Constitutions of the Society of Jesus : a critical edition with the complementary norms edited by Barton T. Geger, S.J.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Preface -- How to use this edition -- Introduction -- The formula of the Institute ; The five chapters (1539) ; Formula of the Institute (1540 and 1550) -- Constitution of the Society of Jesus ; The examen and its declarations ; Constitutions proper and its declarations : Preamble ; The admission to probation ; The dismissal of those who were admitted but did not prove themselves fit ; The preservation and progress of those who remain in probation ; The instruction of those who are retained in the society in learning and in other means of helping their neighbors ; Admission or incorporation into the society ; The personal life of those already admitted or incorporation into the society ; Relations of those already incorporated into the Society to their neighbor when they are dispersed into the vineyard of Christ Our Lord ; Aids to unite the dispersed members to their head and to each other ; The Society's head, and the government that descends from it ; How the whole body of the Society is to be preserved and increased in its well being -- The complementary norms ; Introductory decree to the complementary norms ; The mission and the identity of the Society and its Institute ; Admission to probation ; Dismissal from the Society ; Spiritual formation of novices ; Formation of our members after the novitiate ; Admission into the body of the Society ; The personal life of those already admitted and incorporated into the body of the Society ; Governance of the Society ; The preservation and increase of the Society -- Appendices ; Juridical texts in Catholic religious life ; The name "Society of Jesus" ; The Greater Glory of God / The More Universal Good ; The Society of Jesus as a mystical body ; Grades in the Society of Jesus ; Discernment of spirits and discernment of God's Will

"The Society of Jesus is one of the most storied and controversial religious organizations in history. Its legacy is traceable largely to a single idea that was elaborated by Ignatius of Loyola (1491-1556), the founder of the Society: The Greater Glory of God. Far from a rhetorical battle cry of vague meaning, the greater glory of God was the Society's very reason for being. Ignatius made it the criterion by which members of the Society, called "Jesuits," were to choose their ministries in the service of God. It determined all of the Society's internal structures and way of proceeding. Perhaps most significantly, it permeated Ignatius's spiritual doctrine as a whole: how he understood everything from prayer and discernment to magnanimity, indifference, evangelical poverty, and what it means to be spiritually free. Nowhere is all this more clear than in the original Constitutions of the Society of Jesus, a book that Ignatius composed for the instruction and edification of Jesuits. When studied in conjunction with his Spiritual Exercises and written correspondence, one finds a way of living the gospel that is remarkably coherent, challenging, and capable of speaking to Jesuits---and to all Christians---in every generation."--

"The present edition updates an earlier work by George E. Ganss, S.J. (1905-2000), The Constitution of the Society of Jesus (St. Louis: Institute of Jesuit Sources, 1970). Ganss annotated the original Constitutions written by Ignatius of Loyola (1491-1556) in its historical context. In this way, he greatly aided Jesuits in studying their spirituality and mission anew in the wake of the Second Vatican Council (1962-65). That he did not venture to suggest how the Constitutions should be interpreted or applied four centuries later explains why his book is still widely referenced in Jesuit circles, despite being out of print for decades. For that reason, the JCCU specifically requested an updated edition of "Ganss", as Jesuits often call the book today."--