's historical origins are in esoteric gnosticism and occultism, based on channeled material from automatic writing, which was then verified through observation. I am particularly fond of the story that a book fell from a shelf in the esoteric library of Ocsar Ichazo’s uncle in Bolivia and opened to a page with the 9-pointed diagram. Let's just skip the verification bit altogether.

Professor Harari points to storytelling as a means of coordinating mass human efforts, but I am suspicious of lesser enterprises employing the same methodology. These people are selling snake oil. They use the “histoire de jour” like a struggling restaurant, using yesterday’s leftovers to increase the bottom line.

“Something is missing” is a constant complaint running through all these narratives. We lose our connection with the divine, have to reconnect, and, in most cases, are unable to complete the circuit without some assistance that costs money. It is one answer to a felt experience of the human condition, and one of the most accepted. There are others, but their popularizers were not as adept as those who captured humankind’s attention.

At best, these histories are "Cream of tomato, just like every day." But probably they’re closer to yesterday’s leftovers.

Call it by its correct name: Lying

Don’t believe a word coming out of the mouth of Rev. Paula White-Cain or Bishop Robert Emmet Patrick Barron!

A former Jesuit friend heard Ms. White-Cain’s comparison of President DJT to Jesus and thought she sounded as if she really believed it. In her role as DJT’s spiritual advisor, she adopted a sincere, he felt, emotional tone that raised the question: “Who gets to decide when spiritual direction is wise, and when it is unwise?” OK, let’s consider the subjective mechanism of White-Cain’s assent and give her the benefit of the doubt. But we also have to consider what she is assenting to. What she says about Trump is so outrageous it borders on insanity; most mainline Christians would call it blasphemy. I call it a lie. The dictionary definition of a lie is “a false statement made with deliberate intent to deceive; an intentional untruth.” What my friend seems to be saying is that if Paula is telling us what she sincerely believes, she is relieved of the obligation to prove her statement true. I disagree. In fact, because she is speaking from the platform of the highest elected official in the land, she opens herself to the highest level of scrutiny.

Objectively, she’s lying. Whether or not she believes what she’s saying, she intends for us to believe what she says.

The Reverend White-Cain is no outlier. She belongs to a branch of the American Evangelical Pentecostal Church known as the Prosperity Gospel. Once upon a time, I was fascinated with these brothers and sisters. I read widely. Napoleon Hill wrote “Think and Grow Rich,” a central text of the movement, in 1937. New Agers practice a form of mantra called affirmations; for example, “I deserve abundance” opens the generosity of the universe and makes us rich. A black prosperity preacher with the wonderful name Creflo Dollar (his real name is Creflo Augustus Dollar Jr.) preached a sermon, "If I want to believe God for a $65 million plane, you cannot stop me," after his Gulf Stream Jet was involved in a runway collision. The bulk of his fortune apparently came from his early insistence that followers pay a 10% tithe. He was subsequently investigated by a Senate Committee chaired by Chuck Grassley (who must have softened his qualms under the influence of the current administration).

The prosperity preachers’ roster includes the former star of “The Love Boat,” Gavin MacLeod, to give it a Hollywood slant, but other names have become familiar due to the mega-church TV phenomenon: Oral Roberts, Reverend Ike, Jim Bakker, Robert Tilton, Benny Hinn, Kenneth Hagin, Kenneth Copeland, and Joel Osteen.

Some point to the role of Trump’s first pastor, Norman Vincent Peale, as central to his theology. Trump’s parents were members of Peale’s “Positive Thinking” Marble Collegiate Church. If I were to look at the glamorous rhinestone and sequined liturgical garb of White-Cain, I’d conjure up the wildly popular Aimee Elizabeth Semple McPherson of the famous Foursquare Church in Los Angeles in the early part of the last century.*

Rev. White-McCain traces her spiritual lineage to the predominantly black Pentecostal Church. Her mentor was Bishop T.D. Jakes, of Higher Ground Always Abounding Assemblies. He was converted to Oneness Pentecostalism, which affirms the Divinity of Jesus. White-McCain also acknowledges Nicholas Duncan-Williams, Archbishop and General Overseer of the Action Chapel International (ACI) Ministry, as a spiritual guide. Headquartered in Accra, Ghana. Duncan-Williams is a proponent of spiritual warfare prayer. (Real Exorcism stuff, demons, devils, fallen angels, and what we recognize as Santa Maria). The lack of African-American and African representation on stage at the White House is not surprising given the transactional nature of White-McCain’s theology. When racists seize control, just blend in.

