Facing Race

The Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius, a foundational tool in the formation of Jesuits, has become widely popular as the basis for spiritual direction and discernment among Christians of many sorts. In a sequence of meditations on the life, mission, and passion of Christ, the Exercises direct a person to engage in a process of self-examination and ongoing conversion to the Gospel. This involves a focus on one’s personal sin and desire for repentance. In this reading of the Exercises, Roger Haight takes as a reference point the social sin of racism. This approach not only offers a Christological lens for understanding the reality of racism in America, but outlines a socially-informed understanding of what conversion and discipleship mean in a racist situation.