AMDG: A Jesuit Podcast (Jesuit Conference)

Joanna Williams has the kind of energy that sucks you in. Just talking to her is like getting a jolt of motivation. She’s passionate about social change and justice, but she’s also pragmatic. Williams recently became the executive director of Kino Border Initiative, a Jesuit-run ministry that accompanies migrants on both sides of the U.S.-Mexico border. She views her work at Kino like a global invitation. It’s not just her work—or the work of 22 staff members. Everyone has a responsibility, a share in the mission. On this episode of AMDG, Williams talks guest host MegAnne Liebsch about conditions at the border right now and how we can build a more welcoming society for migrants and asylum seekers. Learn more about KBI: https://www.kinoborderinitiative.org/ Join KBI's 100 Days Campaign here: bit.ly/kbileads Learn about migration advocacy at the Jesuit Conference: https://www.jesuits.org/our-work/justice-and-ecology/migration-and-immigration/

Musician and author John Darnielle is the creative force behind the Mountain Goats, the critically acclaimed and deeply loved indie rock band he has led (sometimes as its only member) since 1991. He's also a deeply spiritual person with incredible religious literacy -- each song on the Mountain Goats' 2009 album "The Life of the World to Come" is named after a different Scripture verse, for instance. Darnielle joined hosts Mike Jordan Laskey and MegAnne Liebsch to discuss everything from the church in Latin America to the spiritual experience of live music to the Book of the Prophet Jonah. It's a whirlwind of a conversation and unlike any other AMDG episode you've heard before. Learn more about the Mountain Goats here: https://www.mountain-goats.com/ AMDG is a production of the Jesuit Conference of Canada and the United States. Subscribe wherever you get podcasts.

Perhaps you're the kind of person who consumed a lot of science fiction and fantasy stories growing up. Stories like the Chronicles of Narnia and the Lord of the Rings have overt Christian themes. Others – Star Wars and Marvel movies, for example – might if you squint at them the right way. Regardless of spiritual intent, these stories can shape us, shape our imagination. We continue to return to them - maybe in surprising ways. These imaginative stories may even lay the groundwork for an encounter with Scripture, priming our minds to see the world as a big, fantastical place where miracles are just around the corner, where epic things can and do happen, and where themes of justice and good versus evil really matter. Brent Gordon, a Jesuit brother in his first year of studies, can relate. He wrote a wonderful essay for the Jesuit Post a several weeks ago where he explored exactly these themes. And he's here today to share some of those reflections – how these seemingly otherworldly stories could lead us to our very real and present God today, in our world, in this moment. You can read his article here: https://thejesuitpost.org/2021/01/fantasy-literature-imagination-and-christian-life/

Matt Wooters, SJ, and Damian Torres-Botello, SJ, are back to journey with us along the way this Lent.

Matt Wooters, SJ, and Damian Torres-Botello, SJ, are back to journey with us along the way this Lent.

This is a special edition of the show we’re rushing to get in before this weekend’s Sweet 16 in the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament. Why the hurry? Because three Jesuit schools have made it this far: the Gonzaga Bull Dogs, Sister Jean’s Loyola Chicago Ramblers and the Creighton Blue Jays. There’s nobody more prepared to talk about these teams and the past and present of Jesuit hoops than guest John Gasaway. John is a college basketball analyst for ESPN, where he largely focuses on the growing field of sports analytics. He’s also the author of a brand-new book called “Miracles on the Hardwood: The Hope-and-a-Prayer Story of a Winning Tradition in Catholic College Basketball.” The book is chock-full of fascinating stories and history and is a must-read for any fan of Jesuit hoops. After he talked with host Mike Jordan Laskey about the book and the Jesuit-heavy Sweet 16 and this week’s passing of Jesuit basketball legend Elgin Baylor (Seattle University), John and Mike took turns drafting the best all-time players from Jesuit schools. Check out @jesuitnews on Twitter to vote for which team you think would win a hypothetical matchup on the court. Get John's book: https://www.twelvebooks.com/titles/john-gasaway/miracles-on-the-hardwood/9781538717127/ AMDG is a production of the Jesuit Conference of Canada and the United States. Subscribe wherever you get podcasts.

Matt Wooters, SJ, and Damian Torres-Botello, SJ, are back to journey with us along the way this Lent. Danielle Harrison, co-director of the Slavery, History, Memory and Reconciliation Project of the Jesuit Conference joins.

If you have had any encounter with Jesuits – at a school, a parish, a nonprofit – you probably know a little about St. Ignatius of Loyola. You may know he got hit by a cannonball, that he wrote the Spiritual Exercises and that he ultimately went on to found the Society of Jesus. Good enough, right? Wrong. Fr. Bart Geger, SJ – a research scholar at the Institute for Advanced Jesuit Studies and Assistant Professor of the Practice at the School of Theology and Ministry at Boston College – returns to AMDG to give us a behind-the-scenes look at his new edition of Ignatius’ own autobiography – and tells us why calling it an autobiography isn’t really right. Fr. Bart and Eric get into some more of the common misconceptions around Ignatius – around his understanding of Catholicism – and why setting the record straight matters. Ultimately, Fr. Bart helps us recognize where God was at work in Ignatius’ life – and how spending time to reflect on the saint’s life might better help us discover God at work in our own.

The Hold Steady plays big, loud rock 'n' roll that sounds like the best bar band you’ve ever heard. But if you listen carefully to the lyrics, you’ll hear moving, funny, heartbreaking stories about broken people sinning, falling and reaching for redemption. You’ll hear references to saints and churches and Catholicism and parties. Lots and lots of parties. Today's guest is the songwriter behind The Hold Steady, Craig Finn. Finn, who has been called our greatest Catholic storyteller since Flannery O’Connor, grew up in a Catholic family and graduated from Boston College. He talked to host Mike Jordan Laskey about the Catholic themes in his songs, his time at BC, and the Hold Steady’s fabulous new record "Open Door Policy." The Hold Steady: https://theholdsteady.net/ Craig Finn: https://craigfinn.net/ AMDG is a production of the Jesuit Conference of Canada and the United States. Subscribe wherever you get podcasts.

When you think about the Catholic Church, you may be tempted to think in terms that are outside of history – the Church is more or less the same since Jesus’ time, right? The continuity is supposed to be obvious, untouchable. Of course, that’s impossible. No matter how much we may try to preserve something, the steady march of time, those slow and plodding changes to society and culture as well as those unforeseen events, inevitably impact even the most resilient of institutions. Today’s episode is a deep dive into one of those perhaps unforeseen events that upended Catholicism – and in particular, the Papacy – as we know it. In fact, how we understand both Catholicism and the Papacy today traces directly to this moment in history. Today's guest, Fr. Jeffrey von Arx, SJ, is a Visiting Professor of the History of Christianity at the Boston College School of Theology and Ministry and the Superior and Director of the John LaFarge Jesuit House of Studies at Harvard University. Fr. von Arx guides us through the years spanning the French Revolution through the First Vatican Council and beyond, and reflects on how a near-death experience for the Papacy following the French Revolution led to what he believes is an experience of PTSD – post-traumatic stress disorder – in the Church, and shares what he sees as the outcome of this institutional PTSD. It’s hard to fathom a time when the papacy almost ceased to exist – particularly in the wake of papacies like John Paul II’s and Francis’. And yet, as Fr. von Arx notes, the Papacy as we know it today didn’t have to be this way – and in fact was really close to not existing at all. The Jesuits play a role in this story, too, having suffered their own near-death experience during this same era. And, though it’s tempting to think of this historical deep-dive as unrelated to our own lives, what happened to the Catholic Church between the French Revolution and the First Vatican Council has impacted how we Catholics today experience of faith, our culture and our traditions – not to mention how we interact in society, in politics and in art. Read more from Fr. von Arx: https://www.americamagazine.org/issue/post-traumatic-church https://www.americamagazine.org/faith/2018/09/24/root-china-vatican-agreement-napoleon

Our guest this week is Mary J. Novak. She's the new executive director of NETWORK Lobby, a DC-based social justice advocacy organization formed by a coalition of Catholic nuns. While not a nun herself, Novak embodies a faith that does justice—the kind of roll-your-sleeves up and get to work attitude that Ignatian spirituality encourages. Novak’s career has traversed the intersections of spirituality and justice. As a lawyer she worked on environmental rights litigation and a death penalty appeal case. She was the founding board chair of Catholic Mobilizing Network, which is working to abolish the death penalty at the state and federal level. And most recently, she served as the associate director of Ignatian Formation at Georgetown’s Law School. Novak is animated by her faith. You can tell that her optimism and rugged determination spring from her belief in a God of justice. She talked with guest host MegAnne Liebsch about how her spirituality keeps her firmly grounded when it feels like our social and political landscape is tugging us in conflicting directions. And she offered some advice for how Catholics can get involved—and stay involved—with Catholic social justice movements. Learn about NETWORK's Build Anew Agenda: https://networklobby.org/buildanew/ Support the For the People Act (H.R. 1): https://networklobby.org/forthepeopleact Watch NETWORK's Immigration Policy Webinar: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ETJlM0zZ_QU

A fun fact about the Society of Jesus is that there are more than 30 craters on the moon named for Jesuits, which is a great reminder that faith and science are not the adversaries so many people make them out to be. Since the beginning of the Society of Jesus almost 500 years ago, Jesuits have looked to the heavens to learn more about the wonders of our universe. (That's how so many got their names on the moon.) Jesuits continue this work today, perhaps most notably by running and staffing the Vatican Observatory in Rome. The director of the observatory is an American Jesuit named Brother Guy Consolmagno, today's guest. He chatted recently with host Mike Jordan Laskey on the occasion of the launch of the brand-new Vatican Observatory website and podcast. They also talked about Br. Guy’s vocation story, why science and faith aren’t enemies, why he’s still amazed by the universe after decades of work and study, why it’s important to keep exploring space, and more. Visit the Vatican Observatory's new website: https://www.vaticanobservatory.org/ Subscribe to AMDG wherever you listen to podcasts. AMDG is a production of the Jesuit Conference of Canada and the United States.

The arrival of more-normal life feels close now, at least here in the US. A lot of us might feel tempted to dive back in, to schedule gatherings and buy concert tickets and try to make up for lost time. Today's guest, Dr. Debra Mooney, suggests a more slow-paced return to normal. Any change is stressful, she told host Mike Jordan Laskey when they talked recently, even positive change. Dr. Mooney has a doctorate in psychology and serves as the Vice President for Mission and Identity at Xavier University in Cincinnati. She just wrote an article for America Magazine headlined “Anxious about returning to regular life? 6 Jesuit discernment tips for the post-Covid world.” Dr. Mooney combines her psychological training with deep Ignatian knowledge in a fascinating way. St. Ignatius had an astute psychological mind after all, ahead of his time in how well he understood our emotional life. In the episode, Dr. Mooney goes deeper into all six of her points from the article. You'll hopefully leave the conversation feeling better equipped for the next stage of our shared life. Dr. Mooney's essay: https://www.americamagazine.org/faith/2021/04/11/jesuit-ignatian-examen-retreat-post-pandemic-wellness-240415 AMDG is a production of the Jesuit Conference of Canada and the United States.

Listen to today’s show, and you’ll learn at least one incontrovertible fact: Sister Helen Prejean, CSJ, is an absolute dynamo. She has spent close to four decades accompanying prisoners on death row and almost as long advocating for the end of the death penalty—work that first came to worldwide renown with the 1993 publication of her book “Dead Man Walking.” (The book inspired an Academy Award-winning movie, an opera and a stage play, and it transformed the national dialogue on capital punishment.) And if her recent conversation with hosts Mike Jordan Laskey and MegAnne Liebsch is any indication, she shows no signs of slowing down. Their conversation covers the current state of the work against the death penalty nationwide, what truths about America the pandemic has revealed, the importance of storytelling to Sr. Helen’s mission, an inside look at how Sr. Helen became an activist, the role of women in the Catholic Church and much more. Read Sr. Helen’s 2019 memoir, “River of Fire”: https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/133675/river-of-fire-by-sister-helen-prejean/ Learn more about how the Jesuits are working to abolish the death penalty: www.jesuits.org/amdg. AMDG is a production of the Jesuit Conference of Canada and the United States. Subscribe to AMDG wherever you listen to podcasts.

For Maka Black Elk, being a member of the Oglala Lakota Tribe on Pine Ridge Reservation confers a great responsibility. And it forms the bedrock of Black Elk’s work — first as a teacher at Red Cloud Indian School and now as the school’s Executive Director for Truth and Healing. Red Cloud is a Jesuit-run school on the reservation. It was founded in 1877 and its history spans many turbulent and painful periods on the Pine Ridge Reservation. Maka Black Elk is helping Red Cloud face this past. On this episode of AMDG, host MegAnne Liebsch talks to Black Elk about what truth and healing means for the Red Cloud and Pine Ridge Communities. They have a powerful — and challenging — conversation about the school’s involvement in the Indian Boarding School Policy and how it impacts the Pine Ridge community today. They also talked about identity and culture, and how Black Elk’s faith runs through both. To learn more about Red Cloud’s Truth and Healing Committee go to: www.jesuits.org/https://www.jesuits.org/stories/new-truth-telling-initiative-confronts-red-cloud-indian-schools-past/ Stay up-to-date with the process: https://www.redcloudschool.org/pages/truth-and-healing#updates

Finding time to go on retreat is a challenge — even when there's not a global pandemic to contend with. But what if there was a way to go on retreat without having to book a room, set aside a weekend or travel out of state? What if you could just...go? In your own town, city or neighborhood? In this episode, co-host Eric Clayton talks with both retreatants and retreat leaders who have gone on what's called a Retreat in the Street in Toronto or Montreal, Canada. Each tells a life-changing story, an encounter with God that only required a bit of courage and some time to wander. What's more, this model of retreat is perfect for the ongoing Ignatian Year, a way to see all things new in Christ. These retreats help us find our way to God. They appeal in a particular way to young people, people who may have fallen away from faith – or who have never known faith. These retreats challenges us to walk with one another, to accompany the vulnerable and become vulnerable ourselves. And, as we journey through our own city, our own landscape, we see where God’s creation is flourishing – and where it needs our care. By the end of this episode, maybe you'll want to head out for a retreat on the streets.