It is totally offensive to tie our immoral president to the gospel narrative of the Lord’s passion, death and resurrection. Supporters of the materialistic prosperity gospel have completely abandoned common sense and whatever critical thinking skills have not been devoured by their greed. That might be the price of an actual office in the West Wing, with a budget and staff, but I have to admit that this is an opinion, a strong one that I try to back up with more facts than hearsay, but still an opinion.

The sanctification of capitalism is very American, and perhaps inevitable. The Jesuits Antonio Spadaro and Marcelo Figueroa examined the origins of the prosperity gospel in the United States and described it as a reductive version of the American Dream and the Protestant work ethic (La Civiltà Cattolica). I would further argue that it is not an impossible leap to associate our tax-cutting billionaire POTUS with the Second Coming. A “new thought” Christian, Og Mandino, wrote the influential “Greatest Salesman in the World” in 1968. Though Mandino was not a prosperity preacher and does not directly reference Saint Paul’s evangelization of Jesus's message, many people have used this analogy to sanctify the role of the salesman. My own preference would be Arthur Miller’s “Death of a Salesman,” or Sinclair Lewis’s “Babbitt,” given the thin veneer of our greed and the depth of our unhappiness.

Nonetheless, here we are wondering how this apparently sincere, composed, sequined lady preacher can stand in front of a national audience and claim Trump was “betrayed," "falsely accused,” and that his political resurgence mirrored the resurrection, saying, “Because [Jesus] rose. . . you rose up." She declared, "No one has paid the price like you have paid the price," . . . that because of divine victory, "you will be victorious in all you put your hands to."

I was shocked and dismayed, and when I went online to search for her exact language, I pulled up a broader picture of other notable divines who graced the stage alongside White-Cain and the new Messiah, I was even more shocked. There he was, one of my favorite Catholic ecclesial right-wingers, Bishop Robert Emmet Patrick Barron! The blasphemy is not confined to a small subset of Pentecostal preachers but has infected the Catholic hierarchy.

Pope Leo has made it known that he is unequivocally against Trump and Netanyahu’s war. As the former head of the dicastery that nominates bishops, Leo knows he can’t revoke Bishop Barron’s consecration unless he were convicted of a heinous crime, such as Cardinal Theodore “Uncle Teddy” McCarrick's sexual abuse.

Is Barron’s sharing the stage with the Rev. White-Cain and our new Messiah President blasphemy? He took the microphone and intoned a few words; he didn’t go so far as to second Trump’s messianic nomination or ask to stick his hands in the stigmata, nor did he add his own “Ata ratta ambu rata,” but he remained silent during White-Cain’s remarks, called the afternoon "a great joy, great privilege," and lauded Trump for gathering faith leaders to celebrate Holy Week.

Where was the fire-and-brimstone condemnation of his “Word of Fire” podcast? Bishop Barron didn’t object. It was the perfect opportunity for him to simply leave the stage or say, “I’m sorry, Paula, but this is not the Good News that I have pledged my life to proclaim.” But he just stood there, the picture of abject cowardice, and kept his mouth shut. I checked Canon Law to see if he could be censured for heresy or blasphemy. Canon 1369 (or Canon 1386 in some interpretations) allows for the punishment of individuals who, in public speech or media, utter blasphemy, gravely injure public morals, or express contempt for religion. Barron might have avoided penalty by keeping his mouth shut, but in my view, his presence and silence sent a strong message.

__________________

"In America, you call it the alt-right, in Germany, we call it 'why Grandpapa lives in Argentina now'" —Angela Merkel

When my friend says she is not lying, he presumes that a person couldn’t muster her level of sincerity, passion, or conviction if he or she were making a false statement, a series of misstatements, or conscious fabrications. I would argue that she doesn’t recognize that she is lying and that her belief system is predicated on a seemingly coherent set of lies and unchallenged assumptions. That’s pure cult behavior.

