Signs of You (21 page)

Author's Note:

History Behind
Signs of You

Although
Signs of You
is a work of fiction, the Jesuit concept of the “discernment of spirits” is not.

The biography of Ignatius of Loyola—the one that Jay reads to Riley and to Kate—is an accurate sketch of Ignatius's early life. It is true that in 1522 he scribbled down revelations he had during a mystical experience by the Cardoner River in Spain. They would later evolve into what is widely considered one of the world's theological masterpieces,
The Spiritual Exercises
.

The insights that Ignatius inscribed in those pages continue to
enjoy broad appeal. Although a small part of a larger Ignatian philosophy, the discernment of spirits is still taught today. Nearly five hundred years ago, Ignatius provided this putative tool to alert us when spirits enter and influence us. Moreover, he believed that if we get quiet and pay attention to their movements, we can discern what the spirits are trying to get us to do. People of all faiths are taken through the
Exercises
at retreat centers around the world.

When I stumbled upon this idea, it completely captured my imagination. I read everything that I possibly could about the subject, and then added fictional twists and turns.

The result is this novel.

The first draft of the
Exercises,
handwritten by Ignatius, has not survived. In my novel, the characters discover the original manuscript he wrote after his mystical experience. While it is unlikely that it would be discovered in a tidy book format or that its contents are much different from the versions that were later published, it is true that Ignatius
did
write down his initial insights and they
are
missing. So I asked myself what might be hidden in his original notes. I let myself imagine what it would be like to see his ideas come to life, to see spirits at work influencing the choices of the living. I researched the languages Ignatius would have used to express his theories and the idea that he would make notes in a mix of Basque, Spanish, and made-up Latin has historical merit.

The premise of
Signs of You
is based on the concept of spirit discernment found in the
Exercises
, and my characters use some of Ignatius's actual spirit tests. Yet my novel employs the term “spirits” in a way that Ignatius and modern Jesuits do not. When Ignatius wrote of spirits, he wasn't referring to the individual souls of the deceased as Riley discovers in the book
,
but to broader notions of the Holy Trinity, which complied with his own 16th century Catholic teachings
.
Part of the real-life historical controversy surrounding Ignatius concerned his ideas about finding spiritual guidance in everyday experiences. In short, he was ahead of his time.

The Lost Cross is also a figment of my imagination. As far as I know, St. Ignatius was not wearing a necklace when he had his revelation by the Cardoner River. I needed a tangible object, a relic, to connect my characters to the saint, and the cross necklace served that purpose well.

However, the word that is inscribed on the back of the cross—
magis
—is a term frequently used by Ignatius and by modern Jesuits. Its Latin meaning is
more
, and Ignatius used it to ask himself what more he could do or strive to be. I gave it a hidden meaning—that there was more to his spirit discernment theory that was never published. As part of my research I visited a Jesuit university campus and saw the word
magis
inscribed on buildings and walkways.

Finally, while Ignatius's squiggly line puzzle in
Signs of You
is fiction, the Jesuit seal and Latin phrases my characters use to crack it are very real. The Jesuit seal does bear the initials I.H.S., an abbreviation of Jesus's name in Greek. If the nails below stood for a “V,” the seal would read I.H.S.V., or
in hoc signo vinces
, Latin for “in this sign, conquer.” However, as far as I know, the only letters meant to appear on the seal are I.H.S.

 

Emily France

September 2015

 

P.S. If you are curious about my research, here are some of my favorite sources:

 

Ganss, George E.
The Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius: A Translation and Commentary.
Chicago: Loyola Press, 1992.

Text of the
Exercises
with commentary. This is not the best place to begin research, but the rules for the discernment of spirits can be found in the last section.

 

Kapell, Jason. “The Olive.” Online video clip.
YouTube, 4 Feb. 2009. Web. 4 Sept. 2015.

 

An entertaining video profile of Ignatius.

Lacouture, Jean.
Jesuits: A Multibiography.
Trans. Jeremy Leggatt. Washington, D.C.: Counterpoint, 1995.

A biography covering five hundred years of history and Jesuit influence.

 

Martin, James.
The Jesuit Guide to Almost Everything: A Spirituality for Real Life.
New York: HarperCollins, 2010.

An excellent place to begin research on the subject, this is an accessible source that gives an overview of Ignatian philosophy and of discernment.

 

O'Malley, John W.
The First Jesuits.
Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1993.

An often cited, classic work on the first members of the society.

 

O'Malley, John W.
The Jesuits: A History from Ignatius to the Present.
London: Rowman & Littlefield, 2014.

A concise summary of Jesuit history through Pope Francis. It contains a thorough list of titles for further reading, including sources that are critical of the society.