Today’s episode is a challenging one. We take a deep dive into the tragic events gripping the people of India, and we reflect on the tremendous loss of life that has resulted from the second wave of COVID-19. According to Vatican News, as of May 29, there have been 27.7 million reported cases of COVID-19—second only to the US – and 322,512 deaths, placing India at the third highest death count after the US and Brazil. And these are just the cases that have been reported. In India, at least 400 of those dead due to COVID-19 are nuns and priests. As today’s guest, Jesuit priest Fr. Siji Chacko will explain, this is in large part due to the work these faith leaders do at the forefront of the nation’s suffering, accompanying the vulnerable, excluded and forgotten. Fr. Siji wears a lot of hats in the Jesuit Conference of India, but as you’ll hear, no matter what his role, his vocation is to constantly serve God’s people in whatever way is possible. The conversation spans his own calling to the Jesuits to his work advocating for human rights to his reflections on the life of Fr. Stan Swamy, the 84-year-old Jesuit priest who has been imprisoned by the Indian authorities for his human rights advocacy. Learn how you can help provide COVID-19 relief in India by visiting https://www.jesuits.org/stories/covid-19-emergency-response-in-india-ways-you-can-help/. Learn how you can advocate for Fr. Stan Swamy’s release from prison by visiting https://www.jesuits.org/our-work/justice-and-ecology/take-action-2/release-fr-stan/. And learn more of Fr. Stan’s story by visiting Jesuits.org/stories/jesuits-demand-immediate-release-of-fr-stan-swamy-sj/

As more and more of us are going back to Mass for the first time in over a year, today's episode is a celebration of our faith. Today's guest is the renowned theologian and teacher Dr. Thomas Groome, who serves as a professor of theology and religious education at Boston College’s School of Theology and Ministry. He has an incredible ability to make difficult concepts clear and engaging, often using his fabulous Irish storytelling skills in his work. In his conversation with host Mike Jordan Laskey, Dr. Groome goes deep into five things he loves about being Catholic. It's the spiritual boost we need as a new normal starts to unfold. Learn more about Dr. Groome here: https://www.bc.edu/bc-web/schools/stm/faculty/faculty-directory/thomas-h-groome.html His book "What Makes Us Catholic" is a must-read and accessible to anyone, no matter your level of theological training: https://www.harpercollins.com/products/what-makes-us-catholic-thomas-h-groome?variant=32128767623202 AMDG is a production of the Jesuit Conference of Canada and the United States. Subscribe to AMDG wherever you get podcasts.

In the year 1838, the Jesuits of the Maryland Province sold at least 272 enslaved men, women and children to a plantation owner in Louisiana, in part to provide financial support to Georgetown University, which was struggling at the time. The Jesuits have long been aware of this shameful history, but living Descendants of the 272 enslaved persons have only learned about their ancestors over the past five years thanks to meticulous genealogical research. More than 10,000 living Descendants have been identified since 2016. Two of those Descendants are today's guests: Joe Stewart and Cheryllyn Branche. After learning of their family histories, Joe and Cheryllyn worked together with other Descendants to found the GU 272 Association. The association approached the Jesuits in 2017, looking to dialogue with the Society of Jesus in pursuit of creating a billion-dollar foundation to support racial justice work and educational opportunities for Descendants. Our third guest today is one of the Jesuits who participated in this dialogue process, Fr. Timothy P. Kesicki, SJ, the president of the Jesuit Conference of Canada and the United States. These three along with other Descendant leaders and representatives from the Jesuits and Georgetown University went through a years-long dialogue process and arrived at a memorandum of understanding: The Jesuits of the US would contribute $15 million to start the foundation and pledge to fundraise an additional $85 million. The result is the Descendants Truth and Reconciliation Foundation, which was announced this past March. The foundation marks the first time in history the Descendants of those enslaved have collaborated like this with successors of the enslavers. You can learn more about the history and the foundation at their website, which is www.descendants.org. Joe, Cheryllyn and Fr. Tim talked to host Mike Jordan Laskey about the dialogue process and their vision for the foundation. They hope this unique pathway forward might inspire similar efforts throughout the country. Learn more about the GU 272 Descendants Association: https://gu272.net/ Learn more about the Descendants Truth and Reconciliation Foundation: https://www.descendants.org/ AMDG is a production of the Jesuit Conference of Canada and the United States.

When Fr. Bill Barry, SJ, passed away late in 2020 at the age of 90 years old, he left behind a long and storied legacy as a spiritual director, author and Jesuit priest. Though he wrote many, many books, mentored generations of Jesuits and guided countless retreatants, there was one consistent theme that everyone who encountered Fr. Barry walked away with: God desires a friendship with each of us. His final book, “God’s Great Story and You” – published by Loyola Press earlier this year – returns to that theme and pulls together insights and experiences from Fr. Barry’s nine decades of life with God. On today’s episode, Fr. James Martin, SJ, editor-at-large for America Magazine, and Vinita Wright, managing editor at Loyola Press, share stories, memories and reflections on Fr. Barry – his life, his work and his legacy. You can purchase a copy of his final book here: https://store.loyolapress.com/gods-great-story-and-you.

June is high school graduation season, and today's guest is one of the most impressive grads from the Jesuit Schools Network: Carlos Smith, who just finished his time at Loyola High School in Detroit. Loyola is an all-male Jesuit high school known for its rigorous academic standards and strong commitment to faith, and it serves about 150 predominantly Black young men. For the past 11 years, Loyola has achieved 100 percent college acceptance among its graduates. Carlos won two incredibly impressive honors during his senior year: First, he won a $25,000 Black History Month scholarship from the Detroit Pistons basketball team for a poem he wrote on the theme of powering humanity. Second, he was named the top high school debater in the entire state of Michigan. Carlos clearly has a way with words, and the energy and intelligence that made him a champion debater were on full display during his conversation with host Mike Jordan Laskey. In the episode, Carlos reads the winning poem, discusses its themes and talks about his experience at Loyola. Carlos is heading to the University of Arizona in the fall, and he hopes to one day be a Supreme Court justice. One quick announcement: We at AMDG were thrilled a couple weeks ago to hear that our show had won two first-place awards from the Catholic Media Association. We were named the best overall podcast in our division, and our collection of episodes on the pandemic won best podcast series. So now when you recommend this podcast to your friends and family, you can invite them to subscribe to the award-winning AMDG wherever they get podcasts. AMDG is a production of the Jesuit Conference of Canada and the United States.

Last month, Georgetown University professor of history Dr. Marcia Chatelain was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for her book “Franchise: the Golden Arches in Black America." The book reveals the hidden history of how fast food became one of the greatest generators of Black wealth and power in American and the costs of this success story. Host Mike Jordan Laskey asked Professor Chatelain what it was like to hear she won the Pulitzer, and then they discussed the book and some of the most interesting things she learned during her years of research and writing. Professor Chatelain also shared what she has come to love about Jesuit spirituality since arriving at Georgetown 10 years ago. Lear more about Marcia Chatelain and "Franchise" here: http://www.marciachatelain.com./ AMDG is a production of the Jesuit Conference of Canada and the United States.

On July 7, one week ago today, in the early hours of the morning, the president of Haiti, Jovenal Moise, was assassinated in his home. The exact details of his death are still clouded in mystery, but the impact on the country is stark and tragic: Haiti, still recovering from the devastating 2010 earthquake, still reeling from the COVID-19 pandemic, plagued by violent gangs, economic insecurity and a widening gap between the haves and have-nots, now faces a future of uncertainty. But it’s far from a hopeless situation. As our guest today, Fr. Jean Denis Saint-Felix, the superior of the Jesuit community in Haiti, notes, there is reason to believe a better future is possible. Fr. Jean Denis issues a challenge for all of us on the outside looking in: To help usher in this new future, we have to be ready to listen to the needs, the pain and even the silence of the Haitian people.

What are you willing to risk for what you believe? Fr. Steve Kelly, SJ, is a peace activist and a member of the Plowshares movement, a largely Catholic movement of pacifists that protests nuclear weapons by damaging weapons and military property. He has spent at least a decade of his life behind bars for his witness, and was just released recently for what was called the Kings Bay Plowshares action. On April 4, 2018, Fr. Kelly and six other Catholic activists cut a hole in a security fence at the Kings Bay Naval Base in Georgia, where several nuclear submarines are kept. They hung a banner, spray painted Love One Another on the pavement, poured their own blood on a seal of the base, and pounded the display of a tomahawk missile with a hammer. They were willingly arrested two hours after entry. Host Mike Jordan Laskey asked Fr. Kelly about why he chooses to participate in these actions despite the risks. They also talked about his vocation story to the Jesuits and his experience with the criminal justice system. Fr. Kelly is a gentle, warm person and this conversation will quietly challenge you to think and pray about how you live what you say you believe. AMDG is a production of the Jesuit Conference of Canada and the United States.

On July 31st, the Church celebrates the feast of St. Ignatius of Loyola, founder of the Society of Jesus, better known as the Jesuits. And this year, the feast is extra special. Why? Because we’re in the midst of an Ignatian Year, a celebration of the 500th anniversary of the cannonball strike that shattered Ignatius’ legs and ultimately set him on the path to conversion. Today’s guest, Cameron Bellm, has been doing a lot of reflecting on the life and legacy of St. Ignatius—both in her own prayer life and in her professional work. She’s a columnist for us at Jesuits.org, a poet who each month writes a beautiful prayer poem. You can find them in the Spirit and Verse series on our site. Now, how she came to be a renowned prayer poet is a pretty cool story—and we talk about it in our conversation. But that’s not all. Cameron has also been working on a really exciting e-book initiative. It’s called Christ Plays in 10,000 Places—a call back to another poet, Gerard Manley Hopkins, SJ—and it’s a small volume we hope you’ll use to accompany you and your own faith community throughout the year. As Cameron shares, she worked with a number of really great voices from across the Ignatian family in the US and Canada. One last thing: Cameron has a PhD in Russian Literature. And she puts that on display in our conversation in the most compelling way, inviting us to consider how towering figures in the Russian literary tradition can help us unpack some well-known themes in Ignatian spirituality. If you want to get your hands on your own copy of our new e-book, visit Jesuits.org/ebook.

Jamie Kralovec’s work is deeply rooted in his faith and Ignatian spirituality, but he’s not a theologian or a youth minister. Jamie is an urban planner by trade, and he’s on the show today to convince you that caring about cities and urban parks and transit and zoning is a deeply Catholic endeavor. Jamie first saw the connections between urbanism and Catholicism while a high school student at St. Ignatius College Prep in Chicago, and he has turned interest in that convergence into a career. In addition to teaching urban planning at Georgetown, he’s the associate director for mission integration at the university’s School for Continuing Studies. That word in his job title “integration” is such a perfect one to describe Jamie, who models how faith and justice go hand in hand. He’s one of the most Ignatian people you’ll ever meet and a bright, incisive guest. Read Jamie’s recent interview in US Catholic Magazine: https://uscatholic.org/articles/202104/urban-planning-is-an-inherently-catholic-practice/ AMDG is a production of the Jesuit Conference of Canada and the United States.

It’s cliché to say but Ignatian Pilgrimage: There’s an app for that. It’s called “Journey with Ignatius” – and it’s a cool new project developed by the Institute for Advanced Jesuit Studies at Boston College. On today’s episode, Fr. Casey Beaumier, SJ, director of the Institute for Advanced Jesuit Studies, shares the thinking and reflection that went in to developing this app. But the conversation doesn’t stop there. The app itself is meant to be a pilgrimage, an experience of Ignatian spirituality, a tool to deepen our lives of faith. The conversation spans those topics and more: How the pandemic has served as a catalyst for innovation where faith and spirituality is concerned; How the very idea of pilgrimage can still apply to us – even if we’re still stuck at home; How the life and legacy of St. Ignatius is relevant today as ever, particularly as we continue our own global pilgrimage through the Ignatian Year. If you want to learn more about the Institute for Advanced Jesuit Studies or want a direct link to where you can get the app, check out the links below: https://www.bc.edu/content/bc-web/centers/iajs.html https://www.bc.edu/content/bc-web/centers/iajs/about/news/app-release2.html

It’s not every day you crack open a copy of the New Yorker Magazine and find a long profile of an incredibly impressive, inspiring young Catholic woman. But that was the case in the February 8th issue, where you can find an article headlined “How a young activist is helping Pope Francis Battle Climate change. That young activist is Molly Burhans, and she’s today's guest. Molly is the founder and executive director of GoodLands, an organization created to enable the Catholic Church to use its extensive landholdings for good. She had the insight a few years ago that effective stewardship of Church-owned land could have an enormous positive impact on the environment given that the Church is one of the largest landholders in the world. Molly has made mapmaking her ministry. She talks about how she got her start, where her passion for this work comes from, and what keeps her charging ahead.

It was only a few weeks ago that Fr. Jean Denis Saint-Felix — the superior of the Jesuit community in Haiti – was our guest on this podcast. He shared with us his reflections on the assassination of the Haitian president. Tragically, a lot has happened in Haiti in just these few weeks. On August 14, a 7.2-magnitude earthquake devastated Southwestern Haiti — an earthquake even stronger than the one so many of us remember from 2010. Fr. Jean Denis encouraged us to hope — and trust in the Haitian people. And so today’s guest, Nate Radomski, the executive director of Magis Americas, is here to tell us what he’s heard from Jesuit partners across Haiti — and how the work of Magis Americas and its many partners is working with the Haitian people to rebuild. That’s at the heart of Magis Americas’ mission: to foster, support and accompany Jesuit partners in the Global South as they strive toward a more just, dignified and equitable society. If you want to learn more about — and support the work of — Magis Americas, visit magisamericas.org, give.magisamericas.org/supporthaiti and https://www.jesuits.org/stories/support-the-jesuits-relief-effort-in-haiti/.

