There's an old saying that we should “pray as if everything depends on God, and work as if everything depends on you.” It's been attributed to St. Ignatius, who said something similar, if not using those exact words, as...

I have a dear friend who has been a Servite sister for many decades.  Last week she mentioned in passing that in her community they have a tradition that she called “Go gracefully.”  It means that before someone goes...

Earlier this week I found myself in a phone conversation with someone with over a decade of experience in  church leadership. Yes, we were on the phone talking about social media, which just underscores my perpetual point about choosing communication...

This is a guest post by Dawn Eden, author and blogger at The Dawn Patrol. In St. Ignatius Loyola's Suscipe, the prayer for perfect charity that appears toward the end of his Spiritual Exercises, we find important clues to the...

At our parish on Mother's Day, we have a tradition of honoring all women, whether they biologically have children or not. I am always deeply moved by this tradition, because it allows us to honor women who “mother” even...

Michael Rossmann, SJ, took up spinning to keep in shape during the winter. He lists 11 lessons he relearned while he rode his stationary bike. Number 3: It's important to push through to the very end. . . . Ignatius...

In a recent article in America, Adam Hincks, SJ, says that cosmologists don't have definitive answers to the two questions most people have about the universe: when did it begin? and how big is it?  Scientists don't even know...

My kids know I'm a big Bruce Springsteen fan, so I was pleased when my daughter Laura gave me his latest album, "Wrecking Ball."  It's terrific.  Several songs fortify the Boss's reputation as the greatest Catholic poet of our...

Mary Ward was an amazing woman whose vision for an active religious community of women was realized in the Institute of the Blessed Virgin Mary--the BVM sisters.  She modeled the BVMs on the Jesuits.   I was one of the...

Andy Otto has a fine piece in America about his experiences as a hospital chaplain.  He quotes the Jesuit spiritual writer Daniel Lord, SJ, on suffering: "Perhaps sorrow is not the horrible evil that men have thought it. Perhaps...