About
Fr. Williams, SJ is known to all as simply “Monty”. His background and interest in spirituality and culture come across in the classes that he presents at Regis College.
They are:
- Approaches to Spiritual Direction and Discernment
- Discerning the Signs of the Times: Contemporary Cultural Analysis and Contemporary Manifestations of Spirituality.
- An Intensive Double Course on the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius of Loyola.
His work in spirituality and direction started in his formation as a Jesuit in the early seventies. In the summers he can usually be found giving retreats and workshops throughout Europe, Australia, Asia and North America. His work included teaching workshops, retreat and spiritual direction, and facilitation in discernment.
Selected Publications
BOOKS
- The Way of Faithfulness: The Dynamics of Desire in the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius. Novalis Press, 2017.
- Stepping Into Mystery; A Guide to Discernment. Novalis Press, 2012.
- Finding God in the Dark. 2nd Edition, Novalis Press, 2011.
- The Gift of Spiritual Intimacy. Novalis Press, 2009.
- Finding God in the Dark: Taking the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius to the Movies. Co-authored. Ottawa: Novalis Press, 2004.
- The Reason In A Storm: A Study Of The Use of Ambiguity In The Writings of T. S. Eliot. Lanham, New York, London: University Press . of America, 1991.
PUBLICATIONS
- “Interiority And Literary History.” Communication and Lonergan: Common Ground for Forging the New Age. Ed., Thomas J. Farrell & Paul A. Soukup. (Kansas City: Sheed & Ward, 1993), 227-47.
- Canadian Catholic Review, Vol.11, #10 (Nov,93), 9.
- “The Path of Contemplation, 2.” Review for Religious, Vol. 48, No.1., Jan/Feb. 1989, 111.
- “The Path of Contemplation, 1.” Review for Religious, Vol. 47, No. 6. Nov/Dec. 1988, 33.
- “Transcendence and the Development of Consciousness.” Studies in Formative Spirituality. Journal of Ongoing Formation, Vol. 1X, No. 3, November, 1988, 339-54.
- “Prayer, Pain, and Community.” Review for Religious, Vol. 46, #1, Jan/Feb., 1987, 77-85.
- “Classicism and the Caribbean Church.” Out of the Depths, ed .I. Hamid (Trinidad: St. Andrews, 1977), 49-90.
- “Perspectives on Caribbean Culture,.” The Guyana Institute for Social Research and Action, 5 (Dec., 1974).
- “The World as Church Today.” The Guyana Institute for Social Research and Action, 5 (Sept., 1974).
PAPERS
- Lectures on Spirituality and Retreats since 1977 to various religious communities including: Jesuits, Sisters of St. Joseph, Sisters of Loretto, Sisters of St. Martha, Sisters of Charity, Monasteries of The Precious Blood.
- Review of Film as religion: Myth, Morals and Rituals by John C. Lyden: New York: New York University Press, 2003. In Catholic New Times, Jan 4, 2004, p.4
- Three lectures on Contemporary Forms of Spirituality and the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius of Loyola at Loyola House, Ignatius Guelph, 22-24 September, 1995.
- Orlene Murad Lecture entitled “Method in Literary History” at the University of Regina in January 1994.
- A Series of Six Public Lectures on Spirituality and Personal Development given through the John Paul Two Centre, Regina, Saskatchewan in January/ February, 1989.
- “The Problem of Perspective in Resnais’ Night and Fog.” A lecture in the Campion Film Series, 1987.
- “The Nature of Discernment in Pasolini’s Teorema.” A lecture in the Campion Film Series, 1987.
- “The Path to Integrity: The Relationship between Pain and the Nature of Consciousness.” A public lecture given at Campion College, University of Regina on 19 February, 1986.
- “The Loss of Meaning: A History of Twentieth Century Literature.” Lecture given at St. Paul’s, Winnipeg on 14 March, 1986.
- “Contemporary Forms of Literary Criticism.” Faculty Lecture at Campion College on 19 March, 1986.
- “Narrativity as Hermeneutic: The Authority of the Texts of Vatican Two as Literary Documents.” A response to papers given by Professors G. Schner and D.Eley. Regis College, University of Toronto, 1984.
Research & Teaching Focus
- Spiritual Theology