Nobody in the history of swimming has been as good at freestyle as our guest today is. Katie Ledecky is the literal GOAT (Greatest Of All Time), as she is the world record holder in the women's 400-, 800-and 1500-meter freestyle. (If you're an American who prefers yards to meters, Katie also has the fastest-ever times in the women's 500-, 1000-, 1500- and 1650-yard freestyle events.) Katie is just back from her third Olympics, where she won two gold medals and two silvers. In addition to dominating in the pool, she also has some great Jesuit connections: Katie's godfather is a Jesuit priest named Fr. Jim Shea, SJ, and Katie has also lent her voice and platform to the urgent work of the Jesuit Refugee Service. She talked with host Mike Jordan Laskey about those Jesuit connections and her Catholic faith, plus some swimming stuff -- like what’s going through her head as she swims a grueling 1500-meter race. Learn more about the Jesuit Refugee Service here: https://www.jrsusa.org/ AMDG is a production of the Jesuit Conference of Canada and the United States. Don't forget to subscribe wherever you get podcasts, and leave us a nice review on iTunes!

Back in the innocent days of February 2020, host Mike Jordan Laskey sent a Twitter message to author Nick Ripatrazone in reply to a tweet Nick posted about reading the Graham Greene novel "The Power and the Glory" for Lent, which is something he does every year. What if we invited others to read along with us and talk about it online? Mike asked. Nick was up for it and the Jesuit Book Club was born. Since then, the Jesuit Book Club has hosted a series of live events featuring conversations with some of today’s best authors who are rooted in the Catholic literary tradition, including Alice McDermott, Kirstin Valdez Quade and Phil Klay. For this summer’s Jesuit Book Club selection, we read Nick's own most recent book, which is titled "Wild Belief: Poets and Prophets in the Wilderness." The book traces the theme of wilderness through the work of almost a dozen writers in creative and surprising ways. This time, instead of a live event, the Jesuit Book Club discussion is happening as an episode of AMDG. Mike and Nick discuss the work of three of the writers Nick focuses on in his book: Gerard Manley Hopkins, William Everson and Mary Oliver. Join us in October for our next book and live author event with a very special guest (Nick announces who it is during this episode!). If you can't wait that long, check out jesuits.org/bookclub to sign up for the virtual gathering.

There’s a series of Star Wars books called From A Certain Point of View. Two have been released to date, each to celebrate the 40th anniversary of Star Wars: A New Hope and Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back, respectively. Each book contains 40 short stories from 40 different authors assuming the perspective of 40 different, minor characters from those classic films. The whole idea is to give readers a new glimpse into an old story—to retell that classic tale “from a certain point of view.” The Ignatian Year—this anniversary celebration of St. Ignatius’ conversion in which we find ourselves—invites us to “see all things new in Christ.” We’re invited to contemplate St. Ignatius’ story in new ways, to look upon his conversion and his legacy with the eyes of Christ—and then to turn that same gaze on ourselves, our own lives. How is Christ using Ignatius’ story to inform and inspire our own? For those of you who have read St. Ignatius’ autobiography, you know that the pages are full of minor characters—women and men who cross Ignatius’ path ever so briefly and yet leave behind a profound impact. Here at the Jesuit Conference, we thought one way to consider Ignatius’ story anew would be to explore the perspectives of these other characters: how they saw Ignatius, what they were thinking about as they encountered saint. It’s still the story of St. Ignatius—from a certain point of view. And so, we invited authors to submit their stories. And today, I’m really excited to share the work of two authors—and my conversations with them. The first of our authors is Ryan Carroll, a PhD student in English and Comparative Literature at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill. He is a longtime enthusiast of Ignatian spirituality, having first become involved through the Ignatian Spirituality Ministry at Holy Trinity Catholic Church in Washington, D.C. His story is titled, “The Pilgrim’s Book,” and it’s an extended meditation on the life of the book itself—the book that stirred Ignatius’ own conversion. Our second author is John Dougherty, is a Catholic writer and campus minister with over a decade of experience in Jesuit education. His work has appeared in America Magazine and Millennial Journal. He lives in New Jersey with his wife and children. His story, “The Provincial and the Pilgrim,” puts us in the shoes of the Franciscan friar responsible for turning Ignatius away when the would-be saint sought to live and work in Jerusalem. Both stories are beautiful opportunities to pray with the story of St. Ignatius, to “see all things new in Christ.” You can read these stories at Jesuits.org/pilgrim-stories – or, click on the link in the notes.

During this Ignatian Year—this 500th anniversary of the conversion of St. Ignatius—a lot has been said about “cannonball moments.” The phrase comes from Ignatius’ own life story: he’s struck in the leg by a cannonball at the Battle of Pamplona. It’s that injury and its subsequent, painful recovery that confines Ignatius to bed and ultimately presents him with the opportunity to read and reflect on the life of Christ and the saints. We talk about this cannonball moment because it’s so jarring; it literally knocks Ignatius off his feet, off the trajectory he’d set for his life, and forces him to look anew at what God is inviting him to do with his life. From that cannonball moment, we get the Society of Jesus, the Spiritual Exercises and countless other good fruits. And, as a result, we’re invited to consider similar moments in our lives—when have we been struck by cannonballs; when have we had our life turned around by God? These are all good and worthy questions—and this year provides us with ample opportunity to reflect on our own ongoing conversions. We’re invited to see all things new in Christ. And yet, there’s a temptation to sanitize the cannonball moment, to forget that Ignatius—then, Inigo de Loyola—was a prideful man who led his soldiers to their deaths; whose cannonball moment was a bloody, gruesome affair, and who suffered from trauma and guilt in the many months and years that followed. This, too, is what it means to experience a cannonball moment—and we must look at the story honestly, fully, lest we risk offending or alienating those among us who have also experienced such trauma. This is the theme of today’s episode. Fr. Rob McChesney, SJ, joins us again to discuss how Ignatian spirituality and the person of St. Ignatius can help us process trauma, can help us accompany those who have experienced trauma and, ultimately, how a fuller understanding of what a cannonball moment represents might bring us closer to God. A warning: the subject matter today is heavy; we do dig into trauma and its effects, particularly where veterans and sexual abuse survivors are concerned. We hear from one combat veteran, Bob Macpherson, who shares his story of trauma and Ignatian spirituality. You can learn more about Bob and read his book at https://www.robertseamusmacpherson.com/. As a final note, Fr. Rob makes mention of several meditations found within The Spiritual Exercises. We encourage you to visit the Office of Ignatian Spirituality’s page on the Exercises to learn more. Go to https://jesuitseastois.org/spiritualexercises.

Today’s guest might make you reexamine everything you think you know about the current state of the Catholic Church in the USA. Fr. Tom Gaunt, SJ, is a Jesuit priest and the executive director of the Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate (CARA). Since it was founded in 1964, CARA has conducted hundreds of social science studies of the Catholic Church. If you want to know how many priests were ordained last year, or how many Catholics go to Mass weekly vs. once or twice a year, CARA is the place to go. Host Mike Jordan Laskey asked Fr. Tom for a bird’s eye view of the state of the church, and that overview provided surprising stats time after time. Be ready to be surprised. Learn more about CARA: https://cara.georgetown.edu/ AMDG is a production of the Jesuit Conference of Canada and the United States. Subscribe to AMDG wherever you get podcasts, and leave us a nice review on iTunes.

"Every child matters," reads Rosella Kinoshameg's fluorescent orange tee-shirt. The shirt is part of a national movement to recognize the harmful history of Indigenous residential schools in Canada. Rosella's shirt commemorates the thousands of children who were compelled to attend these schools, where practicing Indigenous cultures or languages was forbidden in an effort to assimilate children into white culture. Indigenous communities in Canada and the U.S. are still grappling with the impacts of this history. Co-host MegAnne Liebsch talks to Rosella about the ongoing trauma in her community, an Ojibwe First Nation reservation on Manitoulin Island, Canada. Rosella also shares moments of joy from her vast ministry with the Anishinabe Spiritual Centre, which is a work of the Jesuits of Canada. For her, Indigenous and Catholic traditions go hand in hand. Both energize her to serve the community on Manitoulin Island. And her wisdom is widely sought. As she told me, when something happens—a baby’s birth or a loved one’s death—she is one of the first calls that people make. To learn more about the Anishinabe Spiritual Centre visit: https://www.anishinabespiritualcentre.ca/ In the U.S., Congress is currently considering a bill that would create a Truth and Healing Commission on U.S. Indigenous boarding school policy. The Jesuits, alongside six other faith groups that formerly ran boarding schools for Indigenous students, have endorsed this legislation. We ask you to join us in supporting this commission. Learn more at https://www.jesuits.org/stories/jesuits-endorse-bill-to-establish-a-truth-and-healing-commission-on-us-indian-boarding-school-policy/.

The National Basketball Association season starts next week. If you flip on a marquee matchup on ESPN or ABC sometime this fall, you’ll probably hear the voice of today's guest: play-by-play announcer Mike Breen. Mike is widely regarded as one of the best announcers in the world in any sport. He informs without overexplaining. He shows excitement and love of the game without being cheesy. He perfectly captures the energy in the arena for those of us watching at home. It’s no surprise he has announced the NBA finals a record fifteen times and received the top media award from the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2020. Mike is a proud alumnus of Fordham University and a deeply committed Catholic. Host Mike Jordan Laskey asked him about what he loved the most about returning to the arena after announcing dozens of games from his house during the pandemic. They also talked about all the work that goes into the job of announcing games in the hours and days before a big game starts. They also discussed Mike Breen's faith and his time at Fordham. Learn more about Mike Breen: https://espnpressroom.com/us/bios/breen_mike/ AMDG is a production of the Jesuit Conference of Canada and the United States. Subscribe to AMDG wherever you get podcasts.

Jesuit-educated actress Siobhan Fallon Hogan has had an incredibly busy acting career over the last three decades, from appearing in Saturday Night Live and Seinfeld in the early 1990s to roles in movies like Forrest Gump, Men in Black and the Lars Von Trier musical drama Dancer in the Dark. Most recently, she made her screenwriting debut with a movie called Rushed. Siobhan also stars in the film as an Irish Catholic mother in upstate New York who has to figure out how to respond to a tragic fraternity hazing incident that strikes her family. Host Mike Jordan Laskey asked Siobhan about what it was like to try screenwriting for the first time, and how she prepares for a dramatic role versus a comedic one. They also talked about her strong Catholic faith and how her home parish pitched in to the filming of Rushed in a few awesome ways. Finally, they got into her Jesuit education at LeMoyne College in Syracuse, New York, plus how she managed raising three kids while working an extremely full schedule that took her all over the world. AMDG is a production of the Jesuit Conference of Canada and the United States. Subscribe to AMDG wherever you get podcasts.

The sculpture looks so much like a homeless man, people have called the cops on it. It’s a life-size sculpture of a person huddled under a blanket on a park bench. Get close to the artwork in any cities that have a copy of it, like Toronto or Rome, and look at the feet. You’ll find two wounds carved into the bronze, the only signs that the person show here is Jesus himself. It’s a powerful and challenging sculpture inspired by the 25th chapter of the Gospel of Matthew, when Jesus tells his disciples that whenever they feed the hungry or visit the prisoner, they’re caring for Christ himself. The artist behind the homeless Jesus statue is Timothy Schmalz, a devout Catholic from Canada who uses sculpture as a ministry. Tim is an absolutely prolific sculptor, usually starting his day in his studio at 4am. He creates large, visually arresting works that are on display all over the world, including a recent piece for the Vatican called "Angels Unawares," which is 20 feet long and depicts more than 140 migrants and refugees. Most recently, Tim has finished a series of 100 sculptures depicting all 100 cantos of Dante’s Divine Comedy. Host Mike Jordan Laskey asked him why he decided to take on such a massive project and how he approaches sculpting as a spiritual practice. Tim is so good at taking us into the mind and heart of the artist, and his reflections will probably have you Googling where you can find a sculpture of his near your own hometown. Timothy Schmalz: https://www.sculpturebytps.com/ Divine Comedy sculptures: https://www.dantesculpture.com/ AMDG is a production of the Jesuit Conference of Canada and the United States. Subscribe to AMDG wherever you listen to podcasts.

The early days of November give us ample opportunity to celebrate holy women and men. November 1st is All Saints’ Day; November 2nd is All Souls Day. And November 5th is the Feast of All Saints and Blessed of the Society of Jesus. But how many Jesuit saints do you really know? If you went to a Jesuit school, you can probably name a few – maybe you lived in Gonzaga Hall or went to class in a building named Campion. But for many of us, our familiarity with Jesuit saints begins and ends with a guy named Ignatius. That stops today with our guest, Jesuit historian Fr. Tim O’Brien, the newly named Director of Mission Initiatives at the College of the Holy Cross. Tim introduces us to a noble-turned-Jesuit-turned-diplomat, a carpenter that saved priests — and orchestrated jail breaks – and martyrs that led to a global showdown over what means to go on mission. Host Eric Clayton and Tim tackle geopolitics and clashes of religious identities that shaped the world stage. And all these saints – Francis Borgia, Nick Owen and the martyrs of Nagasaki – lived and worked and died less than 100 years after the Society of Jesus was founded. Not bad for a new religious order. If you like what you hear, why not subscribe or give us a kind rating? Why not tell your friends? And, if you’re really looking for more, why not join our weekly mailing list at Jesuits.org/weekly.

Last month, Pope Francis officially launched a two-year process of reflection and listening called a Synod of Bishops. Synods bring church leaders together to discuss and act on important topics related to the life of faith, and this edition is about the concept of synodality itself. Synodality is a big, obscure word, and our guest, Sr. Nathalie Becquart, is one of the most qualified people in the world to explain it. Sr. Nathalie is a Xaviere sister from France and has a background in youth ministry. Earlier this year, Pope Francis named her an undersecretary of the Synod of Bishops, which is a fancy way of saying she is helping to run the whole process and, in a historic first, she will be the first woman in the history of the church to have a right to vote in the synod. This first year of the synod will include church leaders listening to the faithful all over the world, and this gathered wisdom will shape the meetings of bishops and other leaders in Rome in 2023. In addition to asking Sr. Nathalie to help explain synodality, host Mike Jordan Laskey asked her about her biggest hopes and fears as the process unfolds. AMDG is a production of the Jesuit Conference of Canada and the United States. Subscribe to AMDG wherever you get podcasts.

