Forty Weeks: An Ignatian Path to Christ with Sacred Story Prayer

by William M. Watson, Betsy Stokes (Editor), Eileen Meinert (Editor)

What kind of person becomes a saint? The answer is any kind of person. Sacred Story Institute’s pioneer program Forty Weeks is based on the spiritual practices of St. Ignatius of Loyola, the last man anyone expected to become devoted to God, let alone a Saint. He was graced by God with an understanding of the human psyche that was far ahead of his time, and, with that gift, he developed not only his Conscience Examen, but also his Spiritual Exercises and Rules for Discernment. Forty Weeks offers a highly practical, easily understood, week-by-week process to find integrated healing and peace in Christ. It is the narrow road which thousands of people all over the world have taken since we first published the program in 2012,. It has been translated in Spanish and Italian, and we look forward to many other translations in the future. If you are ready to make Christ the center of your life, you will find no better daily spiritual prayer discipline. Divine love is an abiding relationship that God invites you to share in daily. The wisdom found in Forty Weeks will help you to enter this daily abiding love relationship with God. That relationship is your Sacred Story. We express our gratitude for the countless individuals who have written to Sacred Story institute to tell us how Forty Weeks transformed their spiritual lives and the life of their faith communities. We would also thank the countless number of individuals who have become missionary disciples and encouraged others to encounter Christ with Sacred Story Prayer. And, lastly, we thank those generous souls who have helped shape this second edition of Forty Weeks. To Betsy Stokes our general editor, and to Eileen Meinert our copy editor, for many hours of labor to make this second edition Thank you!

Genres: Catholic, Prayer, Reference

389 pages, Kindle Edition

First published September 16, 2013

About the author

Fr. Bill Watson, S.J. specializes in building enduring Ignatian-based programs that stand the test of time. The Encounter program at Jesuit High School in Portland, Oregon will turn 40 in 2019 and has transformed the school. The 5-Day Ignatian Retreat at Georgetown University will have its 30th anniversary in 2017 and the Georgetown Freshman ESCAPE retreat celebrated its 25th anniversary in 2016.

Many evangelization programs have a shelf-life or become the victims of unplanned obsolesce. The evangelization programs of Sacred Story Institute, based on Fr. Watson’s past track record, will become part of your faith community and endure in their relevance and effectiveness for decades to come. Invest in programs that will carry your faith community forward, built on the time-tested spirituality of St. Ignatius Loyola.

Reviews

[Les · Rating 4 out of 5]

I would recommend it to anyone.
I think you have to be at the right place in life.
Maybe this particular approach was ideal for me and maybe not for others; still I think it would be helpful at least. I found it life altering...but that was also in conjunction with my life altering from external circumstances too.

For me it was the right book at the right time. At the conclusion of the 40 weeks I felt a little drift for a couple weeks and then pulled out of that feeling.

[Emily Anne · Rating 2 out of 5]

I found the pace of this book to be far too slow. I have done the Spiritual Exercises twice before and I thought that this spent too much time hashing and rehashing sin and past hurts. I did really enjoy the affirmations for each week, but wished there was more scripture and substance to the meditations.

[Gerry · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is a book about Jesuit spirituality. It started off well enough, but I became turned off by the author's saying things implying that I wouldn't finish it and implying that the devil or something would make me stop.
I have a pretty good prayer-life - I was open to something new, but that guilt stuff got to me. So I stopped.
Maybe the devil won. But I don't think so.

[Rigo Cabezas · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is very good stuff

I strongly recommend following this book for your spiritual wellbeing, I was uplifted as it made examine myself & my faith

[D.L. Beddoe · Rating 5 out of 5]

My first exposure to the Examen.

[Damien Rappuhn · Rating 3 out of 5]

I got eleven weeks in before shelving it. It's not for me, but it may be for you. I found it incredibly useful for getting into deep conversation with God on those areas that run deeper in your spirit than just the surface. Having a background in Ignatian spirituality is helpful if you intend to go this book alone, but it appears to me that this book is made for groups led by an experienced spiritual director. This book is also directed to lay people and seems to be broad enough for those who are just returning to the faith as well as those who have been Catholic for a few years.

[Ian Bayley · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nearly gave this 3 stars but upped it to 4. Forty weeks following through daily exercises is a lot of commitment and there were certainly times when I considered quitting. However, whilst there were some areas of theology I might not completely agree with (I'm baptist not Catholic) I did overall find benefits in following the programme and looking back over this whole period have found some spiritual practices that are useful to me in my everyday spiritual life. if you can commit to following this programme then it's worth it but don't skim or skip or give up, follow it to the end!

[Sean · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some helpful material but i found it hard to engage with.

[Mary · Rating 3 out of 5]

Hard. Need to read this again. A retreat book. I was able to get through it but really just skimmed the surface of the St. Ignatia path.

[John · Rating 5 out of 5]

A journey everyone should take! Recommend taking it was a spiritual director to lead and guide you.