The Ignatian Guide To Forgiveness

Forgiveness is hard. But Jesus knows how much we need it. True forgiveness can be complicated because the pain of betrayal, loss, deception, and personal attack clings tightly to our emotions, memories, even our bodies. We may intend to forgive yet become stuck in our own mixed motives, others’ silence or anger, and the skewed stories we believe and tell about our lives. In The Ignatian Guide to Forgiveness, Marina McCoy delves into the principles of Ignatian spirituality and uses gentle honesty to lay out 10 steps toward forgiveness, including: • Sort out true desires • Honor anger while deepening compassion • Make friends with time • Create a new story • . . . and more. Each chapter offers stories, real-life steps to take, and a powerful prayer for healing Forgiveness is hard, but it’s also possible—with our “habits of mercy” and God’s abundant grace.

2021 Illumination Book Awards, Bronze Medal: Spirituality Forgiveness is hard. But Jesus knows how much we need it. True forgiveness can be complicated because the pain of betrayal, loss, deception, and personal attack clings tightly to our emotions, memories, even our bodies. We may intend to forgive yet become stuck in our own mixed motives, others’ silence or anger, and the skewed stories we believe and tell about our lives. In The Ignatian Guide to Forgiveness, Marina McCoy delves into the principles of Ignatian spirituality and uses gentle honesty to lay out 10 steps toward forgiveness, including: Sort out true desires Honor anger while deepening compassion Make friends with time Create a new story . . . and more. Each chapter offers stories, real-life steps to take, and a powerful prayer for healing Forgiveness is hard, but it’s also possible—with our “habits of mercy” and God’s abundant grace.

Speaks to our personal and collective brokenness in light of God's merciful and forgiving love. Ecumenical in approach, it gives support and direction for private as well as group prayer. Spiritual directors, retreat leaders and formation personnel will find this book helpful in their work.

Since its original release in the late 1980s, the Forgiveness book in the Take and Receive prayer-book series has been helping people re-imagine what it means to pray and see with new eyes God’s presence and activity in their daily lives. Forgiveness: A Guide for Prayer have now been repackaged and reprinted by Loyola Press.Hailed as a classic in the Ignatian prayer tradition, this book by Jacqueline Syrup Bergan and Sister Marie Schwan provides a topic-based opportunity for people to grow deeper in their relationship with God through prayer. The topic of forgiveness directly correlates with a segment of the Spiritual Exercises, though no previous experience with the Exercises is needed to benefit from the book.Covering 36 days over a six-week period, each day offers scriptural passages with commentary, followed by a suggested approach to prayer for that day. Especially helpful is a section at the beginning of the book that explains the different types of solitary prayer that readers will be asked to engage in throughout the six weeks, such as meditation, contemplation, and centering prayer.

“‘Jesus, where are you?’ I prayed every night as I wept . . . I felt I had failed as a priest, for I had preached love and the people made genocide. . . .Then I heard God speak to me. Jesus wanted me to use these experiences to evangelize later. It was then that I knew my life would be spared. God would make a way.” During the 25th anniversary of the Rwandan genocide, Fr. Ubald Rugirangoga tells the dramatic story of how he survived while losing more than eighty of his family members and 45,000 of his parishioners in the killings. In the aftermath, Fr. Ubald experienced a renewed sense of purpose as a minister of reconciliation and a healing evangelist in his homeland and around the world. In Forgiveness Makes You Free, he offers five spiritual principles that can help those traumatized by the past to experience healing and peace in Christ. In 1994 the world looked on in disbelief and horror as Rwanda erupted in violent bloodshed. All across the landlocked African country, militant Hutus rose up to exterminate the Tutsi population, including women and young children. One hundred days later, a million bodies littered fields, streets, and even churches. Now, on the twenty-fifth anniversary of the Rwandan genocide, a powerful testimony emerges of the power of God to bring peace and reconciliation into hearts full of fear and hate. In Forgiveness Makes You Free, Fr. Ubald Rugirangoga shares his own dramatic story of how he survived the genocide and its traumatic aftermath. He testifies about how God spared his life so that he might help others with deep physical, emotional, and spiritual wounds to experience peace and healing. In retelling the story of how he forgave the man who killed his family and cared for the man’s children while he was in prison, Fr. Ubald demonstrates how showing mercy can facilitate true forgiveness even in the most painful circumstances of our lives. Throughout the book, Fr. Ubald teaches about five spiritual keys that draw us to Christ, the only source of lasting peace: be thankful and have faith choose to forgive denounce evil decide to live for Jesus claim the blessing Each chapter combines Fr. Ubald’s story with reflection questions that guide readers along their own path of healing: from fear to faith, from shame to freedom, from isolation to reconciliation, from resentment to mercy, and from conflict to peace. The final chapter offers a guided meditation to help those who need to experience the power of God to release those held in bondage by fear and hate and to find the secret of peace. An appendix contains information about “The Mushaka Reconciliation Project,” a catechetical tool that has been used successfully by parishes in Rwanda, and could easily be adapted by parishes in the United States, to mediate reconciliation between individuals and groups who have become estranged by violence, trauma, and ethnic or cultural divisions.

Grow closer to God through six weeks of prayer focused on a specific spiritual topic. Since their original release in the late 1980s, the Take and Receive prayer-book series has sold more than 150,000 copies, and its five themed books are hailed as classics in the Ignatian prayer tradition. The first two books in the series are being repackaged and reprinted by Loyola Press. Love: A Guide for Prayer and Forgiveness: A Guide for Prayer provide topic-based opportunities for people to grow deeper in their relationship with God through prayer. The theme of each volume directly correlates with a segment of the Spiritual Exercises, though no previous experience with the Exercises is needed to benefit from these books. Covering 36 days over a six-week period, each day offers scriptural passages with commentary, followed by a suggested approach to prayer for that day. Especially helpful is a section at the beginning of the book that explains the different types of solitary prayer that readers will be asked to engage in throughout the six weeks, such as meditation, contemplation, and centering prayer. Ideal for all who desire a closer relationship with God, these books help us reimagine what it means to pray and help us see with new eyes God’s presence and activity in our daily lives.

Updated and Includes a New Preface from the Author Embark on the spiritual ADVENTURE of a lifetime. There's no better guide than St. Ignatius of Loyola for people who want to enliven their faith, discover their purpose, and make better decisions in their life. In this revised edition of The Ignatian Adventure, Kevin O'Brien, SJ, offers a unique way of experiencing the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius in daily life. With O'Brien as our navigator, we adventure through 32 weeks of prayer and meditations that draw us into a deeper encounter with God. What sets this book apart from other Ignatian retreats is how O'Brien incorporates the timeless counsel of wisdom figures throughout the ages and personal stories about living the Exercises in everyday life. O'Brien makes it easy to see how these teachings intersect with the real world. The Ignatian Adventure is an ideal resource for spiritual directors. Its user-friendly style also makes it the perfect book for anyone seeking a better understanding of Ignatian spirituality and a richer prayer life.

Our bestselling annual - sales continue to grow year on year! The Scripture, prayers, and reflections in Sacred Space: The Prayer Book will inspire you to a richer daily spiritual experience throughout the liturgical year and invite you to develop a closer relationship with God. Each day of Sacred Space: The Prayer Book includes Scripture reading and points of reflection, as well as a weekly topic enhanced by six steps of prayer and reflection: The Presence of God, Freedom, Consciousness, The Word, Conversation, and Conclusion. Sacred Space: The Prayer Book is designed to help you stay faithful to your intention to deepen your spiritual journey. It is the perfect gift for your parish, campus ministry program, small group, friend, family member, or yourself.