A few years ago, I visited the town in Ireland where my father’s ancestors lived. The cathedral there was built in the 1950s, so it’s unlikely that any of my relatives were part of its construction. Yet, when I went in, I felt immediately rooted. It was as if I could somehow feel a bunch […]
As a preface to his declaration about the Incarnation in Philippians, St. Paul said, “The attitude you should have is the one that Christ Jesus had.” Wisdom is making peace with the unchangeable. We have the freedom to face the unavoidable with dignity, to understand the transformational value that attitude works on suffering. Viktor Frankl […]
I am a djembefola (one who plays djembe drums). I learned to play these drums (also known as talking drums) at the age of ten. An older man who lived in my neighborhood in the South Bronx had studied African drumming, and he was kind enough to hand down all that he knew about this […]
Recently I read a column in a Catholic publication that was about an important and controversial topic. Yet it was so full of invective and nasty ad hominem attacks that I had to stop reading it. The readers’ comments online were even worse. The depth of their rage and bitterness overwhelmed me. There was no […]
“Why, God? Why?” I sit at the funeral of a friend who died unexpectedly of a heart attack. Alive one day, gone the next. “Why, God? Why?” Tornadoes flatten neighborhoods in the time a speeding train passes through a station. Lives turn to rubble. “Why, God? Why?” Another day begins for an exhausted parent living […]
I maintain that God—out of the abundance of divine relational life, not any need for us—desires humans into existence for the sake of friendship. This thesis may sound strange, because it runs counter to much teaching about God. To be honest, I questioned it myself when I first began to think it through… But over […]
There are so many ways to love, and to love better. Let’s concentrate on five for today. 1. Focus on one good quality. Especially when you’re feeling critical and grumpy, ask yourself, What is one characteristic of this person that is wonderful and that I should not overlook? Focusing on a quality you appreciate can […]
In a recent dotMagis article, Eric Clayton referred to the Presupposition as the “Ignatian plus sign.” Explore that idea more deeply with Michele C. Murray, in her essay, “Suppose we all presupposed? Applying the Ignatian plus-sign in everyday life.” She writes: The Presupposition requires that we sidestep the conventions of persuasion and declaration in favor […]
As much as I love time to contemplate, at the end of an academic year I find that time is often short as I grade exams and attend those last committee and faculty meetings. However, I am reassured by the idea that we can, indeed, seek God in all things. One way that this is […]
“Ugh! Not again!” I shouted, exasperated. “This stupid pop-up won’t go away!” “Um, are you OK?” a quiet voice asked. I jumped, having forgotten I was not alone. While I was trying to generate slides quickly for an upcoming retreat session, a young colleague was testing out microphones nearby. Three hundred retreatants were about to […]
A priest was obsessed about reminding parishioners to turn off their cell phones before Mass. He mentioned it at least three or four times before the service started. Then, just as he stepped up to give his homily, in a moment of total silence, a jiggling ring tone emanated from his own cell phone. Red-faced, […]
When the Museum of Biblical Art in New York hosted an exhibit some years ago called, “The Wanderer,” by Enrique MartĂnez Celaya, I was fascinated by its description: The exhibition explores MartĂnez Celaya’s immersion in a Western literary tradition rich in themes and imagery that project a deeply private existential odyssey. The Wanderer presents a […]
If you are a Star Wars fan—or even just a general movie enthusiast—you likely have an opinion about Star Wars: The Last Jedi. It was a controversial film, in no small part because of how director Rian Johnson decided to depict the legendary Jedi Master Luke Skywalker. The Luke we meet in this movie is […]
Christians are called to show mercy and to enact, through our physical, ordinary lives, God’s compassion for those who suffer and forgiveness for those who have caused harm. However, we tend to express well and pass along only what we have experienced personally. We do better if we have examples to follow, models of the […]
Their forgiveness was striking. Members of Charleston’s Emmanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church lost nine cherished members in a terrifying shooting in 2015 and offered swift absolution. Holding back tears, Nadine Collier, whose mother was killed in the attack, said, “but God forgive you, and I forgive you.” Astonishing. Fast forward to the time of Pope […]
The notion that the spiritual life is a journey is so common that it’s a platitude. I worked for years in Catholic publishing. I’ve seen dozens of book covers depicting paths: rugged paths in the forest, manicured paths in lovely parks, paths over bridges, paths up mountains, paths across the desert. But the cliche isn’t […]
The other day, I was sorting through some old papers and came across the “Fall in Love” prayer by Joseph Whelan, SJ. His thoughts are so simple yet so profound. I was glad to come across them again. The first time I read these words, though, I was completely intimidated. It was my first Ignatian retreat, […]
Jesus promoted peace. He said at the Last Supper, “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you.” (John 14:27) Then, after the Resurrection, Jesus’ first words to the disciples were, “Peace be with you.” (John 20:19) Although it may at times seem that we are powerless to stop wars, violence in our […]
Sometimes I am frozen in fear by an event that makes me realize how precious and fragile life really is. During these moments, the mundane tasks usually accomplished without thought become weighty and difficult, because I am crushed by worry. Usually, though, these events ground me enough to remind me that the world we live […]
IgnatianSpirituality.com ® is a service of Loyola Press, a Jesuit ministry.
In Always Discerning, Joseph A. Tetlow, SJ, shares how we can implement discernment into not only life’s big decisions but also into the everyday, more mundane choices we constantly have to make.
Do you have any idea how glorious the world around you really is? Consider the multitude of gifts of our earthly existence that are far beyond what our very limited human bodies can interpret or fully experience. While humans can hear from 20 to 20,000 Hz (vibrations per second), a bat can hear up to […]
IgnatianSpirituality.com ® is a service of Loyola Press, a Jesuit ministry.
In Always Discerning, Joseph A. Tetlow, SJ, shares how we can implement discernment into not only life’s big decisions but also into the everyday, more mundane choices we constantly have to make.
Lisa Kelly
Checked
3 hours 6 minutes ago
Prayer, Spiritual Direction, Retreats, and Good Decisions
