Kirjahaku

This is a popular introduction, aimed at general readers, to prayer and the spiritual life in the tradition of Ignatius Loyola. A deep prayer life is not just something for mystics or religious specialists. It’s for everyone, and everyone has a capacity for it. There is a great thirst for spiritual depth among Christians and seekers. This is a popular introduction to prayer and the spiritual life – a guide for Lent and the rest of the year – in the tradition of Ignatius Loyola. Simmonds also explores Ignatian influence on the life of the seventeenth-century Yorkshire woman, Mary Ward. The Ignatian tradition is hugely adaptable to different approaches. At its heart is personal encounter with Jesus, so The Way of Ignatius will help people to pray with the Scriptures in an imaginative way. It includes questions to aid reflection and discussion at the end of each chapter, and also looks at the way in which the Passion and resurrection of Jesus are woven into the patterns of human life.

Retreats give us a space for contemplation and developing our relationship with God, but they aren't always possible. So can we still appreciate and detect the everyday God, even without special 'holy' places and spiritual practices? Dancing at the Still Point is a book for those who can't or aren't ready to go away for a residential Christian retreat, but who want to be in daily relationship and connect with God in a satisfying way. In sessions that you can work through at your own pace, Gemma Simmonds guides us through the practices and disciplines of retreats, such as being still physically and spiritually, developing a habit of prayer and learning some basic discernment skills. With insights from the Ignatian Spiritual Exercises, she explores how we can fold these practices into every day and shows that a rich life of prayer, in which we have time and space to let God be present, is achievable even in a busy working or family life. Practical and flexible, Dancing at the Still Point will help you find a richer and more balanced life, where the spiritual takes its rightful place amid all the other calls on time and attention.

In A Time to Reflect Gemma Simmonds helps you gather your thoughts in preparation for Sunday worship, while also providing a springboard for regular Bible study throughout the year. In each section she provides the Bible references, followed by a thought-provoking meditation that draws out points of connection between them, and rounding off with a short prayer and questions for personal reflection or group discussion.

The lectionary readings for Advent speak of making a straight path towards God, but many of us find our own route decidedly winding. Biblical characters in the story of the incarnation are called to set out on the road to discipleship using any means of carriage they can. This book offers user-friendly encouragement (with the occasional spur onwards) to explore what helps and what hinders us in this journey to deeper encounter with the flesh and blood God whom we find in scripture, in our lived experience and in the least of his sisters and brothers.