The Ignatian tradition sprang up in the sixteenth century, the fruit of graces bestowed on a Basque nobleman, Ignatius of Loyola. Guided by a passion to find God in all things, Ignatius and his first companions founded the Society of Jesus and inspired many other religious orders and lay movements. Their influence spread across the globe even as they embraced various aspects of the cultures, languages, and institutions they encountered.

This introduction is a mere sampling of the men and women influenced by Ignatius 'draws on the stories and writings of nineteen exemplary individuals as well as the corporate voice of the Jesuit order. Here we meet missionaries, scholars, artists, advocates, and martyrs. Contemplatives in action, they follow Christ by serving others. They embody the freedom born of a passionate knowledge of God's unending, unconditional love; precisely in this, they show us how to live well today.

"Eileen Burke-Sullivan, PhD, is a theologian, spiritual director, liturgist, and musician. She currently teaches at Creighton University where she also directs the Master of Arts in Ministry program. A well-known lecturer, she has served as a lay ecclesial minister in both parish and diocesan settings, and as a national and international leader in the Ignatian-inspired Christian Life Community movement."

"Kevin F. Burke, SJ, is a theologian, poet, and younger brother of Dr. Burke-Sullivan. He currently serves as the acting president and academic dean of the Jesuit School of Theology at Berkeley. He recently edited "Pedro Arrupe: Essential Writings and coedited" (with Robert Lassalle-Klein) "Love that Produces Hope, " a collection of essays on the thought of the Jesuit theologian and martyr, Ignacio Ellacura-a."

"Gaudium et Spes," Vatican II's Pastoral Constitution on the Church in the Modern World, marked fundamental shifts in ethical methodology, in how we do ethics in the Catholic tradition, and in how we think about ethical and ecclesial issues in the Catholic Church in the modern world. On the document's fiftieth anniversary, this book explores the historical origins of "Gaudium et Spes," its impact on the Church's ecclesial self-understanding, and its implications for doing Catholic theological ethics for the specific ethical issues of marriage, social justice, politics, and peacebuilding.The book engages in the ongoing communal discernment of the "aggiornamento "sought by the council's convener, Pope John XXIII, seeking to bring the Church up to date in the twenty-first century.