“We’re driving the car while building it,” the old saying goes. It’s true of our pandemic times. We’re teaching one another how to use video chats, learning to share screens, and choosing virtual backgrounds in order to participate in...

My grandmother reminded me often, “One thing we can always count on in life is change.” As a child, I never quite understood what she meant. Hearing this as an adult, it sometimes exasperated me. As much as I...

Today is National Coloring Day, so it’s a good day to try a bit of creativity in prayer. Download a beautiful page from God’s Wonderful Word, a transfer sticker and coloring book from Loyola Press. The page includes Scripture...

Ignatian prayer is not one kind of prayer; in fact, Ignatius recommends a variety of ways to pray, along with the better-known imaginative prayer. For example, Ignatius recommends conversational prayer with Jesus in the course of our days, the...

What is the most imaginative thing you've ever done? Who is the most imaginative person you know, and how would you describe that person's life and work?  . . . What are your deep desires today? Or, what is your...

In Louisiana, we have five seasons: winter, spring, summer, fall, and hurricane. I’ve lived through many hurricanes, some minor, some catastrophic. One characteristic of hurricanes is the eye. The wind and rain spiral in a counterclockwise direction until ultimately...

One evening in early August, I stood in my kitchen in front of three open lunch boxes, feeling anxiety welling up in me. In order to cope in that moment, I went through all the necessary questions out loud...

In the world I have known, the American Midwest, the word desire has been used too often in the context of lust and sex. And yet, desire is such a sweet spiritual word, if we receive it as such....

Father, you have created a world filled with change, and each blessing that you give in this world remains only for a while. At times you show your love through abundant gifts; at other times you remove your gifts...

I did not set out to become an advocate for online retreats and virtual prayer gatherings. As I reflect on how I entered the world of virtual retreats and spiritual direction, long before COVID-19 was part of our world,...