Drawing on his lived experience of Ignatian spirituality, Gerald O’Collins explores the genesis of the Spiritual Exercises in the mid-life journey (or conversion) and experiences of St. Ignatius.

Following the structure of the Exercises, commenting on major themes in what Ignatius calls the First Week, the Second Week, the Third Week, and the Fourth Week, and ending with the Contemplation for Attaining Love, O’Collins engages the reader by introducing fresh reflections on the Principle and Foundation (to be read in the context of late medieval marriage vows), and by using, at length, several episodes in the Gospel stories to show how contemporary biblical interpretation enriches possibilities for prayer.Resources for prayer are drawn from Christian painting, sculpture, music, literature, and poetry.

Gerald O’Collins, SJ, earned his PhD at the University of Cambridge and for thirty-three years taught fundamental and systematic theology at the Gregorian University (Rome), where he was also dean of the theology faculty (1985–91). He is now adjunct professor at the Australian Catholic University and a research fellow at the University of Divinity (Melbourne). He has published hundreds of articles in professional and popular journals, and often lectured in the United States and around the world. He has authored or coauthored many books.
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