Is this an impossible position? Of course not. If it were not possible, or if forgiveness were not within our reach, we could never forgive the millions of Germans who supported the Third Reich and turned a blind eye to the antisemitism that was one of the tenets of Hitler’s “Mein Kampf.” Can masses of people believe a lie? The Nazis used subterfuge. Germans who supported Hitler might say, “We thought we were voting for something else,” or “We were swept up in a mass movement.” The existence of the death camps was hidden. To a large extent, this is true. Trump is fostering this kind of lie right now. He’s following the maxim of his mentor, Roy Cohen: “never apologize, never admit fault,” and he will continue to lie, believing it becomes a new reality, and if he firmly inserts his lie into the public conversation, he succeeds.

White-Cain provides spiritual cover. She treats Trump’s lies as truth and cloaks them in the language of the Gospel. In the current etiquette of public discussion, we are not allowed to scrutinize belief statements rigorously. You might say politely to the Mormon missionary or Jehovah’s Witness who has rung your doorbell, “I’m sorry, but I am not interested,” or, as I say, “Sorry, but I’m Buddhist.” It would be more honest if I invited them into the sitting room, poured coffee, and began an inquiry into how they know that Joseph Smith actually dug up golden tablets, which were then interpreted by the Angel Moroni.

But I prefer not to invite that level of intimate conversation. I have zero interest in that level of inquiry, and frankly, Mormons can do whatever they want in their oddly built temples as long as they don’t bother me. I also don’t want to get into any sectarian or proselytizing argument. That’s way beyond my pay grade, and in a pluralist, diverse, and tolerant society, it is best to avoid conversations that might incite conflict or disagreement about subjects that might spark animosity, ill will, or physical confrontation. In the past, these kinds of incidents have been fought over for hundreds of years.

My former Jesuit friend says: “My theological epistemology and Paula's theological epistemology—or, in other words, the theological method by means of which I believe one can acquire knowledge about the mind of God, and the theological method which Paula thinks gives her knowledge about the mind of God—are radically different, one from the other.” I hold my sanity as a precious gift to be cherished and guarded: the ability to follow an argument, to pay attention to what other people are saying, to honor them, to check that I am listening carefully. It’s hard work. I have to monitor myself; one of the reasons I still schedule meditation into my daily routine after at least 50 years, and I do not claim infallibility.

But when confronted with an absolute lie, unlike our hier to the Apostles, Bishop Barron, you won’t find me muttering a few words that don’t rock the boat. Ms. White-Cain’s business model is a “Buy Your Ticket to Heaven” Ponzi scheme. She claims to receive no salary for spiritual labor on Trump’s behalf, but you can be sure that her rolodex has been stuffed with a whole new crop of potential investors to defraud. I am puzzled by Barron’s motivation. With Cardinal Dolan, it was easier. His connections to Kenneth Gerard Langone are well-known and worth hundreds of millions of dollars. Perhaps Barron is lining himself up to inherit Dolan’s rolodex. Regardless, there has to be a payoff.

So we might end up with something like Hamlet’s question: “So then, who gets to decide what's wise and what's not wise?” I say we have to trust ourselves and take action.

__________________

Notes and references:

*Note: The Prosperity Evangelicals are not the Church of Religious Science (often associated with Ernest Holmes’s Science of Mind), and are distinct from the Church of Scientology and Christian Science, which are other American sects/cults.

LIE Definition & Meaning: noun · a false statement made with deliberate intent to deceive; an intentional untruth

I have been very much influenced by these two works: ”Lying” by Sam Harris and “Lying: Moral Choice in Public and Private Life” by Sissela Bok

Trump’s Ten Commandments by Jeffrey Sonnenfeld and co-author Steven Tian

Fear, Rage, and The Trump Tapes by Bob Woodward

Women in the Church

Holy Thursday, 2026

On March 10, 2026, the Vatican's General Secretariat of the Synod published the final report of Study Group No. 5, titled "Women's Participation in the Life and Leadership of the Church". I have become a fan of “Jesuitical,” a podcast by America Magazine, which is run by mostly younger, articulate Catholics, with a very equal gender representation. Here is the link to three of the women struggling with their response to a very disappointing document. https://youtu.be/X-SxGiEQDjs?si=JmuvADu--xxkjfFn. I follow with my own comment. 

