As we approach Pentecost, Gretchen Crowder leads us in prayer. Come, Holy Spirit! You may also like: Pentecost Astonishment by Pope Francis Imaginative Prayer: Pentecost by Vinita Hampton Wright

“Everyone is just looking to be told that who he or she is is right and true and wholly acceptable. No need to tinker and tweak.” This line comes from “Love” in Gregory Boyle’s Forgive Everyone Everything. Enjoy the...

I have often struggled with the Ignatian practice that desires to carry the cross and ask for suffering. Why would anyone ask for suffering? In the Spiritual Exercises, Ignatius writes of the Three Degrees of Humility, with the third...

This story is inspired by Acts 8:26–40. I am Philip. The Holy Spirit has been giving me the free gift of paying attention, of staying aware, and of listening to hints the old me may have ignored. I was about my...

My sister has a saying I’ve heard her holler at any of her four children when they are moping or grumbling or just being absolute pills: “Go spread your seeds of discontent somewhere else!” I love when she says this....

May 16 is National Biographers’ Day, making it a good day to spend some time with the biographies of notable Jesuits. Take a Mini-Retreat with Pedro Arrupe. The main content is excerpted from Pedro Arrupe: A Heart Larger Than...

When I was a kid, my faith and my life went together pretty easily. I learned a very practical faith from the nuns in school and my parents at home. No lying. No violence. Cooperate. Be generous. Think of...

The art of discernment can be compared to playing jazz, which is an adventurous form of music. In jazz, the musicians play a standard melody, and then they improvise. The piano player may start playing, but then the others...

Remember the 2012 song “Below My Feet” by the British folk-rock band, Mumford and Sons? Released on their second album, Babel, I don’t believe it was ever one of their greatest hits. Nevertheless, it has always been my favorite of...

Recently, I’ve reached a new stage of discernment: the time right after the decision has been made but no action has been taken yet. I have already completed all the usual discernment steps. I’ve prayed, researched, made all my...