Ed Mattson's List: Spiritual Formation

• Dallas Willard writes that “spiritual formation for the Christian basically refers to the Spirit-driven process of forming the inner world of the human self in such a way that it becomes like the inner being of Christ himself.

• The special vow of obedience to the pope was called by Loyola “the cause and principal foundation” of his society.
• Since his days at Manresa, Loyola had practiced a form of prayer that was later published in The Spiritual Exercises and appears to have rivaled that of the greatest mystics.
• Ignatius Loyola was beatified by Pope Paul V in 1609 and canonized by Pope Gregory XV in 1622. In 1922 he was declared patron of all spiritual retreats by Pope Pius XI. His achievements and those of his followers form a chapter in the history of the Roman Catholic church that cannot be neglected by those who desire to understand that institution.

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