Today's episode is about storytelling, imagination and prayer -- three things St. Ignatius of Loyola saw as interconnected. Fr. Bill Cain, SJ, has a rather intimidating bio: He’s a Peabody and Writers’ Guild award winning screenwriter who has worked on several films and television shows, including Nothing Sacred, Thicker Than Blood, and more. His work for theater includes Equivocation, 9 Circles, Stand-Up Tragedy and How To Write A New Book For The Bible. He received the 2009 and 2010 Steinberg/American Theatre Critics Association New Play Award, and is the only writer to receive the award in sequential years. There’s more awards, too, and they’re all impressive. Plus, he founded the Boston Shakespeare Company, and has spent more than a few years teaching at Nativity Schools. But the reason he’s on the podcast today isn’t for any of that. He’s here because he wrote a book about Jesus Christ, a deeply moving and tender story that was so good it found its way into conversation around the dinner table of host, Eric Clayton. And that's something worth reflecting on. After all, isn’t that the nature of the Gospel? Jesus lived a life worth talking about, did things that were so remarkable people told their friends, their families, said, “Hey — you’ve got to check this guy out. He’s gonna change how you view the world.” St. Ignatius himself was so moved by the story of Christ — not the scripture, specifically, at least not at first — but by another author’s account of Jesus. And that imaginative tale is what led the soldier-turned-saint to embrace a new life, a new way of loving. So, in today's episode, consider what it means to encounter Christ through imaginative storytelling. How might such an encounter change your life?

Thanksgiving is a time of tradition. How we celebrate the holiday today probably has a lot to do with how we celebrated the holiday growing up. The foods we place on the table. The special napkins we pull out of the closet. The signature cocktail we serve our guests. The dessert – pies and brownies and more. Take a moment: How much of your Thanksgiving experience reflects the Thanksgivings that have come before, perhaps even before you were born? Tradition is important and forms us in countless ways. But sometimes, traditions can box us in. Sometimes, they limit our horizons, keep us trapped in the old ways of doing things. That’s something that our guest today thinks a lot about. Today’s conversation is with Shannon Evans, a longtime contributor to Jesuits.org and an author of a new book, Rewilding Motherhood: Your Path to an Empowered Feminine Spirituality. It’s a wide-ranging conversation: We talk about images of God that are helpful and that are limiting for mothers; the hyped-up masculinity of St. Ignatius’ writings – and how we might integrate them in a healthy, hopeful way; patriarchy and systemic oppression; and, Thanksgiving traditions. If you’re not a mother, you might be thinking: This episode isn’t for me. Well, not so fast. This is a challenging, important conversation for all of us. What I found in Shannon’s writing and thinking is a challenge to liberation, a liberation from those modes of thinking and acting that keep us from achieving our full God-given potential. We’d do well to remember that we go to God together, as a community, and if any of us is bound up and held back, then all of us are affected. Our entire community of God’s family is kept from achieving God’s dream. And so, even if you’re not a mother, you’ll be challenged by this episode to reflect on your relationship to those who are – and on your relationship with yourself, as a member of God’s family. You can purchase Shannon's book by visiting: http://www.bakerpublishinggroup.com/books/rewilding-motherhood/408781

Why do some "secular" music or art experiences feel sacred? Guest Tom Beaudoin, Ph.D., is a theology professor at Fordham University has spent a lot of his career exploring this question. He joins host Mike Jordan Laskey to talk about encountering the divine in music, plus a conversation on Tom's new research project on the effects the ancient Pantheon temple (now a church) in Rome has on its visitors. Learn more about Tom: https://sites.google.com/site/tmbeaudoin/ AMDG is a production of the Jesuit Conference of Canada and the United States. Subscribe to AMDG wherever you get podcasts.

Fr. Brian Paulson, SJ, began his ministry as president of the Jesuit Conference of Canada and the United States in September. He comes to us in DC after seven years as the provincial of the USA Midwest Province, headquartered in Chicago. Fr. Brian talked to host Mike Jordan Laskey a bit about Advent and this period of transition for him, plus Fr. Brian's big-picture vision for the Society of Jesus in the world today. Fr. Brian is a deeply spiritual and thoughtful person who absolutely loves his Jesuit vocation, traits that will undoubtedly serve him well in his new role. AMDG is a production of the Jesuit Conference of Canada and the United States. Subscribe to AMDG wherever you get podcasts.

Acclaimed memoirist and poet Mary Karr joined the Jesuit Book Club to talk about her most recent poetry collection, "Tropic of Squalor." The Zoom gathering turned into a deep spiritual conversation, full of Mary's sharp insight and humor. We hadn't planned on running the book club meeting as an AMDG podcast, but it was too good not to share. Learn more about Mary: https://www.marykarr.com/ Learn more about Jesuit Book Club facilitator Nick Ripatrazone: http://nickripatrazone.com/ Join the Jesuit Book Club on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/jesuitbookclub AMDG is a production of the Jesuit Conference of Canada and the United States. Subscribe to AMDG wherever you get podcasts.

Christmas is a weird time of year. No other season is such a potent combination of stuff happening. You have family traditions and maybe drama…definitely a whole lot of feelings. There’s consumerism and anti-consumerism. Heck there’s a whole soundtrack we share and bicker over. Plus, for Catholics and other Christians, there's the whole Jesus as God incarnate thing. To help host Mike Jordan Laskey sort it all is the great writer Simcha Fisher. Simcha is a columnist for America Magazine and a couple other places and the author of the book "The Sinner’s Guide to Natural Family Planning." She and her husband have ten kids, and she is uniquely good at writing about everyday life and big theological points so accessibly and hilariously. She offers lots of good insight into the season, no matter how crazy or calm your Christmas is this year. Simcha Fisher: https://www.simchafisher.com/ AMDG is a production of the Jesuit Conference of Canada and United States. Subscribe to AMDG wherever you get podcasts.

This week on AMDG, we're bringing you a special cross-over episode from our colleagues at the Jesuit Border Podcast. Hosted by two Jesuits, Fathers Brian Strassburger and Louie Hotop, this podcast explores the Catholic response to humanitarian needs on the U.S.-Mexico Border. Since the summer of 2021, Louie and Brian have been working in the Rio Grande Valley, providing aid and spiritual companionship to migrants there. Now, they're telling the stories of the border through interviews with local leaders. On this week's episode, they talk with Sr. Norma Pimentel, a powerhouse of advocacy and service in the Rio Grande Valley since the 1980s. She currently serves as the executive director of Catholic Charities in the Valley. Subscribe to the Jesuit Border Podcast: https://thejesuitpost.org/2021/11/the-jesuit-border-podcast/

Hosts Mike Jordan Laskey and Eric Clayton kick off the new year by reflecting on some Ignatian spiritual principles that can guide us as we navigate 2022.

Listen to our new Ignatian retreat, a four-part series of ten minute audio modules, written and narrated by Ryan Carroll, a PhD student at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill. Take time to pray as you begin this new year. New episodes drop every Monday in January.

This Saturday, January 22, Father Rutilio Grande, SJ – along with laymen Manuel Solórzano and Nelson Rutilio Lemus – will be beatified in San Salvador, El Salvador. All three men are martyrs, killed in 1977. Fr. Grande, though, was the first priest assassinated before the Salvadoran Civil War began. And, he was a close friend of Archbishop and saint, Óscar Romero. Fr. Arturo Sosa – the superior of the Society of Jesus – wrote about Fr. Grande and his upcoming beatification: “Father Grande, born in the small town of El Paisnal on 5 January 1928, was a Jesuit of unsuspected religious and human depth. In his weakness he found his greatness. He lived much of his life in the silence and humility of those who are becoming, step by step, companions of Jesus.” Fr. Sosa goes on to describe the circumstances in El Salvador during Grande’s time: “The growing awareness of the need to promote a transformation of the inhuman circumstances of life of the peasant majority, a situation caused by the unjust structures of Salvadoran society, sparked the social and political struggles of this convulsive period in the history of this Central American country. Many members of the ecclesial communities participated actively in the social and political struggle. For Father Rutilio, his team, and his close collaborators, who were committed because of their faith to the struggle for the justice of the Gospel, there was a clear distinction between pastoral work and partisan political militancy.” Finally, Fr. Sosa writes: “The Church, in recognizing the martyrdom of Rutilio, Manuel, and Nelson, judges that their lives were taken because of the faith that gave their lives meaning, the faith to which they gave witness by shedding their blood.” Today, to help commemorate the life and legacy of Fr. Rutilio Grande, author and poet and Jesuits.org columnist, Cameron Bellm, is back on the podcast. She’s just finished a new devotional entitled, “No Unlikely Saints: A Mental Health Pilgrimage with Sacred Company.” In it, she devotes a chapter to Fr. Grande and his struggles with mental health. She shares what she learned about him in preparing this book, as well as why it’s important to weave this part of his story into his lasting legacy. Find her book here: https://brickhouseinthecity.com/product/no-unlikely-saints-a-mental-health-pilgrimage-with-sacred-company/

Growing up in an abusive household, Issac Sneed wasn’t allowed to have friends. He learned to fend for himself. As an adult, he kept people at arm’s length. For years, he struggled with substance abuse and, at times, lived on the streets. While staying in a homeless shelter, he began attending reflection circles with Ignatian Spirituality Project (ISP)—a Jesuit ministry across the U.S., Canada and Ireland. With ISP, Issac began his journey of recovery. “They validated me and affirmed me, in a way that I had never been validated and affirmed in my own family,” Issac says. Now, a decade later, he leads weekly reflection programs and retreats with ISP Boston. On this episode, host MegAnne Liebsch explores how Ignatian Spirituality Project offers spiritual companionship to people facing homelessness and substance addiction. She talks to alumni leaders like Issac, as well as volunteers and ISP staff about their cannonball moments, transformative friendships, and why St. Ignatius is so relatable. _____________________________ For more information about ISP: Ignatian Spirituality Project provides spiritual retreat and reflection programs at shelters and recovery centers in cities across the US, Canada and Ireland. Learn more about how you can help their mission: www.ispretreats.org Check out this video on ISP produced by MegAnne Liebsch: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tuxSNNq8yTM

Listen to our new Ignatian retreat, a four-part series of ten minute audio modules, written and narrated by Ryan Carroll, a PhD student at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill. Take time to pray as you begin this new year. New episodes drop every Monday in January.

Listen to our new Ignatian retreat, a four-part series of ten minute audio modules, written and narrated by Ryan Carroll, a PhD student at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill. Take time to pray as you begin this new year. New episodes drop every Monday in January.

Listen to our new Ignatian retreat, a four-part series of ten minute audio modules, written and narrated by Ryan Carroll, a PhD student at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill. Missed an episode of this prayer retreat? Find this and other digital retreats at https://www.jesuits.org/spirituality/ignatian-digital-retreats/.

John W. Miller was a successful journalist with the Wall Street Journal, covering all sorts of topics all over the planet. A few years ago, he gave it all up for an extremely different path. He tells host Mike Jordan Laskey about the spiritual journey that led him to co-directing his first feature film, the documentary "Moundsville," which tells the story of a small West Virginia town on the Ohio River. John also discusses a series of articles he wrote for America Magazine on economics and Catholic social teaching. In the conversation, John moves seamlessly between personal stories and high-level social analysis, peppering in plenty of Ignatian spirituality along the way. If you haven't encountered John or his work before, he's an incredible person to get to know. Watch "Moundsville": https://www.pbs.org/show/moundsville/ Learn more about the town: https://moundsville.org/ Read John in America Magazine: https://www.americamagazine.org/voices/john-w-miller Learn more about John: https://www.johnwmiller.org/

Ana Grande's great uncle was Fr. Rutilio Grande, SJ, a Jesuit from El Salvador who was just beatified last month. (Beatification is the final step before canonized sainthood in the church, and we can call him Blessed Rutilio now.) Blessed Rutilio was assassinated by El Salvador's security forces in 1977 for his ministry and community organizing with impoverished farmers. He was good friends with Archbishop Oscar Romero, and Rutilio’s death sparked Romero’s own conversion from a reserved leader who preferred to stay away from controversy into an outspoken prophet for peace and justice. Ana spoke with host Mike Jordan Laskey just a few hours after she had returned to her home in Los Angeles from Fr. Rutilio’s beatification. She talked about was like to be there for the ceremony, plus what it's like to have someone in your own family so close to sainthood. Ana has so clearly been inspired by Blessed Rutilio’s work for justice herself, as she has dedicated her life to social justice causes like immigration reform. She’s also a longtime member of Blessed Sacrament Church, the Jesuit parish in Hollywood. It's a privilege to hear from Ana about her experience at the beatification and how she thinks her great uncle’s legacy can inspire all of us today. Follow Ana Grande on Twitter: https://twitter.com/MsAnaGrande AMDG is a production of the Jesuit Conference of Canada and the United States. Subscribe to AMDG wherever you get podcasts.

Dorothy Day is among the most inspiring, challenging and holy American Catholics ever. As the Jesuit peace activist Daniel Berrigan said, Dorothy "lived as if the truth were true." There were no half-measures with her. The co-founder of the Catholic Worker Movement, Dorothy put her faith into action in pursuit of social justice with so much passion and heart and intelligence that she’s now up for canonization in the church. Late last year, the Archdiocese of New York packed up hundreds of pounds of materials in support of her cause. The packages contain her published and unpublished writings, plus transcripts of interviews with people who knew her. There are books about her. A couple of DVDs of movies about her. Just an incredible volume of stuff. And the person in charge of collecting and organizing all this material is our guest, Jeff Korgen, who has been involved in social justice work in the church for decades. For the past seven years, Jeff has been learning about Dorothy and preparing all these documents for the Vatican. Officials in Rome will look through it all and study to see if Dorothy might take the next step toward canonization. Host Mike Jordan Laskey asked Jeff to explain the process and share the highlights from what he learned on his journey with Dorothy and those who knew her. It's a fascinating look behind the curtain of how a saint is made. Even better than learning about the process, though, was getting to hear Jeff talk about Dorothy and her witness. If you learn about Dorothy Day and then go back to living your life just as you had before, you’re missing the point. Her radical commitment to the Gospel and to those living in poverty invite all of us to discern how we can serve the Lord by working for peace and justice. AMDG is a production of the Jesuit Conference of Canada and the United States. You can subscribe to AMDG wherever you get podcasts.

