Exercises for the spirit in everyday life

ROOTED IN LOVE, by Margaret Blackie. New Voices Publishing, Cape Town (2013). 236pp. ISBN: 9780620578615

Reviewed by John O’Leary
Prayer, writes Margaret Blackie in her new book Rooted in Love, is the name we give to the practice of noticing God.

Such sentences give this book a freshness and accessibility that is very appealing.

An academic (in the field of chemistry) and a trained spiritual director, Cape Town-based Blackie intends the book as a contribution to the integration of Ignatian spirituality into daily life.

Ignatian spirituality is based on the teachings of St Ignatius of Loyola, co-founder of the Jesuit order.

The book begins with taking stock of our lives. What do we do? What are our circumstances? Who and what energises us? Who and what drains us?

From the beginning of the book there are many exercises which the reader ought to pause to do in order to get the most from the book. This is not simply a text to be read and thought about. It is a guide to living consciously our relationship with God.

The framework of the book covers the raw material from which we can make a home for God.

What are our images of God? Are those images likely to open up or close down our relationship with God? How can we become accustomed to finding God in all things? This reminds the reader of another key phrase in the book: paying attention.

Noticing and paying attention to what we want or desire in life is another important part of the journey. The notion of a journey suggests movement, another key word.

These exercises are all about noticing and paying attention to movements in our lives. Movements of growth as well as movements of shrinkage. Movements towards God and other people as well as movements away from them.

Many themes that readers will be familiar with are dealt with in a readable and workable style that invites one to try the exercises.

Blackie explains themes such as grace, discernment and indifference in their Ignatian context with clarity and demystification.

That the exercises will not only help us to find God in all things but will also help us to allow God to transform all things is clear by the time the reader reaches the chapters dealing with making decisions, finding one’s purpose, how to be and act when things are tough, and dealing with hurts in personal relationships.

The central core of Ignatian spirituality for Blackie is that it is a spirituality for all people, in all circumstances. It requires nothing of us except that we pay attention to our thirst for God.

Read the book, and, more importantly, make the exercises.