“Luke Larson’s book reveals The Way as I experienced it, and in ways that I wish everyone could.” Martin Sheen Keeping Company invites you to step off the treadmill and “go for a walk”—wherever you are. There are ways that you, too, may experience God more intimately. For a spiritual pilgrim, the Road to Compostela is not about beautiful vistas, meeting interesting people, and drinking good wine. It is not about exercise. Luke Larson and his wife Evie took this famous journey for very different reasons. For a true pilgrim, walking an ancient path becomes a kind of discipleship, a renewal of faith, and in this case, a journey with Jesus himself. Join Luke and Evie as they explore a pilgrimage so central to the Christian story that it is often simply called, The Way. They also journeyed intentionally with St. Ignatius of Loyola, who knew parts of this road himself hundreds of years ago, and the major themes of Ignatian Spirituality add rich layers to this magnificent book. “Combining the beauty of Martin Sheen’s movie The Way, the allure of the pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela, and a gentle, original and creative introduction to Ignatian spirituality, Larson provides insight into marriage, self-knowledge and God. A great read!” —Dr. Richard G. Malloy, SJ, The University of Scranton, author of Being on Fire: The Top Ten Essentials of Catholic Faith “We are fortunate that Luke Larson has been willing to share this incredible journey. He and his wife Evie clearly have a profoundly deep spirituality that is grounded in the everyday issues that confront us in trying to encounter the living God. What they learned about themselves, St. Ignatius of Loyola, and the God of pilgrimage is an incredible window into how even lesser ‘walks’ can be transformative.” —Sr. Carol Keehan DC, President/CEO, Catholic Health Association of the United States Luke Larson spent eight years as a Jesuit seminarian. He holds a bachelor’s degree in philosophy and a master’s in religious studies from Gonzaga University. He is a mission executive with one of the largest Catholic health systems, a certified chaplain, executive coach, and spiritual director.

Luke Larson and his wife Evie embarked on a 500-mile pilgrimage across northern Spain, to experience walking as a way of keeping company with Jesus and his companions, of both earth and heaven, such as Saint Ignatius of Loyola. More than anything, this book invites you to step off the treadmill of self-effort in a quest to experience God more intimately.

“Luke Larson’s book reveals The Way as I experienced it, and in ways that I wish everyone could.” Martin Sheen Keeping Company invites you to step off the treadmill and “go for a walk”—wherever you are. There are ways that you, too, may experience God more intimately. For a spiritual pilgrim, the Road to Compostela is not about beautiful vistas, meeting interesting people, and drinking good wine. It is not about exercise. Luke Larson and his wife Evie took this famous journey for very different reasons. For a true pilgrim, walking an ancient path becomes a kind of discipleship, a renewal of faith, and in this case, a journey with Jesus himself. Join Luke and Evie as they explore a pilgrimage so central to the Christian story that it is often simply called, The Way. They also journeyed intentionally with St. Ignatius of Loyola, who knew parts of this road himself hundreds of years ago, and the major themes of Ignatian Spirituality add rich layers to this magnificent book. “Combining the beauty of Martin Sheen’s movie The Way, the allure of the pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela, and a gentle, original and creative introduction to Ignatian spirituality, Larson provides insight into marriage, self-knowledge and God. A great read!” —Dr. Richard G. Malloy, SJ, The University of Scranton, author of Being on Fire: The Top Ten Essentials of Catholic Faith “We are fortunate that Luke Larson has been willing to share this incredible journey. He and his wife Evie clearly have a profoundly deep spirituality that is grounded in the everyday issues that confront us in trying to encounter the living God. What they learned about themselves, St. Ignatius of Loyola, and the God of pilgrimage is an incredible window into how even lesser ‘walks’ can be transformative.” —Sr. Carol Keehan DC, President/CEO, Catholic Health Association of the United States Luke Larson spent eight years as a Jesuit seminarian. He holds a bachelor’s degree in philosophy and a master’s in religious studies from Gonzaga University. He is a mission executive with one of the largest Catholic health systems, a certified chaplain, executive coach, and spiritual director.

The General Introduction is an intellectual and spiritual biography that sketches the fascinating steps by which, largely through mystical favors from God, Ignatius reached his inspiring worldview, with everything in it ordered to the greater glory of God.

The book follows the structure of the Spiritual Exercises, commenting on major themes in what Ignatius calls the First Week, the Second Week, the Third Week, and the Fourth Week, ending with the Contemplation for Attaining Love. It engages the audience by introducing fresh reflections on the Principle and Foundation (to be read in the context of late medieval marriage vows), and by using, at length, several episodes in the Gospel stories (e.g. the nativity of Christ, the call to service of Peter’s mother-in-law, the particular approaches of the evangelists to Christ’s passion and death, and the place of Ch. 21 in John’s theology of love) to show how contemporary biblical interpretation enriches possibilities for prayer. Resources for prayer are drawn from Christian painting, sculpture, music, literature (e.g., Pascal and Kierkegaard) and poetry. The author explores links between the Exercises and the traditional practice of lectio divina. In doing this, he illustrates the scope of teaching on lectio divina coming from the Second Vatican Council and shows how translators and commentators have missed the Council’s use of the technical term lectio divina.