This is the tenth installment of A Deacon’s Diary. In the ninth installment, Steve tried to love his enemies, and his friends, too. I. A week ago, I was listening to a talk at Boston University’s Catholic Chaplaincy. The speaker, a Carmelite priest, was telling our...
“7 on three, 7 on three… one, two, three, 7!” In the state of Ohio it takes 7 games to win a high school state championship in baseball. From the moment our tryouts were over, we started breaking down the huddle by chanting 7! 7 games, 7 wins, one state champion....
Podcast episode: Jesus commands his disciples to love as he loved. In order to fulfill this commandment, we need to be intimately familiar with how Jesus loves others. In the final talk of the Second Week of the Spiritual Exercises, David highlights seven episodes...
There may be no Ignatian term that is more misused than the word magis. Indeed, it is Latin and it does mean “more,” but that hardly gets to the Ignatian meaning of the term. That is because magis does not necessarily nor simply mean more. In fact, it often means...
I’ve never read a word of Richard Carlson’s viral self-help series, Don’t Sweat the Small Stuff…and it’s All Small Stuff, so let me be clear at the onset – I am not taking issue with the notion that life might be best spent learning how to discern what’s worth...
So, wait. What exactly is a synod? Maybe you’ve heard this term. Perhaps not. It technically means a gathering of bishops for the purpose of giving counsel to the Pope. Pope Francis, however, wants to expand our understanding of synodality. That’s why he announced in...
Receiving ashes this year was different for me than in years past. Instead of attending an Ash Wednesday service at a church, I attended Ash Wednesday Mass in a chapel at the hospital where I typically volunteer on Sundays. That Wednesday at the hospital, I was...
The story of the Prodigal Son gives us a beautiful portrait of the mercy and compassion of God. No matter who we identify with in the story, there is a celebration waiting for us. Matthew Zurcher, SJ, reflects and asks: What is keeping us from going in? Based on the...
Podcast Episode: Jesus says that he is the true vine. That must mean there are false vines out there as well. In this talk, David introduces the meditation on the Two Standards in the Second Week of the Spiritual Exercises. There are forces in the world that draw us...
The following reflection is part of our “Jesuit 101” series, celebrating the Ignatian Year. This piece helps us to better understand the concepts of consolation and desolation from the Spiritual Exercises. To learn more, check out our explainer article: “Jesuit 101:...
