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A Pilgrim's Journey: The Autobiography of St. Ignatius of Loyola
Saint Ignatius of Loyola was a man who saw above and beyond his century, a man of vision and calm hope, who could step comfortably into our era and the Church of our time and show us how to draw closer to Christ.
Ignatius' autobiography spans eighteen very important years of this saint's 65-year life...from his wounding at Pamplona (1521) through his conversion, his univer
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Paperback
,
204 pages
Published
July 1st 2001
by Ignatius Press
(first published 1553)
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The life of Ignatius of Loyola as dictated by him. Ignatius was the founder of the Jesuit society and lived a life of humility and suffering. He was very strict on himself and gave no thought to authority except for the authority of God. He focuses on his life and hardships rather than his accomplishments. The epilogue written by the editor fills in many of his accomplishments that he seems to skip over in his own telling. A relatively quick but engaging read.
Reaction Paper for Christian Spirituality Class
The tumultuous era that gave rise to Martin Luther and the Protestant Reformation, the Spanish Inquisition, the Tudor dynasty and the ever-expanding age of exploration, also gave rise to a single man’s greatness in serving God completely. St Ignatius of Loyola was a pragmatic man in all things and initially steeped in charisma and his own desire for vainglory. His quest for success and personal glory led to his near fatal injury at the battle of Pam ...more
The tumultuous era that gave rise to Martin Luther and the Protestant Reformation, the Spanish Inquisition, the Tudor dynasty and the ever-expanding age of exploration, also gave rise to a single man’s greatness in serving God completely. St Ignatius of Loyola was a pragmatic man in all things and initially steeped in charisma and his own desire for vainglory. His quest for success and personal glory led to his near fatal injury at the battle of Pam ...more
Incredible Quote "He [St. Ignatius] told me that he had not composed the Exercises all at one time, but perceiving certain things happening in his soul, and finding them helpful, he thought that they might also be helpful to others, and so he set them down in writing, for example, the examination of conscience with its series of lines, and so on." pg. 186
Inspirational, uplifting, spiritual, etc story. I truly admire St. Ignatius although I balk at how strict the Jesuits seem (not towards others ...more
Inspirational, uplifting, spiritual, etc story. I truly admire St. Ignatius although I balk at how strict the Jesuits seem (not towards others ...more
What can I possibly say about literature that has survived the upheavals of five hundred years? Obviously, enough people felt that it was enough of a good read to keep it in existence. All that is really left for me to do is to convince you that a book that would otherwise sound dry and boring (and maybe even preachy) is definitely worth your time.
A Pilgrim’s Journey: The Autobiography of St. Ignatius of Loyola was transcribed by his secretary, Father Louis Gonzalez, as a result of several in ...more
A Pilgrim’s Journey: The Autobiography of St. Ignatius of Loyola was transcribed by his secretary, Father Louis Gonzalez, as a result of several in ...more
The Good:
offers some background and insight into Ignatius's life
The Bad: densely put together as it skims many events in Ignatius's life
The book starts out with Ignatius being characterized as a military man who is "enthralled by the vanities of the world." However, he becomes wounded in battle, and during his recovery, he reads many books, some by the saints.
By frequent reading of these books he began to get some love for spiritual things. This reading leads his mind to meditate on holy th ...more
The Bad: densely put together as it skims many events in Ignatius's life
The book starts out with Ignatius being characterized as a military man who is "enthralled by the vanities of the world." However, he becomes wounded in battle, and during his recovery, he reads many books, some by the saints.
By frequent reading of these books he began to get some love for spiritual things. This reading leads his mind to meditate on holy th ...more
The story of St. Ignatius is interesting and it holds him out as a great saint. The writing in the book though it very 'jumpy' and it doesn't give a deep insight into his works and accomplishments which tended to leaving me feeling like I've missed the story of the person behind the works. (I guess I was thinking of Blessed Pope John Paul II's biography, which tells his story but with a lot of 'character unfolding' to help you understand him as a person.)
This book really fills in the parts of his life that most one page summaries of the life of St Ignatius Loyola never mention. It can be read on two levels, with and without the extensive footnotes. Reading with the footnotes is better. Struggles, trials, imprisonments, early followers, accounts of spiritual experiences, are all there. Reading this book will give you a desire to learn more about his Spiritual Exercises.
Ignatius seems to have been a goal-oriented sort. Become a top soldier? Pulled it off pretty well until a cannon ball shattered his leg. Embark on a rather Quixote-like quest of asceticism to remake himself as a saint? Threw himself into it whole-heartedly but it didn’t quite satisfy. Become educated, the better to lead and teach? Off he goes, despite the Inquisition and the Hierarchy.
A quite short book, ‘The Autobiography’ is more a sketch of Loyola’s conversion and the birth of his order than ...more
A quite short book, ‘The Autobiography’ is more a sketch of Loyola’s conversion and the birth of his order than ...more
This was tough to read. Not the place I'd suggest going to start learning about St. Ignatius. There seems to be a lot in the narrative that is skipped, and a lot that he and his scribe assume you already know. So the gaps in knowledge make it hard to follow. He also come across a bit egotistical, I'm sorry to say. However, it was very interesting to read his version of his multiple encounters with the Spanish Inquisition. We tend to think of the Inquisition as a bunch of people who were on a wit
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It does what it says on the tin; it's St Ingatius's autobiography, written in the style of any 16th-century autobio. If the topic sounds interesting, then the book is. If not, well, not.