I say unapologetically that sex was the reason I left the Jesuits and the Church. Of course, most of the impetus for my decision was the fact that I am gay and refused to take the position of “intrinsically disordered.” But my reasons also included the systematic exclusion of women from real decision-making. After Francis's huge push for synodality, the patriarchy now wants to say that there are roles for women; this is where their power and their status lie; stay tuned.

Let’s examine the flip side of this argument: if a man has talent as an administrator, or churchman, or academic, or an artist, or a poet, this can become a source of their sense of intrinsic worth. If they are good at it, they can make valid, binding decisions with regard to workflow, scholarship, the performance of cultic functions, the value of art, and poetry. Although this is sometimes true, what is more normal, certainly within the confines of the church, is that men, whether a bishop, priest, professor, painter, or wordsmith, make binding decisions not because they merit their status (though some may); it’s because only men are members of the exclusive coterie at the top. Women are excluded.  

You can’t have it both ways. The fact that two millennia ago, men ruled and women were relegated to menial positions simply reflects their social status. It is not the universal unalterable order of the universe. Perhaps it is time for the patriarchal church to wither away.

I have written about my personal experience. “Sister Jacinta, the Reality of Women Priests.”

https://jesuskoan.blogspot.com/2022/12/the-reality-of-women-priests.html

My Hoffman Process Writing

I’ve written a lot about Hoffman and the Quadrinity Process. There are times when I think it was a total waste of time, but it’s what I did. It led to other things. 

"Bob Hoffman was a criminal. Simple"

A cruel joke: The Doctor and the Haberdasher

A Very Personal Question: Can I Forgive Bob Hoffman?

Bamboozled

Bob Hoffman was a criminal. Simple 

Bob Hoffman was a Lunatic, a Liar, a Criminal, & a Fraud

Bob Hoffman—#GayMeToo

Bob Hoffman, The First Encounter

Bob Hoffman's Dirty Secrets

Bob Hoffman's Dirty Secrets, Part 2

Called for Jury Duty

Claudio Naranjo’s first SAT Groups in Berkeley

Forgive and Forget Hoffman?

Go Ahead, Shame me!

How I moved from Point 7 to 9

It’s a cult, damn it. Nothing more

It's More than a Taboo Against Knowing Oneself

Jonestown and Our Deliverance from Cults

My Hoffman Process Writings

New Age Miracle or Fraud?

New Age Scum

SAT, Naranjo, the Enneagram, the beginnings, and “the Work”

Science vs. Spook

Sex in the bushes: the real story

Sex, gossip, religion? Can we talk?

The Case against Bob Hoffman

The End of Patriarchy and the Beginnings of a Cult. 

The Ontological Odd Couple, and the Origins of the Fisher-Hoffman Psychic Therapy

The Sad Demise of Bob Hoffman 

The Truth about Bob Hoffman

This Victim Refuses Silence

Tolman Hall, the first Hoffman Process

Why can I find nothing online about Bob Hoffman?

Why cults rewrite history: the backstory of the Hoffman Process.

Ignatian Bibliography

Books, Websites, and Resources for the Spiritual Exercises; compiled by Morgan Zo-Callahan and Ken Ireland

The titles we have not read ourselves were found in the bibliographies in work by an author whom we have read and admired. The books and articles are arranged alphabetically by the author’s last name with two exceptions: 1) translations of Ignatius’s own work, the Spiritual Exercises or his autobiography, are listed under “St. Ignatius,” and the translator or editor’s name has been placed after the title; 2) strictly biographical work contains his name as the first words of the title. We placed these titles first so that all these books would be grouped together.