Lent is only a few weeks away. But before you panic about what to do during these upcoming forty days of prayer, fasting and almsgiving, listen to the advice of spiritual author Gary Jansen. Gary is the author of several spirituality books, including his latest, “MicroShifts: Transforming Your Life One Step At A Time.” Throughout his career as a writer, editor and publisher, Gary has devoted a lot of writing and thinking to the intersection of spirituality and human potential. In “MicroShifts,” Gary grapples with the question: What would our lives look like if we lived fifteen minutes out of each day for something beyond ourselves? What changes could we make – in our lives and in the lives of those around us? The act of microshifting, as Gary explains, can affect any and all aspects of our lives – and so, this conversation spans all sorts of things, from Daoism to ghosts, from social media to Ignatian spirituality. Ultimately, this conversation will help you get ready for Lent, and the spiritual disciplines and opportunities it presents. And, as a bonus, throughout the month of February, you can download Gary's book, "MicroShifts," for free. Visit this link: https://amzn.to/3gDN6pi Learn more about Gary and his work at his website: https://www.garyjansen.com/

One of the most interesting developments in the Jesuit world these days is the emergence of a field called “Ignatian leadership.” The concept comes from the belief that Ignatian spirituality has a huge amount to offer leaders today, whether or not they’re working in “religious” contexts. A lot of those Jesuit concepts that have been at the heart of the order since its founding can be incredibly helpful to leaders today. Think things like discernment, freedom and prayerful reflection through practices like the daily examen. There’s a lot to dig into here. One of the flagship programs promoting Ignatian leadership is called Contemplative Leaders in Action (CLA). CLA gathers young adults in cities across the country for study, reflection and hands-on leadership experiences rooted in the Jesuit tradition. Today’s guest heads up the CLA program and several other Ignatian young adult ministry efforts. His name is Sean Sanford, and he is the director of leadership and young adult programs for the Office of Ignatian Spirituality of the USA East Jesuit province. Whether you’re managing people at work or trying to help raise kids or just trying to have better relationships with the people in your life, Sean offers some helpful elements from the Ignatian tradition that can help all of us live richer, more holistic lives. Office of Ignatian Spirituality: https://jesuitseastois.org/ Ignatian Young Adult Ministries: https://ignatianyoungadults.org/ AMDG is a production of the Jesuit Conference of Canada and the United States. Subscribe to AMDG wherever you get podcasts.

Today’s guest, Fr. Andrew Laguna, SJ, is a vocation promoter in the US West Jesuit Province. The term “vocation promoter” is probably one few of us have heard before — unless, of course, we’ve been discerning religious life. But the term and title go back to the earliest days of the Jesuits. Early Jesuits were understandably concerned with growing the nascent Society of Jesus. One of those men was Fr. Jerome Nadal, one of Ignatius’ early companions and a key architect in the development of the Jesuit identity. From Fr. John O’Malley’s classic text, “The First Jesuits:” “The Jesuits did not passively wait for young men to knock on their doors. By 1562, Nadal rather expected each community to have a promotor who would be especially charged with keeping his eyes open for likely candidates and guiding those who came seeking. He stressed that every Jesuit needed to do his part to see that ‘as many as possible of the very best’ entered the Society… Although Jesuits were to respect the freedom of the inquirer, Nadal provided a program of prayer, reading, conversation and reflection to be used to nurture a call if it was there. … In Nadal’s questionnaire and the autobiographical accounts that survive, Jesuits mentioned being attracted specifically to the Society over other orders by the Jesuits’ cheerfulness, refinement and graciousness.” (55) There are a few points in O’Malley’s text that are particularly relevant to us today. First, Fr. Arturo Sosa, the superior general of the Society of Jesus, has challenged us all to build up a culture of vocation. What does that mean? Sure, more Jesuits invite more young men to join the Society. But it also means we all become more aware and appreciative of our own unique vocations. Second, Pope Francis has often called on us to be joyful in the living out of our Christian vocation. Are we? Is “joy” a word people use to describe us in our daily lives? As you listen to Fr. Laguna talk about the work of vocation promotion, reflect on his own vocation and share stories of Jesuit life, you’ll glimpse some of these points: a culture in which vocation is celebrated and joy is paramount. You’ll quickly learn that the work of a vocation promoter is not the same as the work of a salesperson or recruiter. No – rather, a vocation promoter in 2022 is exactly that: Someone who helps people of all sorts discover who God has invited them to be. If you would like to get in touch with a vocation promoter, head over to beajesuit.org.

Well, Lent is here. Hooray. To be honest, it feels like the last thing we need right now is 40 days of fasting and penance and just the general heaviness that comes with this season. We’ve been living in a perpetual state of Lent for two years now. So host Mike Jordan Laskey called up his friend Fr. Paddy Gilger, SJ. Fr. Paddy is a sociology professor at Loyola Chicago and a super thoughtful person. He suggested we reframe what the season is all about in the first place. His insights are so helpful and consoling if you’d rather just skip straight to Easter this year. Fr. Paddy was also the founding editor in chief of the Jesuit Post back in 2012, the wonderful culture and religion website that’s run by young Jesuits to this day. So we had to get his music and movie and reading recommendations for Lent. His picks are linked below. All of our hearts are especially heavy as this Lent begins due to the horrifying war underway in Ukraine. Pray and act here: https://www.jesuits.org/stories/pray-and-act-for-ukraine/ Fr. Paddy’s Lenten picks: “Come Healing” by Leonard Cohen: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MUB1O2cT2gM Springsteen on Broadway: https://www.netflix.com/title/80232329 “Ecce Homo” by Xavier le Pichon: https://onbeing.org/blog/xavier-le-pichon-ecce-homo-behold-humanity/ AMDG is a production of the Jesuit Conference of Canada and the United States.

All of us have been watching Russia’s invasion of Ukraine with feelings of horror and sadness and helplessness. There have also been incredibly moving stories of the resilience and compassion of the Ukrainian people, who have been living under existential threat for years and years. It was our absolute privilege at AMDG to welcome one of Ukraine’s leading Catholic theologians last week. Pavlo Smytsnyuk is the director of the Institute of Ecumenical Studies at the Ukrainian Catholic University in Lviv, a city in the western part of Ukraine. Pavlo has been in New York for a few months researching for a book, but his parents and colleagues are in Ukraine. He doesn’t know when he’ll be able to make it home. Now, in addition to his research, Pavlo wakes up early in the morning and spends hours on calls with his colleagues at the university and other faith leaders in Ukraine, helping to coordinate the faith community’s response to the war. Pavlo is an expert on the religious makeup of Ukraine, which is one of the more religiously diverse countries in Europe. If you want to learn more about Ukraine, the religious landscape there is absolutely essential context. The son of a Ukraininan Greek Catholic priest, Pavlo has also been deeply formed by the Jesuits: He got his bachelor’s degree at the Gregorian University in Rome and his doctorate at the University of Oxford’s Campion Hall, which is run by the Jesuits. Pavlo is among the most impressive people you will ever hear from – he could’ve done an equally insightful interview in seven other languages besides English. His devotion to his faith and his country and sharp intelligence shined through his whole conversation with host Mike Jordan Laskey. Please keep Pavlo and his family and friends in your prayers. AMDG is a production of the Jesuit Conference of Canada and the United States.

This week, we celebrate the Feast of St. Patrick…St. Patrick’s Day. But too often, we reduce this day to a round of green beer and shamrock-themed t-shirts. Let’s go a little deeper. Our guest today is author Julianne Stanz. Julianne is a nationally known speaker, retreat leader, storyteller, and the Director of New Evangelization for the Diocese of Green Bay and a consultant to the USCCB Committee on Catechesis and Evangelization. In her new book, “Braving the Thin Places: Celtic Wisdom to Create a Space for Grace,” she draws on her Celtic roots to weave together a spirituality that can help us all navigate these challenging times. And, she throws in a few great stories about St. Patrick for good measure. If you want to check out her book, visit https://store.loyolapress.com/braving-the-thin-places

Kathy Powell is currently the Creative Director, working with Becky Eldredge, LLC | Ignatian Ministries. But ever since the loss of her first child, Francis, through miscarriage, Kathy has dedicated a great deal of time and energy to walking with families who have had to lay their babies to rest all to soon. In this episode, we hear Kathy’s story. We learn from her how to walk with others. And this is important because there’s a good chance you know someone whose pregnancy has ended in a loss. Maybe you’re that person. And if so, this episode is for you. St. Catherine of Sweden, whose feast day is March 24, is the patron saint of miscarriage. Kathy tells us a little about Catherine and how her legacy helped in a moment of darkness. We end our episode in prayer: Kathy leads us through an examen for a day of crisis. Whether that day was last week or ten years ago, whether the crisis was a miscarriage or something else, take this time for prayer. If you like the Examen of a Day of Crisis, we invite you to visit the Guided Audio Ignatian Prayer Library (https://beckyeldredge.com/guided-audio), made possible through the Ignatian Media Lab, a program of the Jesuit Conference of the US & Canada. With over 30 guided audio prayers, including an extended recording of the Examen of the Day of Crisis (https://soundcloud.com/beldredge98/examen-of-a-day-of-crisis?in=beldredge98/sets/you-are-not-alone), this is a resource for your personal prayer and one you can share with others. We know this topic is heavy. Please see the links below for more prayer & miscarriage resources. Resources from All Embrace, Inc., a Catholic organization Kathy works with to support families who have lost a child through miscarriage, stillbirth, or infant death: • For those who have suffered the loss of a child: https://allembrace.com/parents/ • For Friends & Familes: What to do (and not do) when you want to help: https://allembrace.com/family-friends/ • Stations of the Cross: Reflections from the Heart, Written by Nicole Hartman, Edited & Designed by Kathy Powell, Published by All Embrace, Inc: https://allembrace.com/product/all-embrace-stations-of-the-cross-reflections-from-the-heart/ • Series on Saints for Pregnancy & Infant Loss: https://allembrace.com/author/kathy/ More deep-water resources from Becky Eldredge, LLC | Ignatian Ministries: • Women and Men for Others: Using My Pain to Serve Grieving Families - More of Kathy’s story posted on the Into the Deep blog, exploring Ignatian Spirituality through the voices of women: https://beckyeldredge.com/women-and-men-for-others-all-embrace/ • Praying When Its Hard: Series on the Into the Deep Blog: https://beckyeldredge.com/tag/praying-when-its-hard/ • Praying with Jesus: Guided Prayers for the Triduum through Easter Monday: https://becky-eldredge1.teachable.com/p/prayingwithjesus • Prayer resources from Becky Eldredge: https://beckyeldredge.com/Resources/

Welcome to a special March Madness episode of AMDG. As of Thursday afternoon, there are three Jesuit teams left in the women’s and men’s NCAA basketball tournaments. On the women’s side, the Creighton Bluejays have made their first ever Sweet Sixteen. On the men’s side, number-one overall seed Gonzaga have secured their incredible seventh straight trip to the Sweet Sixteen. But the clear top story in all of college basketball this March is the success of the Saint Peter’s University Peacocks. A 15-seed, their men’s squad pulled off a historic upset of no. 2 Kentucky last Thursday night. The New York Times reported the disparities between the two schools’ student body size and athletic budgets and basketball history: “Kentucky has about 32,000 students, St. Peter’s approximately 2,300. Kentucky has won eight N.C.A.A. championships; St. Peter’s had never won an N.C.A.A. Tournament game before Thursday. St. Peter’s men’s basketball coach Shaheen Holloway made $266,344 in 2019; Kentucky head coach John Calipari’s base salary is $8.5 million. St. Peter’s basketball revenue was $1.6 million in 2019-20, while Kentucky’s was $29.3 million.” The Peacocks followed up their huge win with a thorough dismantling of 7-seed Murray State. They face Purdue on Friday in Philadelphia. Host Mike Jordan Laskey asked university president Dr. Gene Cornacchia what the experience has been like for Saint Peter’s, a small Jesuit university in Jersey City, NJ, that’s not used to this sort of spotlight. Dr. Cornacchia has been president at St. Peter’s since 2007, and he’s seen a lot of stuff, but nothing quite like these past few days. He accompanied the team in Indianapolis and talked about what it was like to be in the arena for the victories. But Dr. Cornacchia was even more excited to talk about the university he serves, which is one of the most diverse Catholic universities you’ll find anywhere: about three-quarters of the undergraduate student body are people of color. It ranks as New Jersey’s best-value school per US News and World Report. It’s a national leader on Money Magazine’s list of transformative schools, which means it enables students to beat the odds and produce outcomes that are better than expected given their academic and economic backgrounds. We here at the Jesuit Conference are so happy for Dr. Cornacchia and the school, and we’re glad we can help spread the word about Saint Peter’s. AMDG is a production of the Jesuit Conference of Canada and the United States.

On a given day, Fr. Damian Czerniak, SJ, faces a laundry list of responsibilities: finding Ukrainian refugees temporary housing, providing psychosocial support, assisting with paperwork, distributing funding, and maintaining contact with two Jesuit houses in Ukraine. Alongside Jesuit Refugee Service (JRS), Fr. Damian is coordinating the Jesuit response to Ukrainian refugees in Poland. Since the invasion began in February, over 2 million Ukrainians have come to Poland seeking refuge. They’ve been met with a groundswell of support from aid organizations and from local communities. Volunteers line the Ukrainian border to offer food and hugs to arriving refugees, and many families, as well as religious communities like the Jesuits, are providing Ukrainian families with temporary housing. On today’s episode of AMDG, host MegAnne Liebsch talks to Fr. Damian about this robust community-led support for refugees. They also discuss how vocation and faith have guided Fr. Damian across his life, from teaching French at Creighton Prep here in the U.S. to responding to a refugee crisis. If you want to support JRS’s work in Poland, click here: https://www.jesuitsmidwest.org/support-us/donate-now/ If you wish to donate directly to the Jesuits in Poland, please email Fr. Damian at damianczerniak@jesuits.net. Take action for Ukrainian refugees with JRS USA: https://www.jrsusa.org/take-action-for-ukrainian-refugees/ AMDG is a production of the Jesuit Conference of Canada and the United States.

