One of the loveliest pieces of sacred music that I know is Andrew Lloyd Webber's rendition of "Pie Jesu."  "Pie Jesu" means "Kind Jesus," and the Latin text calls on "the Lamb of God" to show mercy to...

by Denise Levertov To lie back under the tallest oldest trees. How far the stems rise, rise before ribs of shelter open! To live in the mercy of God. The complete sentence too adequate, has no give. Awe, not comfort. Stone, elbows of stony wood beneath lenient moss bed. Read...

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It's back to Bob Dylan for this week's Ignatian song.  It's "Every Grain of Sand," one of Dylan's many songs with powerful Biblical imagery. The beauty of this song is in the lyrics.  They depict a man choked by...

Not "fitting in" is an uncomfortable feeling--and a common one. Sometimes it's a self-inflicted condition, but sometimes the feeling of longing for a home that hasn't arrived yet is the truth of our state. Blogger Lisa Kelly thinks that...

The goal of Ignatian discernment is to discover where God is active in our lives.  Here is a simple two-step exercise to get started with it. It is adapted from a “spiritual warm-up” developed by Tim Muldoon in his...

Say You're One of Them, a short story collection by Uwem Akpan, SJ, a Nigerian Jesuit, is Oprah Winfrey's latest pick for her book club.  It's the first time Oprah has chosen a book of short stories (and Fr....

Responding to God's invitation is a core idea of Ignatian spirituality. We give because we have received. The sublime expression of this is Ignatius' "Suscipe." Take, Lord, and receive all my liberty, my memory, my understanding, and my entire will, All...

NASA has announced that its Lunar Crater Observation and Sensing Satellite (LCROSS) will strike the Cabeus A crater near the south pole of the moon in early October.  The crater is named for Niccolo Cabeo (1586-1659), a Jesuit...

Fear is the root of evil in the world, writes William Barry, SJ, in his book Spiritual Direction and the Encounter with God. Thus, real religion must have a real answer to fear.  He quotes this wonderful aphorism from...