William M. Watson - Sacred Story: An Ignatian Examen for the Third Millennium

Other Books by William Watson, SJ

Inviting God Into Your Life:
A Practical Guide for Prayer

Reflections and Homilies:
The Gonzaga Collection

Advance Praise for Sacred Story

William Watsons Sacred Story is a huge undertaking. It is a new, enlarged and redeveloped book of Ignatius Examen. Sacred Story probes profoundly into the dynamics of Ignatiuss personal journeyinto his sacred storyand the discernment of spirits that embellish and enlighten it. William Watsons treatment of the Discernment Rules, so essential to the practice of Examen, is very well done. Watson finds the integral development of Ignatiuss own life as essential elements for the Examen.

He uncovers a paradigm of the Examen in the Autobiography with the two conversions of Ignatius, which is very insightful. Despite my familiarity with the Autobiography, I had never thought of this before. Also, I can see now after reading Sacred Story that the key insight of Ignatius surrendering his scruples over confessing past sins was the most important decision of his lifea tipping point for him personally and a defining element of Ignatian Spirituality.

George Aschenbrenner, S.J.

Washington, D.C.

William Watsons Sacred Story is an exceptional work. It masters the difficult task of integrating spirituality and psychology and creates an original, rigorous, brilliant and scholarly book. It is an excellent contribution to Ignatian Spirituality and spirituality in general. The author has the ability to take the classic Ignatian Examination of Conscience and recreate it with great originality and scholarship. It illuminates with brilliant insights and accuracy the fields of both psychology and spirituality. Books like this rarely come along once a decade.

Javier Melloni, S.J., Th.D.

Author, The Spiritual Exercises in the Western Tradition

Professor, Faculty of Theology of Catalonia

William Watsons Sacred Story is a seminal, brilliant tour de forceerudite, well researched and deeply pondered. It is a passionate book, full of the urgency of one who is speaking of what he knows and of what he lives. It is a book born not merely from well-grounded scholarship but from deeply personal experience and struggle. Read it and be amazed, as I was.

Watson does for the Examen what Jerome Nadal did for the Jesuit Constitutions (when Nadal explained the Constitutions to the Jesuit communities he visited in the very early days of the Society of Jesus). Watson links any proper and full appropriation of the Examen to the experiences of St. Ignatius life, particularly to his conversion, and to the programme of the Spiritual Exercises. This is a novel approach, and one, in my opinion, which is holistic, rich, fertile and fruitful.

David Keith Townsend, S.J.

Director, The Seven Fountains Spirituality Centre, Chiang Mai, Thailand

Fr. Watson deftly and elegantly translates Ignatius Loyola from the sixteenth to the twenty-first century and reveals him to be an accessible and astute guide for allno matter faith, path or denominationwho seek spiritual discernment, moral wisdom, psychological growth and universal truth.

Gabor Mat, M.D.

Author, In The Realm of Hungry Ghosts: Close Encounters With Addiction

Making St. Ignatius practice of the Examen meaningful in the 21st century, useful for self-knowledge and self-transformation, and respectful of the complexities of each individual psyche immersed in modern culture seems at best to be daunting and at worst, impossible. Yet that is precisely what Fr. William Watson, S.J. has accomplished in his fresh, clear, interdisciplinary and contemporarily relevant approach to the Ignatian Examen Sacred Story An Ignatian Examen for the Third Millennium. This book would have achieved great purpose if it had accomplished but one of its objectives -- presenting an insightful and valuable cultural critique; unearthing new scholarly insights into the texts of St. Ignatius Loyola; or probing the depths of interaction between spirituality and psychology.

But he does so much more. His real quest is to find a practical, usable approach to a profound relationship with the Lord, which avoids superficiality in its practicality and needless complexity in its profundity. By taking the time he needs to develop his insights into the human psyche, the stories he needs to illustrate his points, and the scholarship that underlies a deep understanding of the spirit of St. Ignatius Loyola, Watson weaves a rich unified tapestry of practical, sage instruction on how to find the Lord in the depths of self-examination and the sacred story that emerges from it.

Sacred Story is a must read for those seeking knowledge of the spiritual and psychological obstacles that may present themselves in our individual spiritual quest along with the tools for discernment and authentic reflection needed to overcome them.

Robert J. Spitzer, S.J., Ph.D.

President, Magis Institute

Author, Five Pillars of the Spiritual Life

In Sacred Story, Bill Watson retrieves the heart and soul of Ignatian Spirituality. In this timely work on the prayer of the Examen Watson demonstrates that the ancient practice of this essential prayer can enrich and sanctify contemporary lives. Aptly identifying the millennial sin of narcissism, Watsons book offers an attractive paradigm that makes the Spiritual Exercises accessible and mobile. This book pushes the boundaries of our understanding of the Examen and challenges all who embrace an Ignatian way of life to deeper transformation. Bill Watson has done a profound service in giving us Sacred Story!

Damian Dzynda, Th.D.

Author, Archbishop Romero: A Disciple Who Revealed the Glory of God

Director of Formation, Church of the Transfiguration, Pittsford, NY

Fr. Watson has written a thorough and reflective guide for the Examen. He has surveyed many recent authors on one or other aspect of the Examen, how to present it and how to understand it. Ignatius spiritual genius is on display in his discernment principles linked to the Examen practice. He teaches us to discriminate between feelings that come from God, expressing our true human nature, from those whose origin reflect inspirations from the one Ignatius identifies as the enemy of human nature. Fr. Watson has shown how the Examen can help priest and laity alike navigate the confusing currents of human sentiment to find the authentic expression of ones human nature.

This study clearly illuminates how Ignatius discernment rules always lead one to the authentic expression of that human nature, discoverable through ones affect and feelings. And as Ignatius teaches, the authentic expression of human nature always aligns with Scripture, tradition and the teaching Church. The need of a thorough re-consideration of Ignatius of Loyola and his teaching about our direct relation to God has been obvious for some time. The insight and thoroughness of this book is to be commended. Father Watson has given us a chance for an in-depth second and third look at the great Examen tradition of Ignatius and his thinking with the Church.

James V. Schall, S. J. Georgetown University

Author, A Philosopher in Society: The Political Philosophy of Maritain

In his Sacred Story, Fr. William Watson invites followers of Ignatian Spirituality to enter more deeply into this mystery by the understanding and practice St. Ignatius of Loyolas general and particular