If you were going to make a list of the Catholic church’s problems today, maybe the word “clericalism” would be high on your list. We toss that word around a lot, but what is it, exactly? The Association of U.S. Catholic Priests defines it this way: “an expectation, leading to abuses of power, that ordained ministers are better than and should be over everyone else among the People of God.” Maybe that description brings experiences you’ve had right to the front of your mind. If you’ve spent a lot of time in different Catholic environments, you’ve probably encountered clericalism at one point or another. But in a compelling new paper in the academic journal Theological Studies, the eminent Jesuit moral theologian Fr. James Keenan argues that focusing on clericalism is missing a larger root problem. He writes that we should turn our attention to what he calls “hierarchicalism,” which he says is the “father of clericalism.” Whereas clericalism concerns the power and culture of individual priests, “hierarchicalism” is about the culture of bishops, archbishops and cardinals. This is where we should concentrate reform efforts, Fr. Keenan argues. Host Mike Jordan Laskey asked him about his paper and why he thinks this shift of thinking is so important. Fr. Keenan also discussed Russia’s war on Ukraine from his perspective as someone who studies the Catholic social justice tradition. Fr. Keenan has been a professor of theological ethics at Boston College for over 20 years, and he also serves as the university’s Vice Provost for Global Engagement and the director of the Jesuit Institute. He has an upcoming book called “A Brief History of Catholic Ethics” from Paulist Press. AMDG is a production of the Jesuit Conference of Canada and the United States.

Here’s an understatement: The last decade has been a challenging time for legacy print media. Heck, it’s been a challenging time for online media. How many of your favorite local newspapers or blogs or news websites have called it quits? You have to adapt or die, and the best ways to adapt aren’t always clear. Few people have as sharp a perspective on today’s media landscape as Fr. Matt Malone, SJ, who has been the editor in chief of America Magazine since 2012. America is the U.S. Jesuits’ more than century-old flagship publication. Under his leadership, America has transformed from “a magazine with a website” to a full-fledged multimedia company, boasting a top-notch online presence, strong video production, and a whole collection of original podcasts. Fr. Malone’s position at America also gives him a unique birds-eye view of the Catholic Church, which might be facing even bigger challenges than legacy media is facing. As he prepares for the end of his tenure at America in December, it was fascinating to hear his takes on the last decade and what roles a Catholic media company like America can play in our polarized culture. As we share this interview with America Magazine’s current editor-in-chief, we remember one of Fr. Malone’s predecessors, Fr. Drew Christiansen, SJ, who died last week at the age of 77. Fr. Christiansen was an eminent global politics scholar and led the magazine from 2005 until Fr. Malone took the reigns in 2012. In a lovely remembrance posted on America’s website, Fr. Jim Martin remembered his old editor as someone who was “smart, thoughtful, consultative, wise and kind. “That last trait was the most important. Drew was an exceedingly kind person, always asking after you, after your family, wondering how your writing was going, recommending books or articles he thought you would like, offering you help whenever he could. Kind, mild, friendly, peaceable, self-effacing, generous.” May he rest in peace. AMDG is a production of the Jesuit Conference of Canada and the United States.

As you might have heard, the Catholic Church is in the middle of a long, global consultation process on the theme of “synodality,” a fancy-sounding theological word that means “on the way together.” Synodality is a way of doing church that emphasizes things like listening, shared leadership responsibilities between ordained and lay faithful, and reading and responding to the signs of the times. One of the Jesuits helping the church think about how synodality is lived out is Fr. James Hanvey, SJ. Fr. Hanvey is a theologian and serves as the Secretary for the Service of Faith at the Jesuit Curia in Rome. He’s also on a couple of Vatican committees supporting the work of the synod, including one examining the spirituality of synodality. That group has just released a document on Biblical resources for synodality: Where in Scripture do we hear the call to this way of doing church? Host Mike Jordan Laskey asked Fr. Hanvey about this work and how Ignatian spirituality might contribute to our building a synodal church together. Read “Biblical Resources for Synodality”: https://www.synod.va/en/news/biblical-resources-for-synodality.html "Faith Dimensions," the website of the Jesuits' global Secretariat for the Service of Faith: https://dimensions.faith/ AMDG is a production of the Jesuit Conference of Canada and the United States.

Casey Stanton is the founding co-director of a new initiative called Discerning Deacons, which is engaging Catholics from all over the world around the question of ordaining women to the permanent diaconate in our church. Just to be clear from the start, they’re not talking about ordaining women to the Catholic priesthood, which is a totally different topic. This question about women deacons is more open – it’s in the realm of the possible. Pope Francis has called a commission to discern this very question. And Casey and her team are working with Catholics to empower them to participate in this discernment process. Listen to Casey for just a few minutes and you’ll see that she embodies the “diaconal” spirit: she is an expert speaker and preacher; she is utterly devoted to the communal prayer of the church; she is a practitioner of Gospel-centered social justice. She just can’t train to be ordained a Catholic deacon – yet – because she’s a woman. Her perspective is equal parts frustrating, inspiring, and hope-filled. Learn more about Discerning Deacons: https://discerningdeacons.org/ AMDG is a production of the Jesuit Conference of Canada and the United States.

After college and a stint as an elementary school teacher, Annie Phoenix was looking for volunteer opportunities with prison education programs. But there really weren’t any education programs in Louisiana prisons. So, she decided to start one. Annie co-founded multiple initiatives aimed at expanding education access to people who are incarcerated. Through her non-profit Operation Restoration, Annie and her team provide, educational tools, creative programming, and immediate social services to formerly incarcerated women. Most recently, she was appointed executive director of the Jesuit Social Research Institute (or JSRI) at Loyola University New Orleans. Founded by Jesuit Fr. Fred Kammer, JSRI works to transform the Gulf South through analysis, education, and advocacy on the issues of poverty, race and migration. Along with JSRI and Loyola staff, Annie is spearheading a new educational program for incarcerated men in Louisiana. Host MegAnne Liebsch talks to Annie about the new role and lessons she's learned along the way. Learn more about JSRI's work: https://jsri.loyno.edu/ Check out Operation Restoration: https://www.or-nola.org/ Get in touch with Annie: alphoeni@loyno.edu

If you head over to the new website, outreach.faith, you’ll find these words to greet you: “Welcome. God loves you.” (At least, that’s what it says as of recording.) That’s not a terribly novel concept, right? And yet, for so many people in our Church, those words are foreign. And too many folks in the LGBTQ+ community may have never heard those words at all. That’s what Outreach is all about — making sure every member of the LGBTQ+ community knows God loves them. Outreach is an LGBTQ Catholic Resource and an initiative of America Media. And today’s guest, our old friend, Fr. Jim Martin, is here to talk about. If you’re familiar with Fr. Martin, you know that accompanying folks in the LGBTQ+ community is an important part of his ministry. And he’s learned a lot as a result. That’s why he knew Outreach was necessary — the chance to fill a gaping hole in the resources our Church offers. You’ll learn about Outreach and discover ways to get involved throughout our conversation. But I encourage you to head over to outreach.faith now and click around for yourself—or maybe, for someone you love. There’s a lot of great stuff to find. Visit: https://outreach.faith/

When a draft opinion by Justice Samuel Alito overturning Roe v. Wade was leaked last month, the person host Mike Jordan Laskey most wanted to interview was Gloria Purvis. Gloria is the host of the Gloria Purvis Podcast, a show produced by America Media. She’s also a longtime pro-life advocate and one of the most outspoken Catholic commentators on racism. The way she ties these two justice issues together in particular is so impressive. One common temptation for American Catholics is to try to fit our faith’s teachings into the platform of our preferred political party. For Catholics on both sides of the aisle, it’s often the case that party affiliation is a stronger predictor than Church teaching for where we’ll come down on issues like abortion, racism, immigration, economic justice, physician-assisted suicide and so many others. Gloria is a refreshing exception to this trend. You can’t fit Gloria neatly on our partisan spectrum. She spoke with Mike last week about both of these central issues to her, why they’re connected, and how she handles the vitriol and hate mail sent her way from all sides. The Gloria Purvis Podcast: https://www.americamagazine.org/gloria-purvis-podcast Follow her on Twitter: https://twitter.com/gloria_purvis The Helen M. Alvaré article Gloria mentions in the conversation: https://www.thepublicdiscourse.com/2011/01/2380/ AMDG is a production of the Jesuit Conference of Canada and the United States.

As a writer of spiritual nonfiction, one might wonder: Do any of these seemingly random stories, these anecdotes and details and bits of personal history, matter to anyone but me? What good is all this storytelling doing for other people? After all, the goal of good spiritual nonfiction isn’t to be another entry in a personal diary; it’s meant to help all people glimpse something new of their own spirituality. Our guest today helps us tackle this question — and many more. Christine Marie Eberle is the author of two books of daily meditations based on her own true personal stories. She sees her personal mission like this: she passionately connects spirituality, Scripture and everyday life. And with 26 years of experience as a campus minister under her belt, not to mention her current work as a retreat leader, it’s clear she has a wealth of stories to draw from to live out this mission. Her latest book, "Finding God Abiding" from Woodhall Press, drops us into these personal, at times humorous, at times heartbreaking, stories from her life. And it is through the utterly specific details of her life that we are drawn closer to God in our own. After all, God deals with us in the specific, not the abstract. Today's conversation with Christine is all about Ignatian storytelling, what it means to tell and share stories from the tradition of Ignatian spirituality. Hopefully you find something in this conversation that helps you explore your story in a new way — and maybe, share with others. Links discussed in today's podcast: Christine's Website: https://christine-marie-eberle.com/ Christine's Book, "Finding God Abiding": https://christine-marie-eberle.com/finding-god-abiding/ Eric's Book, "Cannonball Moments: Telling Your Story, Deepening Your Faith": https://www.amazon.com/Cannonball-Moments-Telling-Story-Deepening/dp/0829454365

There are two temptations – at least! – that we often fall into when it comes to looking at our current state of politics. On the one hand, we may be tempted to look back at some previous period and say, “Our political discourse was really good then; I wish we could go back.” We romanticize the past and ignore the challenge and struggle and oversights that we’ve muddled through to get to the present. On the other hand, we may be tempted to look at our present state – our institutions, our ideologies, our political systems – and assume we’ve made nothing but progress. Things aren’t perfect, but they’re better than they were, we may say. And as a result, we assume we have nothing to learn from what’s come before. I think – I hope! – the vast majority of us fall somewhere in between, eager to keep improving our political processes so as to represent and include more and more voices, and also curious about what worked in the past, what we might have to learn from those who have gone before. If that sounds right, then this conversation is for you. Bill McCormick is a Jesuit and scholar of political science and philosophy. He’s a frequent contributor to America Magazine, and has written a new book called “The Christian Structure of Politics.” In it, Bill takes us way back in time to the political thought of Thomas Aquinas and his work De Regno – which was a letter the saint wrote to a prince. Bill helps us think through what this obscure text written for a very different political system can say about our politics today.

One cool thing about the Jesuits is the huge number of incredible men who have served the Lord so faithfully over the centuries. A lot of these guys are so well-known you can call them by just a single name: Ignatius, Xavier, Gonzaga, Canisius, Faber, Claver, Arrupe, Teilhard, Hopkins. But there have been thousands of other fascinating Jesuits who aren’t quite as famous, and it’s always fun to learn about them. Guest Robert Ellsberg has forgotten more about saints and other holy men and women than most of us will ever know. Robert is the editor-in-chief and publisher of Orbis Books, the esteemed publishing arm of the Maryknoll order. He is also the author of “Blessed Among Us”, a column on saints and other saintly witnesses that appears in the monthly Catholic prayer resource “Give Us This Day.” He has written about over 1000 saints, both canonized and not. Host Mike Jordan Laskey wanted to know which Jesuits Robert has encountered in his research and own faith journey have inspired him the most. In particular, who are three under-known Jesuits we might all want to meet? Robert picked three three: Jean Pierre de Caussade, Alfred Delp and Walter Ciszek. The conversation also veered to Dorothy Day often, which is going to happen anytime you get Robert on the line. He served as the editor of the Catholic Worker newspaper in the final years of Dorothy Day’s life. In fact, Dorothy introduced him to the work of Jean Pierre de Caussade, and he shares that story in the episode. He also talked his famous father, Daniel Ellsberg, who in 1971 released to the press a classified document related to the United States’ history in Vietnam called the “Pentagon Papers.” His dad’s bold act of heroism had a huge impact on Robert’s life, especially in forming his strong pacifist views. Orbis Books: https://www.maryknollmagazine.org/orbis-books/ "Blessed Among Us": https://litpress.org/Products/E4745/Blessed-Among-Us Robert Ellsberg in America Magazine: https://www.americamagazine.org/voices/robert-ellsberg AMDG is a production of the Jesuit Conference of Canada and the United States.

The College of the Holy Cross in Worcester, Massachusetts, was founded in 1843. It’s the oldest Jesuit and Catholic college in New England and one of the oldest in the whole country. Despite 178 years of educating students, Holy Cross’ current president, Vincent D. Rougeau, represents two huge firsts in the history of the college: He is the first lay president and the first Black president of the school. President Rougeau and host Mike Jordan Laskey talked recently, just a few weeks after the end of his first academic year as president. President Rougeau is a legal scholar and came to Holy Cross after serving as Dean of Boston College’s Law School, and he talked about how his experience in the law has affected his views on social justice and how a Jesuit college can be a force for good in the world especially as higher ed institutions face an increasingly competitive landscape. Read President Rougeau’s work in America Magazine: https://www.americamagazine.org/voices/vincent-d-rougeau AMDG is a production of the Jesuit Conference of Canada and the United States.