Ambruzzi, Aloysius & Lepicier, Cardinal Alexis-Henri-Marie, Companion to the Spiritual Exercises of Saint Ignatius. Kessinger Publishing, LLC, 2003

Amis, Robin, A Different Christianity: Early Christian Esotericism and Modern Thought (S U N Y Series in Western Esoteric Traditions). State University of New York Press, 1995

Aschenbrenner, George A., Stretched for Greater Glory: What to Expect from the Spiritual Exercises. Loyola Press, 2004

Barry, William A., A Friendship Like No Other: Experiencing God's Amazing Embrace. Loyola Press, 2008

Barry, William A., Finding God In All Things: A Companion To The Spiritual Exercises Of St. Ignatius. Notre Dame, IL, Ave Maria Press. 1991

Barry, William A., God and You: Prayer As a Personal Relationship. Paulist Press, 1987

Barry, William A., Letting God Come Close: An Approach to the Ignatian Spiritual Exercises. Loyola Press, 2001

Barry, William A., The Practice of Spiritual Direction. Harper & Row, 1986

Becker, Kenneth L., Unlikely Companions: C. G. Jung on the Spiritual Exercises of Ignatius of Loyola. Gracewing, 2002

Boisvert, Donald L., Sanctity And Male Desire: A Gay Reading Of Saints. Pilgrim Press, 2004

Borg, Marcus J., and N.T.Wright, The Meaning of Jesus: Two Visions. San Francisco, Harper's, 1999

Brackley, Dean, The Call to Discernment in Troubled Times: New Perspectives on the Transformative Wisdom of Ignatius. The Crossroad Publishing Company, 2004

Buechner, Frederich, Listening to Your Life: Daily Meditation with Frederich Buechner. Compiled by George Connor, San Francisco, HarperSanFrancisco, 1992

Chilton, Bruce; Neusner, Jacob, The Brother of Jesus: James the Just and His Mission. Westminster John Knox Press, 1 edition, 2001

Chilton, Bruce, Mary Magdalene: A Biography, Doubleday, 2005

Classics), 2003

Coelho, Paulo, The Pilgrimage: A Contemporary Quest for Ancient Wisdom. HarperOne, 1995

Coles, Robert; Herbert, C. M., nar., Dorothy Day: A Radical Devotion, Library Edition. Blackstone Audiobooks; Unabridged edition, 2000

Cowan, Marian and Futrell, John, The Spiritual Exercises of St Ignatius of Loyola: a handbook for direction. Denver, Ministry Training Services, 1981

English, John, Spiritual Freedom. Guelph, Loyola House, 1982

Fleming, David L., (ed.), “Notes on the Spiritual Exercises of St Ignatius of Loyola”. St Louis, Review for Religious, 1981

Cusson, Gilles, Biblical Theology and the Spiritual Exercises, Mary Angela Roduit and George E. Ganss, trans. St Louis, Institute of Jesuit Sources, 1988

Cusson, Gilles, Pédagogie de l'expérience spirituelle personnelle: Bible et Exercices spirituels (Broché). Bellarmin, Édition: 3e triage, 1986 (this, the original Cusson book that Roduit and Ganss translated, is out of print).

Cusson, Gilles, The Spiritual Exercises Made in Everyday Life: A Method and a Biblical Interpretation. Mary Angela Roduit and George E. Ganss, trans. St Louis, Institute of Jesuit Sources, 1989. This is an authorized translation of Cusson's Conduis-mois sur le chemin d'éternité.

de Guibert, Joseph, The Jesuits: their spiritual doctrine and practice. ET. St. Louis, Institute of Jesuit Sources, 1972

de Montoya, Antonio Ruis, The Spiritual Conquest. Trans., McNaspy, C.J.,

St. Louis: Institute of Jesuit Sources, 1993

Donohue, John W., S.J., Jesuit Education. New York: Fordham, 1963

Dozier, Verna J., The Dream of God: A Call to Return. Seabury Classics, 2006

Dyckman, Katherine, et al. The Spiritual Exercises Reclaimed: Uncovering Liberating Possibilities for Women. Paulist Press, 2001

Eckhart, Wandering Joy: Meister Eckhart's Mystical Philosophy. Schurmann, Reiner, trans., Lindisfarne Books, 2001

Empereur, James L., Spiritual Direction and the Gay Person. Continuum International Publishing Group; 1 edition, 1998

Endean, Philip, "Who do you say Ignatius is? Jesuit fundamentalism and beyond", Studies in the Spirituality of Jesuits 19, 5. Nov. 1987

