Joyful (and Over-Full) Anticipation (Advent Week 4) by OIS and IYAM

What is Your Hope for Spiritual Direction? #11 (Rev. Jason Downer, SJ) by OIS and IYAM

Welcome to the third week of "God With Us," an Advent reflection series to assist our preparation for Christmas. This series is presented by Ignatian Young Adult Ministries, an Initiative of the Office of Ignatian Spirituality. Last week we considered our collective “ache for a better world.” Let's take time now to ponder this week’s theme: “(Dis)Comfort and Questions in the Waiting.”

Welcome to the second week of "God With Us," an Advent reflection series to help us all prepare for Christmas. This series is presented by Ignatian Young Adult Ministries, an Initiative of the Office of Ignatian Spirituality. Last week we considered what it might take to “Climb the Mountain of God.” Now let's hold together space for this week’s theme: “Aching for a Better World.”

Welcome to “God With Us,” an Advent reflection series to help us all prepare for Christmas. This series is presented by Ignatian Young Adult Ministries, an initiative of the Office of Ignatian Spirituality. Take a deep breath, pause and join us in reflecting on our first week's theme: “Climbing the Mountain of God.”

Each month, an Ignatian spiritual director offers their hope as our way of offering inspiration to pilgrims of hope engaged in the ministry of spiritual direction. This month’s reflection is offered by Andy Otto. Andy is a spiritual director and pastoral associate for faith formation at St Thomas More Church in Decatur, Georgia. He spent nearly three years as a Jesuit in formation, where he was shaped in Ignatian spirituality through pastoral ministry, academic study, and Clinical Pastoral Education. Andy trained in spiritual direction through the Jesuit Collaborative in Boston. He offers the Spiritual Exercises and retreat ministry at Ignatius House Jesuit Retreat Center in Atlanta. He is the author of God Moments: Unexpected Encounters in the Ordinary and the creator of God In All Things, an online resource for Ignatian spirituality.

Each month, an Ignatian spiritual director offers their hope as our way of offering inspiration to pilgrims of hope engaged in the ministry of spiritual direction. This month’s reflection is offered by Michelle Cimaroli, aci (she/her). Michelle has been a Handmaid of the Sacred Heart of Jesus for fifteen years and is currently serving as the Director of St. Raphaela Center  outside  Philadelphia. She is finishing a two-year spiritual direction formation program at the Murphy Center for Ignatian Spirituality at Fairfield University.  Michelle is passionate about synodality, encouraging women's pastoral gifts and leadership, and creating spaces of safety, belonging and justice.  

Each month, an Ignatian spiritual director offers their hope as our way of offering inspiration to pilgrims of hope engaged in the ministry of spiritual direction. This month’s reflection is offered by Christina Leaño, who is a retreat leader, spiritual director, and meditation teacher with over 15 years of experience facilitating spiritual and contemplative programs to diverse audiences. She is in an Ignatian Spiritual Direction Formation Program co-sponsored by Loyola Jesuit Center of Morristown, NJ and St. Joseph’s University of Philadelphia, PA. Christina serves as Associate Director of the Laudato Si' Movement mobilizing the Catholic family worldwide to turn Pope Francis’ encyclical letter, Laudato Si’: On Care for our Common Home into action for climate and ecological justice. She received a M.A. in Systematic Theology from the Graduate Theological Union in Berkeley, CA and lives in the New York City area with her daughter.

Each month, an Ignatian spiritual director offers their hope as our way of offering inspiration to pilgrims of hope engaged in the ministry of spiritual direction. This month’s reflection is offered by Edgardo Lugo, who works as the Director of Bereavement Services at Calvary Hospital in the Bronx. He is a member of St. Francis Xavier Church in Manhattan, and serves on the parish’s leadership team of Ignatian Spirituality and Everyday Life, which offers spiritual direction, the 19th Annotation of the Spiritual Exercises and other spiritual formation programs. Edgardo serves as a Supervisor for the St. Francis Xavier Spiritual Direction Formation Program and for the Spiritual Direction Training Program at Fordham University. He is pursuing a M.A in Christian Spirituality degree with a Concentration on Spiritual Direction at Fordham University.

Each month, an Ignatian spiritual director offers their hope as our way of offering inspiration to pilgrims of hope engaged in the ministry of spiritual direction. This month’s reflection is offered by Rev. Joe Tetlow, SJ, who was ordained in 1960 and whose decades of ministry include serving as a professor at St. Louis University and as a Dean at Loyola New Orleans. He served on the staff of America Magazine for a number of years and was the assistant for Ignatian spirituality in Rome to Superior General Fr. Peter-Hans Kolvenbach for nine years. He is a spiritual director who directed the Montserrat Retreat House in Dallas. Choosing Christ in the World, his handbook for making the full Spiritual Exercises in everyday life, has been translated into a number of languages. His recent books include Handing on the Fire: Making Spiritual Direction Ignatian and Becoming an Easter People.

