FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Christine Valentine-Owsik  (215) 230-8095  [email protected]
Expert on St. Ignatius
Maps Path to God
HUNTINGTON, Indiana, June 2, 2015 – Though a new Pew
Research study this month shows religiosity in America as waning,
people still want to know why they exist and what their purpose is.
They may not admit it or seek advice, but it’s a collective longing –
minute to minute, year to year – in every culture.
This quest yields one of two results – contentment and selfactualization, or anxiety and inner chaos – depending on whether
one is assured of his path.
Because the deepest desires of a person’s heart are placed there by
God, says Jim Manney, author of What Do You Really Want? St.
Ignatius Loyola and the Art of Discernment (Our Sunday Visitor,
2015), each must reconcile his own wants with God’s will for his
life. When he realizes this, he has joy and peace regardless of
external circumstances.
Five hundred years ago, after St. Ignatius of Loyola suffered a
serious battle injury that ended his cherished military career, he wrestled with the difficulty of finding direction for
his life. When he ultimately discovered it, then reflected on how it was revealed, he had a stunning insight. God
had granted him his deepest desires: incredibly, what Ignatius wanted, God wanted for him, too. This personal
discovery lies at the heart of Ignatian discernment – the wisdom that enables one to see how God is leading him
through his own inclinations.
Writing for the faithful of any spiritual level, Manney gives a basic framework for acquiring the essential gift for
making decisions congruent with God’s will. Ignatius saw the ability to discern God’s intent as one of the most
important skills a Christian can have. He paid great attention to it, developing a discernment style still regarded as
the most attuned of its kind.
“Ignatius’ key insight was that God speaks to us through the shifting sea of feelings, insights, leadings, and
intuitions of our lives,” says Manney. “Though our deepest desires are of particular importance, we are often led
astray by ‘disordered attachments’ – distractions that mislead and crowd out our truest promptings.” If everyone’s
ultimate desire is to know and serve God, then the choices he makes – from the incidental to the critical – affect
whether he fulfills that desire.
What Do You Really Want? guides the faithful in genuine Ignatian discernment – the ability to separate what’s
imperative in life from what’s irrelevant or distracting. In the book, Manney explains the facets of right judgement,
like:
 why every choice matters,
 determining the good in every situation,
 ascertaining God’s will,
 knowing God personally,
 prioritizing love for God above all,
 reconciling one’s preferences with God’s,
 deciphering the language of the heart,
 putting prayer and gratitude first each day,
 being accountable for failure,
 rooting out disordered attachments,
 identifying good and evil spirits,
 persevering through periods of consolation and desolation, and
 confirming the soundness of each decision.
“What Do You Really Want? asks what is probably the most important question in the spiritual life, the one that
pushes us to go deeper than what the noise of the world tells us we must do if we are to be happy, wealthy, or
admired. This book is written by a canny guide to the spiritual life who is happy to remind us that he is on the
shoulders of giants. If new to prayer, it will help you understand more about how it makes us practiced in the art of
making life choices. If you are experienced, you’ll appreciate the clarity that Manney brings to deepening your
discernment, using St. Ignatius as a guide.”
— Tim Muldoon, author of The Ignatian Workout and The Ignatian Workout for Lent
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For an interview with Jim Manney, please contact Christine Valentine-Owsik at: (215) 230-8095 or [email protected]
ABOUT OUR SUNDAY VISITOR
The world’s largest English-language Catholic publisher, Our Sunday Visitor serves millions of Catholics globally through its
publishing, offertory, and communication services. Established in 1912, Our Sunday Visitor publishes a wide range of books
including Bibles, biographies of the saints, books by Pope Francis, Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI, children’s books, devotionals,
bible studies, inspirational works, and curriculum. Our Sunday Visitor is a not-for-profit organization, returning a portion of
net earnings back to the Catholic community through the Our Sunday Visitor Institute. For more information, visit
www.osv.com.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Jim Manney is a best-selling author and editor of Ignatian spirituality books, including A Simple Life-Changing Prayer, God
Finds Us, and An Ignatian Book of Days. Recently retired from Loyola Press where he was editor of many books on Ignatian
spirituality, including writing five of his own, he lives in Ann Arbor, Michigan.