Fleming, David L., Modern Spiritual Exercises. New York: Doubleday, 1982

Fülöp-Miller, René, The Power and the Secret of the Jesuits. New York: Viking, 1930

Gallagher, Timothy M., Discernment of Spirits: The Ignatian Guide for Everyday Living. The Crossroad Publishing Company, 2005

Green, Joel B. The Theology of the Gospel of Luke (New Testament Theology). Cambridge University Press, 1995

Green, Thomas H., S.J., Weeds Among the Wheat Discernment: Where Prayer and Action Meet. Ave Maria Press, Inc., 1984

Green, Thomas H., S.J., When the Well Runs Dry - Prayer Beyond Beginnings. Ave Maria Press, Inc.; Revised edition, 1979

Habito, Ruben L.F. (2004) Living Zen, Loving God. Wisdom Publications.

Haight, Roger, "Foundational issues in Jesuit spirituality", Studies in the Spirituality of Jesuits 19, 4.September 1987

Hebblethwaite, Margaret, Finding God in All Things. London, Collins, 1987

Himes, Michael J., Finding God In All Things: Essays in Honor of Michael J. Buckley. S.J. Herder & Herder, 1996

Holloway, J. B., “Godfriends: The Continental Medieval Mystics”. http://www.umilta.net/godfrien.html. 1997

Holloway, J. B., The Westminster Cathedral/Abbey Manuscript of Julian of Norwich's Showing of Love. http://www.umilta.net/westmins.html. 1996

Ignatius of Loyola, founder of the Jesuits, his life and work, Candido de Dalmases. ET. St Louis, Institute of Jesuit Sources, 1985

Ignatius of Loyola, Karl Rahner, and Paul Imhof. ET. London, Collins, 1979

Ignatius of Loyola and the Founding of the Society of Jesus, Andre Ravier. ET. San Francisco, Ignatius Press, 1987

Ignatius of Loyola, Philip Caraman. London, Collins, 1990

Ivens, Michael, Understanding the Spiritual Exercises. Gracewing, 2000

Johnston, William, Christian Zen. San Francisco, Harper & Row, 1979

Jordan, Merle, Reclaiming your story. Westminster John Knox Press, 1999

Julian of Norwich, Revelations of Divine Love. Grand Rapids, Christian Classics Ethereal Library. 2002

Keating, Thomas, Active Meditations for Contemplative Prayer. Continuum, 1997

Kung, Hans, My Struggle for Freedom: Memoirs. Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 2003

Lonergan, Bernard, The Dynamism of Desire, Bernard J F. Lonergan, SJ on the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius of Loyola. The Institute of Jesuit Sources in St. Louis, 2006.

Lonsdale, David, Dance to the Music of the Spirit. Darton, Longman & Todd Lt, 1992

Lonsdale, David, Eyes to See, Ears to Hear: An Introduction to Ignatian Spirituality (Traditions of Christian Spirituality). Orbis Books; Revised edition, 2000

Lonsdale, David, Listening to the Music of the Spirit: The Art of Discernment. Ave Maria Press, 1993

Louth, Andrew, The Origins of the Christian Mystical Tradition: From Plato to Denys. Oxford University Press, USA; 2 edition, 2007

Lowney, Chris, Heroic Leadership: Best Practices from a 450-Year-Old Company That Changed the World. Loyola Press, 2005

Lucas, Thomas, S.J. Ignatius, Rome and Jesuit Urbanism. Vatican, Biblioteca Apostolica, 1990

Meissner, William W., S.J., Ignatius of Loyola, The Psychology of a Saint. Yale, 1992

Merton, Thomas, Contemplation in a World of Action. Garden City, N.Y., Image Books, 1973

Michael, Chester P. and Norrisey, Marie C., Prayer and Temperament: Different Prayer Forms for Different Personality Types. Charlottesville, Virginia. The Open Door, 1991

Modras, Ronald, Ignatian Humanism: A Dynamic Spirituality for the 21st Century. Jesuit Way Loyola Press, 2004

Modras, Ronald, “The Spiritual Humanism of the Jesuits.” America, 1995, 172, (3)

Muldoon, Tim, The Ignatian Workout: Daily Spiritual Exercises for a Healthy Faith. Loyola University Press, 2004