Each month, an Ignatian spiritual director offers their hope in the spirit of this Jubilee Year of Hope, our way of offering inspiration to pilgrims of hope engaged in the ministry of spiritual direction. This month’s reflection is offered by Lauren Morton. Lauren is a spiritual director and the founder of Bee at Peace, a program that creates spaces for Black women to encounter God by exploring the intersection of faith and femininity, experiencing peace and wholeness, and journeying through the uniqueness of being a Black woman. Lauren is also the academic program manager of the Clark Scholars Program and Dean’s Scholar’s Program at Georgia Tech and a doctoral candidate for the Doctor of Ministry degree at Garrett Evangelical Theological Seminary with a concentration in spiritual direction. Her areas of interest are Black women and emerging adults.

The urgency of Laudato Si’ is clear. The crises of climate change and social inequality are deeply connected, and they disproportionately harm the most vulnerable among us. Welcome to Care for Creation: Laudato Si' in Action, a reflection series connecting us to our individual and collective call to ecological justice. This reflection was written by Vanessa Rotondo, the Deputy Chief of Staff in the office of the President at Fordham University.This reflection was narrated by Elise Gower, former associate director for Contemplative Leaders in Action.

"In Laudato Si’, Pope Francis encouraged ecological conversion, naming the “nobility in the duty to care for creation though little daily actions” (211). The four years I spent at Bethlehem Farm helped me to practice daily care for creation. It also taught me that caring for creation is more easily accomplished in community with others." Welcome to Care for Creation: Laudato Si' in Action, a reflection series connecting us to our individual and collective call to ecological justice. This reflection was written by Molly Sutter. Molly served as a Caretaker at Bethleham Farm in West Virginia and is now pursuing a Masters in Appalachian Studies from Shepherd University. This reflection was narrated by Elise Gower, former associate director for Contemplative Leaders in Action.

In Laudato Si’, Pope Francis brought attention to the deep connection between environmental degradation and human displacement...articulating how the ecological crisis is not merely an environmental issue but a deeply human one, affecting the lives, dignity, and survival of individuals and communities. Welcome to Care for Creation: Laudato Si' in Action, a reflection series connecting us to our individual and collective call to ecological justice. This reflection was written by Clara Sayans, the Outreach Officer at Jesuit Refugee Service/USA. This reflection was narrated by Elise Gower, former associate director for Contemplative Leaders in Action.

The promulgation of Laudato Si’ 10 years ago was a breath of fresh air, as we felt that the Holy Spirit, through Pope Francis, was confirming and deepening our conviction that the sustainable path was essential to the Christian life. Welcome to Care for Creation: Laudato Si' in Action, a reflection series connecting us to our individual and collective call to ecological justice. This reflection was written by Eric Fitts. Eric is the Executive Director of Bethlehem Farm, a Catholic community in Appalachia that transforms lives through serving with the local community and the teaching of sustainable practices. This reflection was narrated by Elise Gower, former associate director for Contemplative Leaders in Action.

In "Laudato Si’", Pope Francis issued a challenging invitation, encouraging us to pay attention to “those questions which are troubling us…and which we can no longer sweep under the carpet,” so that we “become painfully aware” of “what is happening to our planet” and its people. Welcome to Care for Creation: Laudato Si' in Action, a reflection series connecting us to our individual and collective call to ecological justice. These are the stories that make us painfully aware of the truths of climate change. This week’s reflection was written by Bryan P. Galligan, SJ. Bryan is a Jesuit scholastic of the East Province and was assigned to the Jesuit Justice and Ecology Network Africa where he led advocacy efforts on food and climate justice and engaged in research on the sustainability of small -scale fisheries. This reflection was narrated by Elise Gower, former associate director for Contemplative Leaders in Action.

Each month, an Ignatian spiritual director offers their hope in the spirit of this Jubilee Year of Hope, our way of offering inspiration to pilgrims of hope engaged in the ministry of spiritual direction. This month features Luz Marina Díaz, the Director of the Spritual Direction Practicum at Fordham University.

We have arrived at Holy Week. As we conclude and make our final preparations for Easter, recall your journey over these past 40 days. Where did you begin? How have things shifted? What might your feelings be telling you? Take a moment to open yourself once more to God’s Transformational Love...

This month’s reflection is offered by Rev. George Bur, SJ, a spiritual director who serves as University Chaplain and Special Assistant to the President at St. Joseph’s University in Philadelphia. His long life of ministry has included serving as a pastor, school president, retreat director and superior of the Jesuit Center for Spiritual Growth at Wernersville. Within all of these ministries, his service as a spiritual director has enriched his life.

As we enter into prayer today, think about any tension, distractions, or desires that may pull you from being fully present right now. Put those things aside as we ponder one person's experience of “Seeing and Walking with Christ on an Ignatian Pilgrimage.” Welcome to the 5th Week of “Transformational Love,” a Lenten reflection series to help us all prepare for Easter.