Why are so many young Catholics leaving the church? And what we can do to stop that trend and maybe even reverse it? There are lots of Catholic scholars studying these questions, and one of them is our guest, Dr. Tracey Lamont. Dr. Lamont serves at Loyola University New Orleans as the interim Director of the Loyola Institute for Ministry and Assistant Professor of Religious Education and young adult ministry. The Loyola Institute for Ministry offers graduate and undergrad programs online and in person to help shape leaders in all sorts of church contexts. Tracey shared her energetic and super insightful perspectives on how we can help make our parishes and schools communities that truly welcome and empower young people. There’s no silver bullet, but we have a pretty good sense of what keeps people involved in their faith. It’s just up to all of us to work together to renew our local church cultures. Learn more about the Loyola Institute for Ministry: http://cnh.loyno.edu/lim Learn more about Dr. Lamont: http://cnh.loyno.edu/lim/bios/tracey-lamont AMDG is a production of the Jesuit Conference of Canada and the United States.

You’ve heard of FOMO – the “fear of missing out.” You’ve probably experienced it, too. It’s paralyzing. You find yourself trapped, asking the same question over and over again: What am I missing out on? And what will it mean for my future? Fr. Michael Rossmann, SJ, is back on the pod today to tweak the meaning of FOMO. His new book is called “The Freedom of Missing Out: Letting Go of Fear and Saying Yes to Life.” And rather than allow ourselves to become paralyzed by all the opportunities we inevitably say no to, Fr. Rossmann encourages us to look at this “missing out” as a chance to engage more deeply with the deepest, most important aspects of our lives. You can find his new book wherever books are sold – or follow this link: https://store.loyolapress.com/the-freedom-of-missing-out

Today on AMDG, host MegAnne Liebsch talks about how investment advocacy can stop climate change. Stick with us! Investing might sound boring, but the people who engage in shareholder and divestment advocacy are anything but boring. Plus, by holding polluting industries like fossil fuel accountable, these responsible investment strategies are helping reduce carbon emissions. MegAnne talked to three people who have helped transform Jesuit institutions through fossil fuel divestment and shareholder advocacy. First, we'll hear from Emily Burke, a student activist who led the fossil fuel divestment movement at Creighton University. Then, to learn more about how divestment works, we talk with Katharine Wyatt, who led Loyola University Chicago's divestment process. Finally, MegAnne talks to our colleague John Sealey about how the Jesuits use their investments to push companies to adopt greener practices. To learn or get involved with the Jesuit Committee on Investment Responsibility, click here: https://www.jesuits.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/2022.2.8-JCIR-E-news.pdf

July 31st, 2022 ends our journey through the Ignatian Year. To mark this important moment in the life of the global Society of Jesus, Fr. General Arturo Sosa will travel to Loyola, Spain to renew the Jesuits’ consecration to the Sacred Heart of Jesus. What is the Sacred Heart of Jesus? And why does a renewed consecration matter? For many of us, this devotion might be little more than a prayer card found in our grandmothers’ purse. But there’s so much more to it – and so much it can add to our spiritual lives. So, we invited Fr. Joe Laramie, SJ, the Jesuit in charge of the Pope’s Worldwide Prayer Network in the United States to join us today. Foundational to this ministry is the devotion to the Sacred Heart. Fr. Joe walks us through what this devotion is, why it matters, and what it can mean for us and world today. Fr. Joe provided us with a ton of interesting, helpful links – you can find them below: • Pope’s Worldwide Prayer Network site: popesprayerusa.net • Resources on the Sacred Heart: http://popesprayerusa.net/2022/07/18/jesuits-renew-consecration-sacred-heart-jesus/ • Fr. Joe Laramie’s site: joelaramiesj.com • Social handles: @popesprayerusa | @JoeLaramieSJ

Today’s guest is Stephen Schneck, a political philosopher by training and a well-known advocate for Catholic social justice teachings in public life. He spent more than 30 years at The Catholic University of America as a professor, department chair and dean, and he was the founder and long-time director of the Institute for Policy Research and Catholic Studies. He’s worked with Catholic Climate Covenant, Catholic Mobilizing Network, Franciscan Action Network and as a member of the Obama Administration’s White House Advisory Council for Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships. And now, he’s here to talk to us about his latest role. He was just recently appointed by President Biden to serve as a commissioner on the bipartisan United States Commission on International Religious Freedom. What is the US Commission on International Religious Freedom? What does it do? Steve provides answers—as well as insights into why religious freedom and the freedom of belief are so important to communities around the globe. He highlights a few key issues and regions where religious freedom is particularly threatened that we should keep our eyes on. And he offers his reflections on how Catholics in the United States can advocate on this issue. Below you can find the full excerpt from "Fratelli tutti" that is mentioned during the episode: “Ancient conflicts thought long buried are breaking out anew, while instances of a myopic, extremist, resentful and aggressive nationalism are on the rise. In some countries, a concept of popular and national unity influenced by various ideologies is creating new forms of selfishness and a loss of the social sense under the guise of defending national interests. … there are those who appear to feel encouraged or at least permitted by their faith to support varieties of narrow and violent nationalism, xenophobia and contempt, and even the mistreatment of those who are different.” (FT 11/86)

The Feast of St. Ignatius Loyola on July 31 will mark the end of the Ignatian Year, through which we have been celebrating the 500th anniversary of Ignatius getting hit in the leg with a cannonball. This is admittedly a weird-at-first-glance event to be marking. What about Ignatius’ birth or the beginning of his ministry? The cannonball gets special attention in Ignatius’ story because it was such a vivid and transformative moment. The cannonball sparked Ignatius’ conversion. It shattered his plans for a life of chivalry and set him on a dramatically new path. This anniversary has been a great opportunity for all of us to look at our own life paths and see how the Lord might be trying to reach out to us or maybe even shake us up a little. Today’s guests took the opportunity of the Ignatian Year to start a brand-new creative project. Dr. Paola Pascual-Ferrá is a communications professor at Loyola University Maryland. Her friend Sean Bráy is the interim vice president for mission at the university. They decided to start a podcast called "This Ignatian Year," which welcomed guests to reflect on how they live Ignatian spirituality in their everyday lives. They talked with host Mike Jordan Laskey about how their how their own spiritualities were affected through this process, and how we might continue living the key themes at the heart of the Ignatian year even after this celebration is over. Listen to “This Ignatian Year”: https://www.loyola.edu/department/campus-ministry/ignatian-spirituality/ignatian-year Read about its creation: https://www.ajcunet.edu/june-2022-connections/2022/4/25/loyola-maryland-thematic AMDG is a production of the Jesuit Conference of Canada and the United States.

Way back in June, 17 Jesuits from the US and Haiti were ordained to the priesthood. One of them was Joe Kraemer. And like many of his fellow Jesuits, as the summer months wind down, he’s preparing to start his new ministry as a Jesuit priest. Joe, though, didn’t “become” a Jesuit as his ordination. He’s been one for years, living and working with the Society of Jesus and its many collaborators. It’s easy to forget that the word “Jesuit” isn’t a synonym for “priest.” There are countless Jesuits in formation, and of course, there are Jesuit brothers the world over. Jesuits – as priests, brothers and men in formation – are still Jesuits, carrying on the mission and legacy of St. Ignatius, the early companions and all that have followed in their footsteps. And so, today, Fr. Joe Kraemer joins us on AMDG to talk about what his years of formation looked like, what it has meant for him to now become a Jesuit priest, and what he hopes for his only ministry and that of the Society as he looks to the future. Joe has great stories about a cross-country pilgrimage, ministering to those in prison and working closely with Martin Sheen. If you’d like to learn more about the newly ordained Jesuits, check out this link: http://www.jesuits.org/ordinations/2022-ordinands/

"Star Wars" is a window into a larger universe, a universe that has the same flawed characters, hope-filled adventures and deep galaxy-altering questions as our own. A story like "Star Wars" helps us expand our own imagination, helps us better grapple with how we share and reflect upon our own stories. We dream bigger about what’s possible in our lives and our society as a result. And, maybe, we learn something new about how God works. Don’t agree? Today’s episode of AMDG may help put your doubts to rest. Today's guests our Dr. Benjamin Espinoza and Fr. Ryan Duns, SJ. Ben is the associate vice president for online education and assistant professor of practical theology at Roberts Wesleyan College. He’s also an ordained minister in the Wesleyan Church. Ryan is an assistant professor in the theology department as Marquette University. He’s also the assistant department chair and director of undergraduate studies. And, he’s a Jesuit priest. Both of our guests are eminently qualified to discuss theology, philosophy and pop culture. But what makes them particularly amazing guests today is that they were both involved in a brand new, very cool book, “Theology and the Star Wars Universe.” Ben was the editor; Ryan contributed an essay — and he talks about that in our conversation. Even if you’re not a huge Star Wars fan, you’ll appreciate the conversation, the grappling with making sense of and encountering God in our culture today. Check out "Theology and the Star Wars Universe" here: https://www.amazon.com/Theology-Star-Universe-Religion-Culture/dp/1978707231

Catholic Social Teaching is sometimes called the best-kept secret of the Catholic faith. But not anymore! Today host MegAnne Liebsch talks to Dr. Tony Annett, an economist who spent much of his career at the International Monetary Fund. His new book, Cathonomics, examines our global economy through the lens of Catholic social teaching on solidarity, wealth redistribution, social democracy, and inequality. His conclusion? Our current economic system is exploiting inequality and perpetuating poverty. In our interview, he breaks down economic definitions, diagnoses the problems in our current economy, and offers some practical—and moral—remedies. Order Cathonomics here: http://press.georgetown.edu/book/georgetown/cathonomics

From the Jesuits of Canada and the United States, this is AMDG – and I’m Eric Clayton. I was introduced to J.R.R. Tolkien in seventh grade. This was the project that the seventh grade class of St. Catherine of Sienna participated in each year—the whole school knew it. Students read “The Hobbit” and then were tasked with creating their own version of Smaug, the villainous dragon. You could make a diorama, a clay sculpture—whatever. But the goal was to allow the world of Tolkien’s Middle Earth to inspire in you a little bit of creativity. I hope that today’s conversation does much the same for you. My guests are Dr. William Fliss and Dr. Sarah Schaefer. They are the co-curators of the “J.R.R. Tolkien: The Art of the Manuscript” exhibition at Marquette University. Bill is the curator of Marquette’s Tolkien Collection, and Sarah is assistant professor of art history at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. Both are big fans of Tolkien and his world. The exhibition, as you’ll hear, is a really exciting thing. On display are manuscripts that Tolkien himself created. But these aren’t just pieces of paper with his draft of “The Fellowship of the Ring.” These manuscripts are part of his world of Middle Earth, actual pieces of the lore crafted by his own hand, bearing his own beautiful calligraphy. The exhibit is running from August 19 through December 23, 2022. Tickets are on sale—I’ve included a number of helpful links below, both for those interested in visiting, and for those just interested in learning more. Now, here’s my conversation with Bill Fliss and Sarah Schaefer. https://www.marquette.edu/haggerty-museum/tolkien.php https://www.jsonline.com/story/entertainment/arts/2022/08/22/marquette-university-exhibit-shows-creation-jrr-tolkiens-lord-rings/7841566001/ Image Info: J. R. R. Tolkien English, 1892 – 1973 The King’s Letter, third version, early 1950s Ink on paper 9 x 7 in. (229 x 178 mm) Raynor Memorial Libraries, Marquette University MS. Tolkien, Mss - 4/2/25/2a © The Tolkien Estate Limited 1992, 2015 www.TolkienEstate.com

The stunning new images of outer space from the Webb Space Telescope might prompt people of faith to ponder big questions: How do I square my belief in the Big Bang with my belief in the creator-God of the Book of Genesis? Could we really have an all-loving God who cares about such a tiny little speck of dust in this massive universe? Guest Fr. Adam Hincks, SJ, is the perfect person to talk to about God and the universe. Fr. Hincks is an accomplished astrophysicist and a Jesuit priest. He’s assistant professor and holder of the Sutton Family Chair in Science, Christianity and Cultures at the University of Toronto, with a joint appointment between the Department of Astronomy and Astrophysics and St. Michael’s College, the Catholic college at the university. He’s also written about the intersections of science, philosophy and theology. He talked to host Mike Jordan Laskey about faith and science, Fr. Hincks’ vocation to the Jesuits, and what has interested him most about the new Webb images. Learn more about Fr. Adam Hincks: https://adh-sj.info/ Read Fr. Hincks’ essays in America Magazine: https://www.americamagazine.org/voices/adam-d-hincks AMDG is a production of the Jesuit Conference of Canada and the United States.

If you live in the suburbs, you’re probably used to hopping in your car to run pretty much every errand, even if you just need to get cold medicine at the drug store. Have you ever wondered why this is part of your daily life at all? Or why you can’t walk more places? It’s easy to just assume that’s just the way things are, have always been and will always be. But the built environment of our suburbs is the result of decades of choices. And looking at how we use land in our local communities and trying to grow things like public transit are central ways to work on a whole collection of social justice issues. Usually when we make a list of social justice issues that people of faith care about, land use policies like zoning regulations aren’t on the top of the list. But maybe they should be. Today’s guest writes on these issues in such compelling and unexpected ways. Addison Del Mastro runs his own Substack newsletter on urbanism and cultural history called The Deleted Scenes, and he also contributes to places like Vox and The Bulwark and America Magazine. A Catholic who describes himself as a bit right-of-center politically, Addison crosses boundaries between groups that are often uncrossed in today’s polarized America. He’s a thinker you want to know. Read his writing or listen to him during this conversation with host Mike Jordan Laskey and you might start to see why words and phrases like zoning regulations, land use and parking minimums are important things for all of us to be thinking and advocating about. Addison Del Mastro’s newsletter: https://thedeletedscenes.substack.com/ His writing at America: https://www.americamagazine.org/voices/addison-del-mastro “NIMBYISM is a Distorted Love”: https://www.thebulwark.com/nimbyism-is-a-distorted-love/ AMDG is a production of the Jesuit Conference of Canada and the United States.

