Sacred Listening: Discovering the Spiritual Exercises of Ignatius Loyola - Paperback

by James L. Wakefield (Author)

A profound call to Christian discipleship. An intensive course in Christian faith. A creative freedom to serve God that is deeply grounded in Scripture. These are ways to describe Sacred Listening, James L. Wakefield's adaptation of the classic Spiritual Exercises of Ignatius Loyola.

Central to the Society of Jesus (Jesuits), the Spiritual Exercises is a manual used to direct a month-long spiritual retreat. Now adapting these time-honored Exercises specifically for Protestant Christians, James L. Wakefield encourages readers to integrate their secular goals with their religious beliefs and helps them reflect on the life of Jesus as a model for their own discipleship.

Combining scholarship with classic forms of spirituality, Sacred Listening will interest church leaders and lay Christians who want to deepen their faith.

Back Jacket

Ignatius Loyola's time-honored Spiritual Exercises adapted for Protestants today

For five centuries, Ignatius Loyola's Spiritual Exercises have been leading Christians to deeper faith. Now, James Wakefield brings the richness of this enduring text to contemporary Protestants.

Sacred Listening adapts Ignatius's original month-long spiritual retreat into a guide that allows you to weave prayer and contemplation of Scripture into your day-to-day schedule. As you pray, write in a journal, study Scripture, and share your experiences with a partner, you will encounter

-the profound gift of God's mercy and forgiveness
-the goals and values exemplified in the humanity of Christ
-the price of redemption and the cost of discipleship
-a new depth and richness in your relationship with Christ

Along every step of this journey, you will discover Christ in new ways and be transformed by the power of a time-honored tradition that continues to speak to us today.

"For those who are hungry and ready for a life-changing encounter with the living God, I seriously doubt there is a more practical and more profound resource than this book."--Gregory A. Boyd, author, Letters from a Skeptic and Seeing Is Believing

"As a Jesuit for 62 years, I have been formed by the Exercises of Ignatius of Loyola, our principal founder. I rejoice, then, at the long-awaited publication of Sacred Listening. It will be for its readers, I hope, a classic manual for spiritual growth in genuine mystical prayer."--Armand M. Nigro, S.J., professor emeritus, Gonzaga University

Author Biography

James L. Wakefield (M.Div., Denver Seminary; M.Th., Bethel Seminary; Ph.D., Marquette University) is associate professor of biblical and spiritual theology at Salt Lake Theological Seminary in Salt Lake City, Utah. He is associate pastor at Good Shepherd Lutheran Church in Sandy, Utah, and the author of Jürgen Moltmann: A Research Bibliography.