Needleman, Jacob, Lost Christianity. Tarcher, 2003

Neusner, Jacob, First century Judaism in crisis: Yohanan ben Zakkai and the renaissance of Torah. Abingdon Press, 1975

O'Malley, John W. S.J. The First Jesuits. Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1993

Peters, William A.M., The Spiritual Exercises of St Ignatius: exposition and interpretation. Rome, Centrum Ignatianum Spiritualitatis, 1978

Rahner, Hugo, Ignatius' Letters to Women. New York: Herder & Herder, 1960

Scroggs, Robin et al., Putting Body & Soul Together: Essays in Honor of Robin Scroggs. Trinity Press International, 1997

Segundo, Juan Luis, The Christ of the Ignatian Exercises. ET. London, Sheed & Ward, 1988

Sheldrake, Philip (ed.), The Way of Ignatius Loyola: Contemporary Approaches to The Spiritual Exercises. St. Louis, Institute of Jesuit Sources, 1991

Silf, Margaret, Inner Compass: An Invitation to Ignatian Spirituality. Loyola Press; Rev Sub edition, 1999

Skehan, James W., Place Me With Your Son: Ignatian Spirituality in Everyday Life: The Spiritual Exercises Arranged As a 24-Week Retreat in 4 Phases. Georgetown University Press; 3 Sub edition, 1991

Smith, Carol Ann; Merz, Eugene F., Moment by Moment: A Retreat in Everyday Life. Ave Maria Press, 2000

Spence, Jonathan D., The Memory Palace of Matteo Ricci. Penguin (Non-Classics), 1985

St. Ignatius of Loyola, George E. Ganss, Ignatius of Loyola: The Spiritual Exercises and Selected Works (Classics of Western Spirituality). Paulist Press, 1991

St. Ignatius of Loyola, The Spiritual Exercises and Selected Works. George E. Ganss, ed. New York, Paulist Press, 1991

St. Ignatius, Iñigo: original testament. William Yeomans, trans. London, Inigo Enterprises, 1985

St. Ignatius, St Ignatius' Own Story. William J. Young, trans. Chicago, Loyola University Press, 1980

St. Ignatius, Spiritual Exercises and Selected Works. Malatesta, Edward J., S.J.; Divarkar, Parmananda, S.J., ed., N.Y., Paulist Press, 1991.

[Note about this work by Morgan: This book was difficult to locate. Catholic Library was able to supply information about the publisher. I met Edward Malatesta in 1965, and remember him fondly as a wonderful scholar with enthusiastic energy. He worked with my mentor, Fr. Francis Rouleau. Edward would later take Francis' work to the Matteo Ricci Institute at USF, one of the largest collections of books in Chinese in North America. Edward died in 1998 in his beloved China.]

St. Ignatius, The Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius. John F. Thornton, ed., Avery Dulles, preface, Louis J. Puhl, trans., Vintage; 1 edition, 2000

St. Ignatius, The Spiritual Exercises. Louis J. Puhl, trans., Chicago, Loyola University Press, 1950

St. Ignatius, The Spiritual Exercises of St Ignatius: a literal translation a contemporary reading. David L. Fleming, trans. St Louis, Institute of Jesuit Sources, 1979

Stanley, David M., S.J., A Modern Scriptural Approach to the Spiritual Exercises. St. Loius, The Institute of Jesuit Sources, 1971

Taylor, Charles, The Ethics of Authenticity. Harvard University Press; 1 edition, 1992

Tetlow, Joseph A., Choosing Christ in the World: Directing the Spiritual Exercises of St Ignatius Loyola According to Annotations Eighteen and Nineteen: A Handbook. The Institute of Jesuit Sources; 2nd edition, 2000

Tetlow, Joseph A., Ignatius Loyola: Spiritual Exercises (Crossroad Spiritual Legacy Series). The Crossroad Publishing Company, 1992

Tetlow, Joseph, S.J., “The Lay Ministry of the Spiritual Exercises.” National Jesuit News, 1994, 24, (3)

Tickle, Phyllis, The Night Offices: Prayers for the Hours from Sunset to Sunrise. Oxford University Press, USA, 2006

