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.
Posts in Spirituality
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.
Encountering the Thriving and Universal Church at SEEK
SEEK gathered 20,000 Catholics in one place—and what emerged was friendship and consolation. Luke Lapean, SJ reflects on how encounter, curiosity, and shared faith reveal a Church that is more thriving and unified than most assume.
Ignatian Contemplation: A Man Healed at the Pool of Bethsaida
Ignatian Contemplation is a distinctly Jesuit way of praying with Scripture that invites the reader to enter the scene using their imagination. As you watch this video prepared by Alex Hale, SJ, allow the video’s prompts to guide your prayer on the man healed at Bethsaida.
Millennial Optimism and the Year of Hope
As a new year dawns, Nate Cortas, SJ invites us to reflect on choosing faithful hope over shallow optimism.
Lessons from a Twenty-Two-Hour Advent
One of the biggest challenges in Joe’s ministry as a Jesuit also proved to bear incredible spiritual fruit. It taught him the importance of waiting for God to come to our rescue, and the importance of celebrating when He does.
Alfred Delp and the Mystery of Advent Hope
What does it mean to embrace radical hope in God during Advent? Brennan Dour, SJ, reflects on the Advent meditations of Fr. Alfred Delp, SJ, who discovered this season’s profound spiritual invitation to trust in God while awaiting execution in a Nazi prison cell.
The Spiritual Foundation of a Lasting Ecological Conversion
How do the Spiritual Exercises speak to an ecological crisis? In this Season of Creation, Daniel Mascarenhas, SJ proposes an “Ecological First Principle and Foundation” to ground a lasting ecological conversion.
Jesuit and Artist: A Vocation Shaped by Claver and the Tarahumara
How can brushstrokes become a prayer? In this reflection, Sebastián Salamanca-Huet, SJ recounts how St. Peter Claver and the Rarámuri people helped him see that being Jesuit and artist are not two callings, but one vocation.
Flee from Demons in Food as Saint Paul Commands
In Corinth, meat in marketplaces often came from sacrifices to gods — and Saint Paul thus warned it carried a demonic character. Daniel Mascarenhas, SJ asks if our modern food system carries its own spiritual dangers.









