Hearts on Fire: Praying With Jesuits

"Hearts on Fire: Praying with Jesuits", edited by Michael Harter, SJ

A good meditative guide for praying in the spirit of the Ignatian Spiritual Exercises. What is new in this style of presenting St. Ignatius' Spiritual Exercises is the contemporary translation of the method into popular literary forms: prayers and prose written by Jesuits - both "classic", like Gerard Manley Hopkins, SJ, and contemporary, like Anthony de Mello, SJ.

The original Spiritual Exercises of Saint Ignatius of Loyola was written in terse and concise language meant as a handbook and guide for Jesuit spiritual directors in leading their retreat work.

Since this is a popular presentation, many readers familiar with the 30-day retreat given by the Jesuits, can now have this simple prayer and meditation guide to understand in depth the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius.

The structure of the book

The Spiritual Exercises of Saint Ignatius of Loyola are divided into four weeks. The Hearts on Fire book organized all the prayers and prose and structured it also according to the four weeks:

These are the themes which the book presents:

the First Week: to help us realize how much we are loved by God and how much we have been poor in this response to this love;

the Second Week: to help us contemplate on the life and ministry of Jesus;

the Third Week: to help us contemplate on the Passion of Jesus;

and the Fourth Week: to help us contemplate on the Resurrection and the joy of sharing in that gift.

Featured Jesuit writers and authors in the book

• Gerald Manley Hopkins
• Saint Francis Xavier
• Saint Claude La Colombiere
• Saint Peter Canisius
• Blessed Peter Faber
• Saint Ignatius Loyola
• Blessed Miguel Augustine Pro
• Saint Alphonse Rodriguez
• Saint Robert Southwell
• Saint Joseph Pignatelli
• Jean-Pierre de Caussade
• Saint Edmund Campion
• Saint Edmund Arrowsmith
• Saint Peter Claver
• Saint Aloysius Gonzaga
• Saint John Berchmans

Also featuring contemporary Jesuit writers and authors in the book

• Carlo Maria Martini
• David L. Fleming
• Joseph Tetlow
• Anthony de Mello
• Daniel Berrigan
• Karl Rahner
• Jean-Pierre Médaille
• John Powell
• Leo Rock
• John Veltri
• Pierre Teilhard de Chardin
• Daniel A. Lord
• Michael Moynahan
• William Breault
• David J. Hassel
• Armand Nigro
• John Eagan
• Pedro Arrupe
• John Futrell
• Stephen Privett
• Ignacio Martin-Baro
• John J. Morris
• Louis J. McCabe and Philip G. Steele