Theology Today - Vol 50, No. 2 - July 1993 - BOOK REVIEW - Ignatius of Loyola: The Psychology of a Saint

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Ignatius of Loyola: The Psychology of a Saint
By W.W. Meissner, S.J.
New Haven, Yale University Press, 1992. 480 pp. $35.00.

W.W. Meissner, long a recognized leader in the dialogue between psychiatry and religion, probes the inner psychic world of one of the greatest figures in Western Christianity-Ignatius of Loyola, founder of the Society of Jesus (the Jesuits). I cannot think of anyone more aptly skilled for this task than Meissner, who is grounded both in the Ignatian spiritual tradition as a member of the Society of Jesus and in the psychoanalytic tradition as a psychiatrist-psychoanalyst scholar and practitioner.

Drawing upon well-documented historical and biographical data as well as Freudian psychoanalytic theory, Meissner weaves a richly textured tapestry of the significant events in the life of Ignatius within the contextual frame of the radical religious, social, and political upheavals of the sixteenth century. The woof of the tapestry traces the significant facts and events of Ignatius' life from his origins in the House of Loyola within the Province of Guipuzcoa, his early development and young adulthood as a fearless, noble knight and warrior, his conversion, years of prayer and penance as a pilgrim, his intellectual development and mystical teaching, his relationship with women, and his efforts to found and direct the Society of Jesus.

The warp of the tapestry delineates the spiritual and psychodynamic processes that transformed Inigo Lopez into Saint Ignatius of Loyola. Meissner, thereby, brings into focus "significant questions about the complex interplay between human motivations and needs on one side, and religious experience and spiritual motivation on the other." Woven together, the woof and warp of colorful strands create a plausible and coherent portrait of Ignatius, the man and the saint. However, as Meissner states, it is finally the reader who "must be the judge as to whether the portrait of Ignatius (woven) here carries any conviction and substantiation."

That the reader bears this task of making such a judgment is the only possible validation of a methodology that is based upon the interplay of historical data, biographical fact, and psychoanalytical interpretation. Meissner conscientiously examines the advantages and pitfalls inherent in such methodology. When applying psychoanalytical interpretations to any context outside the clinical, Meissner is cautious, circumspect, yet bold.

Of particular value to this reader were Meissner's insights into the dynamic processes underlying the formation of Ignatius' character structure that gave rise to his lifelong struggles with narcissistic, aggressive, and libidinal impulses. Equally penetrating are Meissner's

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discussions of the inner psychological processes underlying the ongoing transformation of Ignatius' complex personality, beginning with his conversion experience and extending to the time of his death. Meissner's previous writings on the psychology of grace and on transvaluation-the process of internalizing and integrating a new value system within the personality structure-achieve brilliant lucidity as he applies these notions to the life of Ignatius. In non-reductionist fashion, Meissner points out that one of the determining factors in the process of transvaluation "had to be Inigo's deep-seated and strongly motivated identification with Christ, his Lord and Master." He proceeds to show how this core identification, operating on both conscious and unconscious levels, gradually evolved "into a more spiritually meaningful and mature internalization of the spiritual values inherent in the Christian ideal." Concomitantly, it aided in the integration of Ignatius' personality structure, forming the basis of his spiritual identity. Thus, the remarkable transformation of Ignatius of Loyola "can be regarded as an effect of grace that found expression through powerful and dynamic psychological processes."

The book contains six sections, each containing three to five chapters. There are four appendices including significant writings of Ignatius on obedience and letters of spiritual direction as well as maps and illustrations of paintings pertaining to the life of Ignatius. In addition, the well-researched footnotes and the extensive bibliography are treasures in themselves. In the last section of the book, however, Meissner masterfully weaves together all the loose threads of insights presented in previous chapters to form the completed psychoanalytic tapestry or portrait of Ignatius. For this reader, the reward in reading such a lengthy, albeit well-written book, came in the "aha" experience at the end, giving rise to a deep appreciation for the rich complexity of the personality and life of Ignatius, as viewed through a psychoanalytic lens. One wonders, of course, if a different psychological lens were used, what additional or contradictory insights would be proffered.

Martha Bowman Robbins
Pittsburgh Theological Seminary
Pittsburgh, PA