St. Ignatius of Loyola's Spiritual Exercises have long guided Christians toward deeper awareness of God's presence through prayer, reflection, and discernment practices. Yet, Christine M. Ng argues that the Exercises can feel inaccessible to many Christians because of their patriarchal, militaristic, and human-centered framework. Ng notes that the Exercises also can leave some Protestants looking for ways to engage with them more fully.
In Listening for God's Song, Ng reimagines the Exercises through a progressive Protestant and ecofeminist lens to help expand their inclusivity. Drawing on Ignatius's original vision of imaginative prayer and embodied encounters with the Divine, the book invites Christians into a spirituality grounded in relationship--with God, with the diversity of one another, and with creation. Among the book's insights is the reframing of theological concepts such as sin and redemption through a lens of inclusive, embodied experiences and ecological awareness.
Offering a forty-week guided approach, Listening for God's Song provides practical exercises and guidance suitable for spiritual directors, small groups, and individuals. It incorporates inclusive scriptural reflection and an expansive collection of resources that highlight the presence of people of color and women, even as it also attunes Christians to the sacred presence within creation. Accessible, yet theologically rich, this book equips those who want to experience the transformative power of the Ignatian tradition--both directors and directees--while embracing a more expansive and embodied vision of faith.
