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"The Catechism reminds us that ""Christ enables us to live in him all that he himself lived, and he lives it in us"" (CCC, 521). Life ""in Him"" is the grace of graces, and our vocation is to receive it, to be good stewards of it, and to cooperate with it so that it may produce an abundant harvest of personal holiness and fruitful mission. This, too, is grace, and spiritual exercises are the ways in which we receive and cooperate with this grace. They are enactments of the wisdom of the saints, who guide us in responding to the ways God is present in order to impart graces to foster ongoing conversion that deepens communion with Him and invigorates the mission He entrusts to us. A Theology of Spiritual Exercises unpacks and explains this definition of spiritual exercises, first by setting forth the biblical and theological foundations of spiritual exercises. Today, as at the time of Jesus, the impact of the good news that He proclaims provokes the question, ""What, then, must I do?"" A Theology of Spiritual Exercises answers this question in two ways. The first examines the principles of spiritual exercises, condensed in St. Mark's observation: ""And he appointed twelve, whom he also named apostles, to be with him, and to be sent out to proclaim the message"" (Mk 3:14). Christ's disciples and friends must be with Him in order to be loved and transformed by Him. In this way, He equips them to be sent by Him to proclaim the good news of God's love. With this basis established, A Theology of Spiritual Exercises considers eleven spiritual exercises, with a particular focus on prayer, examination of conscience, and the obedience of faith, which is manifest in fidelity to the tasks and duties of each person's vocation. A discussion of eight closely related disciplines, also recommended by saints, complements this, including: the importance of spiritual friendships; suffering; wholesome recreation; discernment of God's will; the balance that the Eucharist and conscience bring to the spiritual life and to spiritual exercises."

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9781734909432

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Douglas Bushman's teaching and writing in theology has been shaped especially by the Church Fathers' spiritual reading of Scripture, the theological methodology of St. Thomas Aquinas, and the pastoral orientation of the Second Vatican Council, as interpreted and implemented by St. John Paul II and Benedict XVI. He has exercised the gift of theology in service to the Church at virtually every level of the Church's life: parish, diocese (including programs of formation and courses for adults, catechists, permanent deacons, Catholic educators, and seminarians), Catholic schools, RCIA, and undergraduate and graduate degree programs. Bushman has served as Lay Theologian for the parish of St. Charles Borromeo (Minneapolis), Director of Parish Mission for the Church of St. Joseph (West St. Paul), Director of Education (Diocese of Duluth), Director of the Institute for Religious and Pastoral Studies (University of Dallas), and Director of the Institute for Pastoral Theology (Ave Maria University). His last academic position was with the Augustine Institute (Denver), where he was St. John Paul II Professor of Theology for the New Evangelization. Currently Prof. Bushman's research and publishing focuses on the pastoral theology of the Second Vatican Council, the New Evangelization, and Catholic Spirituality. Following his B.A. in Aristotelian and Thomistic philosophy (College of St. Thomas, St. Paul), he studied under the Dominican Pontifical Faculty of Theology at the University of Fribourg, Switzerland, who imparted a vibrant Thomism incorporating the study of Scripture, the Church Fathers, the best of the ressourcement theologians of the 20th century, Vatican II, and the best among post-Conciliar theologians. Bushman is the author of The Theology of Renewal for His Church: The Logic of Vatican II's Renewal in Paul VI's Encyclical Ecclesiam Suam, and Its Reception in John Paul II and Benedict XVI (Wipf and Stock, 2024) among other works, he has contributed to the translation of the Catechism of the Catholic Church into English, and his articles have appeared in numerous Catholic publications including Nova et Vetera, Homiletic and Pastoral Review, Lay Witness, Magnificat, Catholic World Report, Catholic Faith, Catholic Dossier, and The Catholic Servant.

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