The appendix, added by the translator in 1900, amused me; the translator is writing from his university in New York City, talking about the Jesuit educational system over the next few hundred years. And he mentions how they travelled to the ends of the earth establishing institutions, and how this continues to th ...more
The appendix, added by the translator in 1900, amused me; the translator is writing from his university in New York City, talking about the Jesuit educational system over the next few hundred years. And he mentions how they travelled to the ends of the earth establishing institutions, and how this continues to th ...more
The book is a surprisingly light read for a text written in the XVIth century, and(unwittingly) does a great job to situate the jesuits in continuity from their founders' peculiar life and personality. A colorful life-story indeed, with and admirable pugnacity and a war-like conception of faith and asceticism, but it's account is disappointingly factual: little is said of of Ignatius' peculiar achievements, and whereas his academic career is only quickly skimmed through, his spiritual exercises,
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I listened to this on audiobook. I really had no idea about St Ignatius. I admire his ability to overcome the many hardships in life.
Apr 07, 2014
Scott Kleinpeter
rated it
5 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
et-cum-spirtu-tuo
St. Ignatius challenges us to see our convictions through to the end. With faith and fortitude.
Tells the tale of Ignatius of Loyola the founder of the Jesuits from his boyhood, his injury in battle, his conversion during his convalescence, his growing spiritual discernment, his pilgrimage to Jerusalem, his early ministry and education and the founding of the Jesuit order.
This is a quick read (I read it in one sitting). I liked how this book showed Ignatius's fortitude of character and growing discernment in Spiritual matters.
It is an autobiography, but was dictated and is written down i ...more
This is a quick read (I read it in one sitting). I liked how this book showed Ignatius's fortitude of character and growing discernment in Spiritual matters.
It is an autobiography, but was dictated and is written down i ...more
It was interesting, but difficult to read. By difficult to read I am referring to the style. It reminded me of reading driving directions (go left on Main St., then go 2 miles and take a right). So, it read something like - St. Ignatius was in Spain, then met 2 men who would follow him, then went to France where he met opposition. He then went to Rome, etc., etc. Lots of interesting facts, but presented in a dry, almost bullet-point format.
This is St. Ignatius' autobiography although he wrote it in the third person and called himself simply a pilgrim. This is a story of his conversion and how he formed the Company of Jesus. Our parish pastor talked a little about his spirituality, and Spiritual Exercises, and recommended this book. And apparently he describes clearly what his influences were, his spiritual condition (the consolations and the desolation), etc. Sounds interesting.
Ignatius is clearly a really interesting character: an Aramis-like combination of vain soldier and pious intellectual. but sadly this book doesn't give any significant insight into his life or thoughts. it's so brief that most of the time it's barely more than a summary of his actions.
on the bright side it's short and readable, and his repeated brushes with the Inquisition are quite entertaining.
on the bright side it's short and readable, and his repeated brushes with the Inquisition are quite entertaining.
The story Ignatius told was a well written translation. Fr. Tylenda did a good job of explaining and adding historical facts. We always think of the saints as 'perfect people' but really their stories tell us how they struggled with their imperfections to follow their faith. We all have that opportunity and St. Ignatius worked hard to share ways we can follow our faith.
I can only give the autobiography 3 stars because I didn't care for its narrative voice. And not just the fact that he was probably responsible for the engineering of the mass murder of over a million of my collateral ancestors and their co-religionists in a single day. Happy St. Bartholomew's Day, Inigo. We will always remember.
just bought this today, for some reasons I've always had a negative imagine of St. Ignatius, but I can't really say why. I always thought of him as the leader of the inquisition, and there has to be more than that. i'm excited to read this.
umm. just finished. it was intersting, but did not really move me that much.
umm. just finished. it was intersting, but did not really move me that much.
The Life of a Saint is always going to be compelling, inspiring, and convicting, but the context, the specific travels and the daily life of Ignatius that gave form to his methods, his disciplines, his prayer and practice, is really fascinating. Also a quick read.
I was hoping that an autobiography would provide insight and inspiration. Maybe something was lost in translation. It seemed that sentences, and in some cases passages were missing. If not, it was very concise.
Interesting account of the life (partial) of Jesuit leader, as told to a follower. Enjoyed accounts of miraculous happenings on pilgrimage to Jersualem. Thought it would be more philosophical than it was.
I like to read about lives of saints, and this one was surprisingly entertaining.
Nov 11, 2014
Karlo
rated it
5 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
spirituality
,
theology
Great, encouraging insight to the person of Ignatius, his thoughts and deeds.
I was surprised with the type of life St. Ignatius lived.
Boring account of Jesuit beginnings
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Saint Ignatius of Loyola was the principal founder and first Superior General of the Society of Jesus. The compiler of the Spiritual Exercises, Ignatius was described by Pope Benedict XVI as being above all a man of God, who gave the first place of his life to God, and a man of profound prayer. He was very active in fighting the Protestant Reformation and promoting the subsequent counter-reformati
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More about Ignatius of Loyola...
“He learned by experience that one train of thought left him sad, the other joyful. This was his first reasoning on spiritual matters.”
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“In the course of the conversation mention was made of the Blessed Virgin. The stranger remarked that though he admitted that the Mother of Christ had conceived without detriment to her virginal purity, yet he could not believe that after the conception of her divine Son she was still a virgin. He was so obstinate in holding this opinion, that no amount of reasoning on the part of Ignatius could force him to abandon it. Shortly afterward the Saracen rode on, leaving the pilgrim to his own reflections. These were not of the most peaceful nature. He was sorely troubled as he thought over the conduct of his recent fellow-traveler, and felt that he had but poorly acquitted himself of his duty of honoring the Mother of God. The longer his mind thought upon the matter, the more his soul was filled with indignation against himself for having allowed the Saracen to speak as he had done of the Blessed Virgin, and for the lack of courage he fancied he had shown in not at once resenting the insult. He consequently felt impelled by a strong impulse to hasten after him and slay the miscreant for the insulting language he had used.”
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