Seek God Everywhere - new book by Tony

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Book Review: Seek God Everywhere -
Reflections on the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius

By Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat

Seek God Everywhere
Reflections on the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius
Anthony de Mello
Image/Doubleday 02/10 Paperback $14.00
ISBN: 9780385531764

Anthony de Mello (1931 - 1987) was the director of the Sadhana Institute of Pastoral Counseling in Pune, India. A Jesuit priest in the province of Bombay, he was known throughout the world for his writing and speaking at spiritual conferences. De Mello pioneered a post-denominational Christianity and proclaimed a lyrical mysticism rooted in story and imagination. He is best known for his books Awareness and Sadhana.

This spiritually illuminating paperback is based on a course de Mello gave in 1975 on the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius. A religious classic, it is divided into four parts and can be used for a four-week retreat. The first week focuses on sin and repentance; the second on the life of Jesus Christ; the third on Christ's passion and death; and the fourth on his resurrection and risen life. Written 450 years ago, the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius are given a fresh interpretation by de Mello.

He begins with a meditation on the importance of silence in drawing closer to God: it enables us to develop a home to ourselves, a place to touch the wellsprings of life inside of us. De Mello believes that falling in love with the Absolute is possible while on the path of adoration. This is the natural outgrowth of the spiritual practice of reverence. Although most believers are still imprisoned in a view of sin as acts, deeds, laws, and obligations, Jesus linked it to a refusal to grow, to love, to take the leap of faith. De Mello addresses the feelings of worthlessness among so many who have taken the traditional concept of sin to heart: "We have to communicate to people their goodness," he writes.

Whether talking about the spiritual senses, the gravity of the heart that rests in God, finding peace, getting rid of inordinate attachments, the challenges of finding out what God wants of us, the difficulties in unselfing the self, and the many spiritual teachings given by Mahatma Gandhi, de Mello opens new doors for us to see more clearly the process of spiritual maturation. As would be expected, this creative Jesuit teacher hits high stride while discussing the meaning of St. Ignatius' admonition to "Seek the presence of the Lord in all things." To feel and to contemplate this presence is the essence of devotion.

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Reviews and database copyright © 1970 – 2009
by Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat

Eternal truths

No sector is

as important as the public

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Refusing to release oneself, to let go

and not knowing peace,

is similar to dying a slow death.

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Being in the present you will not have misery

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Our lives are shadows

of our thoughts

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If you can rise above your thoughts

You can rise above your misery

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Change money into merit

Change capital into Dhamma

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"Know" your every thought, activity

word and move.

With every move, always be conscious

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Realising your own defects

is as worthy as being

on the path of enlightenment

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No work is worthless

if it is done with dignity

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Live as if it is the last day

Die like you are still alive

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Among all the prosperous

things, wisdom is the best

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A problem occurs

in order to be solved,

not to be an excuse.

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Do not be so greedy

as to ignore the truth

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Reduce want

and you will feel happier

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If today you are right

Tomorrow you will be wrong

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