If someone you know is looking for direction in life, point them to “How to Discern the Elements of Your Personal Vocation” by Peter Ryan, SJ. It’s an excellent essay that sets forth “points to bear in mind,” the first of which is that “sincere discernment infallibly succeeds.” Another point is that we “discern only what to try.” After all, we do not know the future, and we could die at any moment. The real […]
This lovely painting by Robert Gilroy, SJ, is part of a series of 27 paintings on themes from the Spiritual Exercises. The images are displayed on Fr. Gilroy’s website, which also includes an material on praying with art.
I’m the kind of person who shuts out advertising. I often hit the mute button when commercials come on TV, and I never click on on-line ads. So I was surprised to find this video so enlightening. It’s called “Life lessons from an ad man” by an advertising executive named Rory Sutherland. Sutherland talks about the importance of “intangible value.” He wants us to see new value in what we already have. In other words, […]
Yesterday the US House of Representatives passed a resolution honoring the six Jesuit priests and two women murdered in El Salvador in 1989. The dead are Jesuit Fathers Ignacio Ellacuria, Ignacio Martin-Baro, Segundo Montes, Amando Lopez, Juan Ramon Moreno, Joaquin Lopez y Lopez, and housekeeper Julia Elba Ramos and her daughter Celina Mariset Ramos. The occasion of the resolution is the 20th anniversary of the murders on November 16. Read the resolution here.
In his autobiography, St. Ignatius Loyola wrote of himself in the third person as “the pilgrim.” As David Fleming, SJ, writes in What Is Ignatian Spirituality?, “Ignatius looked at his entire life as a pilgrimage. His journey seemed for a time to be a meandering one. For many years he pursued a goal indistinctly seen by him.” “To Be a Pilgrim” is a hymn that captures this Ignatian spirit of pilgrimage. The words were written […]
The daily Examen is the most familiar and widely-practiced form of Ignatian prayer. Millions of people pray it every day. Philip Shano, SJ, takes it a step further. In a recent article in Review for Religious, he discusses his experience with praying the Examen in groups. He is talking about the Examen in a religious community, but I don’t see any reason why other groups with a common purpose and identity couldn’t use it too […]
I beg of you, my Lord, to remove anything which separates me from you, and you from me. Remove anything that makes me unworthy of your sight, your control, your reprehension; of your speech and conversation, of your benevolence and love. Cast from me every evil that stands in the way of my seeing you, hearing, tasting, savoring, and touching you; fearing and being mindful of you; knowing, trusting, loving, and possessing you; being conscious […]
Marko Rupnik, SJ, is a Slovenian Jesuit, based in Rome, whose dazzling mosaics adorn churches at Fatima and Lourdes as well as the Pope’s private chapel. His latest work is the mosaics in the chapel of Sacred Heart University in Fairfield, Connecticut. The mosaics were unveiled earlier this year. Fr. Rupnik works in the ancient tradition of sacred iconography. Mosaics on the walls of the chapel depict events in salvation history. A huge 28-by-44 foot mosaic […]
You may have already seen this week’s Ignatian song on YouTube. More than 14 million people have. It’s an inventive version of “Stand By Me,” sung by musicians all over the world. It’s a creation of the Playing for Change Project which promotes global solidarity through music. It certainly has the Ignatian spirit–open, fresh, and drenched in gratitude. I found about it from Marco Ambrosio’s blog. He’s also drenched in the Ignatian spirit. Enjoy.
Blogger Cynthia Kirk proposes a way for families to use the Examen around the dinner table: 1. For what time or event today are you most grateful (thankful/happy)? (Initially, you may have to name a few things in a young child’s day to help them catch on to the practice for #1 and #2.) 2. For which moment are you least grateful? 3. How did you show love today? (For very young children, you may […]
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