The Jesuit Novitiate can be a mysterious time for family and friends of Jesuit novices. Paul Gillam, SJ, offers a look at the novitiate experience from the perspective of a Jesuit who took First Vows in August, 2025 and shares his reflections on the first stage of Jesuit formation.
Posts in Spirituality
Stay Plugged in This Easter with the Stations of the Resurrection
Many people pray the Stations of the Cross during Lent, but Easter offers its own prayerful invitation. Chris Kinkor, SJ, shares the beauty he has found in the Stations of the Resurrection and offers an invitation to incorporate them into your Easter celebration.
A National Fast: Returning to God at the End of Lent
A “National Fast” once helped our nation through struggle. In his first for TJP, Alvaro Pacheco, SJ explores what such a fast could look like for us in our times—both at the end of this Lent and beyond.
Returning to God in a Home Depot Parking Lot
What does it mean to return to God with your whole heart? In his first reflection for TJP, Will Hayes, SJ recounts an Ash Wednesday service among migrant day laborers that reveals how God’s invitations often meet us in the most ordinary places.
AI for the Greater Glory of God
Can God work through the power of AI? Chris Kinkor, SJ, reflects on how AI has helped and impacted his ministry and mission, and considers the ways that the well-discerned use of AI can point to the Greater Glory of God.
Finding Hope in Christ the Innocent Lamb
How are humans meant to understand suffering? Jackson Graham, SJ, reflects on a fable by Jane Collier and how it shows us the way that Christ, the true Lamb, empathizes with and accompanies us in our own experiences of suffering.
A Grace Worthy of Our Attention
“Difficult consolation” is the grace that helps us realize humanity is messy, and that, even though we might not want to experience the pains of the world, we’re grateful that God doesn’t make us experience them alone. Jesus models that for us.
Ask God First: Rethinking Our Lenten Sacrifice
Before Lent, we often feel a rush of anxiety or excitement as we try to answer the question: “what are you giving up?” As we prepare to enter this new liturgical season, Eric invites us to ask a deeper question, considering what God might desire for us in this time.
Beavers, Muskrats, and the Real Invitation of Lent
As Lent approaches, Brennan Dour, SJ, reflects on the curious historical case of Catholics in New France classifying beavers as fish during Lent, and the reminder it offers that Lent’s purpose is not a rigid intensifying of rules, but God’s invitation to grow closer to him whatever our circumstances.
Meeting Voters Where They Are: The Success of Jonathan Haidt
In a deeply polarized political climate, Jonathan Haidt has helped unite ideologically diverse states around phone-free school policies. Alex Hale, SJ argues that this success reflects an Ignatian way of proceeding—meeting people where they are through genuine dialogue.