Toner, Jules J., A Commentary on St Ignatius' Rules for the Discernment of Spirits. St. Louis, Institute of Jesuit Sources, 1981

Toner, Jules J., Discerning God's Will: Ignatius of Loyola's Teaching on Christian Decision Making. St. Louis, Institute of Jesuit Sources, 1991

Van Beeck, Frans Jozef, Christ Proclaimed: Christology As Rhetoric (Theological Inquiries). Paulist Press, 1979

Veltri, John, Orientations, volumes 1 & 2. Guelph, Loyola House, 1979 & 1981

Walsh, R., Friends of God. The Catholic Encyclopedia, online Edition. K. Knight. 6. 1909

Ward, Keith, Pascal's Fire: Scientific Faith and Religious Understanding. Oneworld Publications, 2006

Wills, Gary, Chesterton. Image: Revised edition, 2001

Wolff, Pierre, Discernment: The Art of Choosing Well: Based on Ignatian Spirituality. Liguori Publications, revised ed., 2003

Online resources for the Spiritual Exercises

There are several English-language sites dedicated to Ignatius’s Exercises, set up and maintained by American Jesuits or Jesuit Universities. While the usual bibliography is not aimed at critique, and certainly when aimed at spirituality, it might even be frowned on, we want to encourage full use of the interactive capabilities of the net. Retreats are full of participation and exchange. We would like to encourage people who create sites to fully realize the potential of the net.

Although there will inevitably be duplication and overlap, a site devoted to retreat work has to provide some background without requiring users to click all over the internet to get oriented. But we wonder why, in the nearly instantaneous online world, every site feels compelled to cover the same ground, slowly and ponderously. It is a waste of resources. There are, however, a few very good sites with wonderful innovations and initiatives. We will highlight those.

This information is current as of the end of 2008. We expect more online resources and hope to keep our information up to date. We have also only considered sites that are US-based. As sites become more interactive and less advertisements for local retreat services, we intend to include them.

The sites:

The full text of Spiritual Exercises of St Ignatius, the translation of the Autograph of the Exercises prepared by Fr. Elder Mullan, S.J., is available in PDF format at the website of the Jesuit Conference of the United States. Knowing what Ignatius thought and how he informed the Jesuits who directed the Exercises is pretty basic. This site is just the translation, not interpretation or commentary, with no search capability.

The website of the Conference also includes a page listing the contact information for all their retreat houses and “retreat opportunities” in the US.

The website of the Creighton University Online Ministries has been highly recommended by many people. We also like the format and the functionality. The heart of this work is an innovative 34-week retreat, an adaptation of the format that Ignatius counseled. The creators call it a “retreat for everyday life.” There is an interactive function on the site. You can make your retreat with or without a director. You also have the option of joining a group that is doing a retreat at the same time, and can share your experiences as a kind of peer direction. Of all the online presentations, Creighton University had by far the most real-time human support.

Loyola Marymount, Los Angeles. The California Jesuits offer the Exercises to individuals/small groups to make the Exercises, “with an emphasis on adapting to the individual retreatant.” Morgan did a 19th Annotation Retreat here, which he writes about here in “Inclined Toward Love: Notes while doing the Spiritual Exercises.” The website promotes that retreat work.

We would like to point to an innovation of the Institute for Ignatian Spirituality that is outlined with some very clear instructions: An Awareness Examination of Conscience.

Ignatius’s examen seems to emphasize the gap between humankind and God and our failure to respond to God’s love. Thus, you look back over the recent part of your day to check on the number of times a fault that you are guarding against occurred in thought or deed. The Awareness Examination asks that you pay attention to “feelings, moods, thoughts, desires to get a sense of what is going on in one's life; praying for healing and forgiveness,” and that, as you end your period of reflection, you consider “the immediate future and paying attention to the feelings that spontaneously arise."

The Jesuit Collaborative. The Jesuit provinces of the Northeast have initiated “a professional association of Jesuits, laypersons, clergy, and religious who share in common the spiritual tradition of St. Ignatius” to carry on and promote the work of the Exercises. Though not a site with much information about the Exercises themselves, it appears to be a portal for information about a broad range of opportunities.