If you were going to make a list of the most demanding and important jobs, nurses would be right near the top. The pandemic has revealed how much we ask of our nurses. They face exposure to illness, they juggle multiple patients simultaneously, all of whom have different needs and face a huge range of challenges. They work extremely long shifts and are on their feet most of the time. And so often they’re accompanying people who are in the middle of the worst day or week or month of their lives. How do you prepare a college nursing student for all that? Georgetown professor Dr. Sarah Vittone has one surprising idea for nurse training: She takes the students to Lourdes. Lourdes, of course, is the French town in the Pyrenees made famous by Marian apparitions witnessed by a teenage girl named Bernadette Soubirous in 1858. Soon after the apparitions, visitors began to report miraculous healings after drinking or bathing in water from the grotto spring there. Millions of pilgrims continue to travel to Lourdes each year, many of whom are facing serious medical diagnoses. Dr. Vittone, her colleagues and the ten or so students who make each trip do a lot of things to support pilgrims while they’re in Lourdes, but most of their time is spent assisting those who come to bathe in the waters. The trip is rooted in the Ignatian principle of “cura personalis,” or care for the whole person – Dr. Vittone hopes students who take part in the project will become nurses who are comfortable noticing and responding to the spiritual needs of their patients, no matter what those needs might be or how they are expressed. Dr. Vittone teaches students in ethics and professional formation in the School of Nursing, and she’s a consultant at Georgetown’ Pellegrino Center for Clinical Bioethics. She talked with host Mike Jordan Laskey about her experiences with the students in Lourdes and how the project connects to her scholarly work as a healthcare ethicist. Dr. Vittone shares stories from her trips and the ways she has seen the experiences help shape nurses who are equipped to care not just for the physical needs of patients, but their mental and spiritual health as well. Learn more about the Georgetown Lourdes project for nursing students: https://gumc.georgetown.edu/gumc-stories/georgetown-nursing-students-focused-on-spiritual-health-of-pilgrims-in-lourdes-france/ Learn more about Dr. Vittone: https://gufaculty360.georgetown.edu/s/contact/00336000014RdvBAAS/sarah-vittone AMDG is a production of the Jesuit Conference of Canada and the United States.

Ciszek Hall is a Jesuit house of First Studies located in the Bronx. Jesuits in formation go there to do exactly what you’d guess: study. But something new is happening at Ciszek. This house is the site of a new way of doing formation, and the entire global Society of Jesus is watching to see what might be learned. Co-hosts Eric Clayton and Meg Liebsch visited the Bronx earlier this year to talk with some of the Jesuits there, as well as members of the wider community. In this special episode of AMDG: A Jesuit Podcast, you’ll hear their voices, as well as learn why a new approach to Jesuit formation matters to you — and our world.

Host MegAnne Liebsch first met Fr. Tim McCabe, SJ, at a construction site. Sporting clerics and a hardhat specialty branded with the Pope Francis Center logo, Tim toured Meg around the newly bulldozed foundation of what will become the Pope Francis Center Bridge Housing Campus. It's an ambitious project that Tim believes will help end chronic houselessness in Detroit. The Pope Francis Center—or PFC as it’s known—is a day shelter in downtown Detroit that offers respite to hundreds of unhoused people every day. As executive director of PFC, Tim has overseen a building renovation, creating a functioning kitchen to make hearty and nutritious meals, as well as showers, sinks, and a laundry room for guests. But the PFC team wanted to do more—they wanted to address the roots of housing insecurity. Upon completion, the Bridge Housing Campus will house 40 people in individual units for 90 to 120 days, offering 24/7 services, including meals, medical care, psycho-social support, job-readiness programs and more. At the end of their stay, guests will transition into permanent supportive housing through the assistance of PFC specialists. On today's episode, we talk to Tim about this singular approach to ending chronic homelessness, about how small changes can make a big impact, and, conversely, about how asking “how hard can it be?” can lead to transformative change. Learn more about the Bridge Housing Campus and track it's progress: https://popefranciscenter.org/donate/bridge-housing-campus/ Support the Pope Francis Center: https://popefranciscenter.org/donate/

If you’re a long-time listener of this podcast or long-time friend of Jesuits and Jesuit institutions, the claim made by our guest today might shock you: We need more than Ignatian spirituality in our lives as Christians. Of course, you’re likely nodding; this is probably obvious. And yet, too often – as our guest today, Jesuit priest, Fr Rossano Zas Friz de Col, SJ claims – in our lives of faith, we stop short of the depth into which God invites us to plunge. Fr. Rossano is the author of a wonderful book, “Ignatian Christian Life: A New Paradigm for Post-Christianity.” And while he and his work are deeply grounded in and influenced by Ignatian spirituality and Ignatius of Loyola himself, Rossano takes us on a journey in and through mystery, pulling in characters like John of the Cross and Sigmund Freud. The goal, as Rossano notes in our conversation, is to recognize the mystery that is each of us, and to bring our unique mystery into conversation with the ultimate Mystery. In the process, our prayer lives inevitably change and grow and deepen. And that’s where Rossano invites us to reconsider how we think about Ignatian spirituality. Born in Peru, Rossano has spent a great deal of time in Rome and now is a professor of Christian spirituality at the Jesuit School of Theology in Berkeley at Santa Clara University. Learn more about Rossano's book: https://jesuitsources.bc.edu/ignatian-christian-life-a-new-paradigm/

October 11 was the 60th anniversary of the opening of the Vatican II. Pope Francis marked the occasion with a Mass at St. Peter’s Basilica, which is also the feast day of St. John XXIII, who of course was the pope to call the Council. In his homily, Pope Francis reflected on how Vatican II continues to shape us today. A lot of the headlines mentioned how he called for communion in the face of such polarization. But here’s the best quote from the homily: “Let us rediscover the Council in order to restore primacy to God, to what is essential: to a Church madly in love with its Lord and with all the men and women whom he loves; to a Church that is rich in Jesus and poor in assets; to a Church that is free and freeing. This was the path that the Council pointed out to the Church.” Guest David Gibson is one of the best people to talk to if you want to think about Vatican II and the way it continues to unfold in the church in our own times. David is the director of the Center on Religion and Culture at Fordham University in New York City. The Center hosts conversations and events that explore the relationships between faith and contemporary life. David has been there since 2017, arriving after a long career as an award-winning religion journalist, author and filmmaker. Gibson is the author of two books on Catholicism: “The Coming Catholic Church: How the Faithful are Shaping a New American Catholicism” and “The Rule of Benedict: Pope Benedict XVI and His Battle with the Modern World.” He co-wrote and co-produced several documentaries on Christianity for CNN and the History Channel and co-authored a book on biblical archeology, “Finding Jesus: Faith. Fact. Forgery,” the basis of a popular CNN series of the same name. Before coming to Fordham, Gibson worked for six years as a national reporter at Religion News Service and specialized in coverage of the Vatican and the Catholic Church. Gibson is a frequent media commentator and op-ed writer on topics related to the Catholic Church and religion in America. In addition to discussing Vatican II, David talked about the ongoing synod process taking place throughout the global church, plus why maybe engaging culture is a way to overcome polarization and decline in the church. More about the Center on Religion and Culture: https://www.fordham.edu/about/living-the-mission/center-on-religion-and-culture/ Follow David Gibson on Twitter: https://twitter.com/GibsonWrites Pope Francis’ Vatican II anniversary homily: https://www.vatican.va/content/francesco/en/homilies/2022/documents/20221011-omelia-60concilio.html U.S. National Synthesis from the Synod on Synodality: https://www.usccb.org/resources/us-national-synthesis-2021-2023-synod AMDG is a production of the Jesuit Conference of Canada and the United States.

This is a spooky episode. And that makes sense, right? We’re in that time of year when both secular and spiritual calendars invite us to reflect on the supernatural, the unknown, those spirits at work in our lives in ways we can’t quite put our finger on. We celebrate and remember our beloved dead—but first we masquerade as ghosts and goblins For many of us, the more secular ghost stories that Halloween represents—hauntings and the like—are kept separate from our belief in Heaven and the afterlife, all that All Saints and All Souls Days point to. But for our guest today, Gary Jansen—Director for New Products and Acquisitions at Loyola Press and author of the book, “Holy Ghosts: Or How a (Not So) Good Catholic Boy Became a Believer in Things that Go Bump in the Night—ghosts, spirits, souls and the afterlife all come together in his own story and his own faith. A number of years ago, he found himself living in a real haunted house. He writes about it in his book, and he shares some reflections on the matter with us today. In the end, what Gary really drives home is that any supernatural occurrences ultimately serve to lift our gaze upward at the supernatural world in general—in that world, we encounter angels and demons, miracles and hidden whispers, and ultimately, we come closer to God as we delve more deeply into the mysteries of our faith. If you’re interested in checking out Gary’s book or learning more about Gary’s other works—including an excellent new kids book, “Remember Us With Smiles,” click on the links below. Click here to visit Gary's site: https://garyjansen.com/ Click here to learn more about "Holy Ghosts": https://www.amazon.com/Holy-Ghosts-Catholic-Became-Believer/dp/1585428957/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1511371674&sr=1-1&keywords=Holy+Ghosts#customerReviews

A king. A cope. And a faith under siege. Intrigued? Today’s episode covers all this and more. Our guest, Dr. Jan Graffius, the curator of collections at Stonyhurst College in the UK – the oldest surviving Jesuit school in the world – is our guide through a riveting history that traces the rise and fall of the Catholic Church in England through the lens of a single piece of art: a cope commissioned by Henry VII. Copes are common liturgical vestments. But this one – one of the most expensive items commissioned by a king – was meant to unite the power of Church and State to strengthen a dubious claim to the throne but ultimately became a symbol of Catholic resistance and was smuggled out of the country. This cope and the stories that surround it remind us of the power of art to point to both spiritual and temporal power – and the dangers therein. You can see this cope and more as it travels across the United States in the exhibition, “The Tudors: Art and Majesty in Renaissance England.” The dates below let you know when the exhibition is in your area: • New York: 3 October 2022 – 8 January 2023 • Cleveland: 21 February 2023 – 14 May 2023 • San Francisco: 26 June 2023 – 24 September 2023 Learn more: • The Met: https://www.metmuseum.org/exhibitions/listings/2022/tudors • The Cleveland Museum of Art: https://www.clevelandart.org/exhibitions/tudors-art-and-majesty-renaissance-england • About Stonhurst: https://www.stonyhurst.ac.uk/about-us/stonyhurst-college-historic-collections/contact-us

With U.S. midterm elections just a week away, we know a lot of people in the U.S. might be wanting a break from politics, a break from excessive political ads and tense discussions with loved ones. But as Pope Francis says, good Catholics meddle in politics. In fact, political engagement can be a positive manifestation of our faith. A way to promote the common good for all people. And that work doesn’t stop with Election Day—it’s a yearlong job. So, on this special Election Week episode, MegAnne Liebsch talks with professional, full-time advocate and our colleague, Thomas Mulloy. Tom is the government relations director for the Jesuit Office of Justice and Ecology—or OJE as we call it. OJE is the advocacy arm of the Jesuits, and through Tom, we advocate with the federal government on various social and environmental justice issues. On this episode, we talk about why the Jesuits are involved in federal advocacy, what regular citizens can teach Congress and how faithful citizenship extends beyond Election Day. Stay up to date with the Jesuits advocacy efforts through our email newsletter: jesuits.org/advocate To learn more about faithful citizenship, check out our guide: jesuits.org/civic-engagement

This week, we’re pleased to bring you another cross-over episode with our colleagues from the Jesuit Border Podcast! Jesuit fathers Brian Strassburger and Louie Hotop live and work in the Rio Grande Valley, providing aid and spiritual companionship to migrants on both sides of the US-Mexico border. Their podcast depicts their daily ministry, and how communities are responding to the humanitarian crisis on the border. On this episode, Brian and Louie interview Bishop Mark Seitz of the Diocese of El Paso, TX. Known for his advocacy for the poor and vulnerable, Bishop Seitz offers a unique perspective as a leader of the Church in a border community. On this episode, he calls for a deeper conversation about migration, one that is not solely dominated by socio-political concerns, but shaped by a theological perspective that identifies the migrant experience as essential for understanding the Church. He also talks about celebrating Mass at the border wall on an altar which straddled both sides; a reminder of the unifying force of the Eucharist even amidst division. We offer our own reflection on experiences of breaking bread with migrants through our Sacramental ministry; including a 12-year-old altar server named Vincent who just can’t quite seem to figure out when to ring the bells. Subscribe to the Jesuit Border Podcast wherever you listen! Learn more about Louie and Brian’s work: https://thejesuitpost.org/2021/11/the-jesuit-border-podcast/

Back at some of the very first Jesuit-run schools in the 1500s, teachers would work with students to put on plays. This tradition was called “Jesuit drama,” and it was seen as a fantastic way to accomplish several educational goals at once. The plays themselves were in Latin, so that helped the students learn the language. Plays required memorization and skilled rhetoric, both big values at the time. And the subject matter of these early dramas were Catholic morals and doctrine, so they were seen as central to religious instruction, too. The rich tradition of Jesuits involved in theater has continued through the ages all the way to modern times, evolving and adapting through the centuries. One of the most accomplished Jesuit theater actors, teachers and scholars is Fr. George Drance, today’s guest. Fr. Drance, who teaches theater at Fordham University, has performed and directed in more than 20 countries on five continents. He’s also the founding artistic director of the Magis Theatre Company in New York, which draws its name from that classic Jesuit word that means “the more” or “the greater.” Host Mike Jordan Laskey asked Fr. Drance about his dual vocations as Jesuit and theater artist, a bit about the history of Jesuit drama and the parallels between theater and Ignatian spirituality, how Catholic liturgy and drama are intertwined, and some of his favorite projects through the years. Also, we wanted to let you know about two Advent resources we’re preparing here at the Jesuit Conference. The first is a daily email series called Ignatian Heroes. We have 25 fabulous writers offering short reflections on Jesuits and others who have been influenced by Ignatian spirituality. You can sign up to receive these reflections at Jesuits.org/advent22. Then, we’re sponsoring a live Advent evening of reflection on Zoom. It’s called “Room at the Inn: An Ignatian Journey with the Holy Family into Advent.” The session will be led by the fabulous iconographer and visual artist Kelly Latimore and one of our favorite spiritual writers, Cameron Bellm. It’s on Wednesday, December 14, at 7:30pm ET. You can sign up for free at Jesuits.org/adventprayer. Learn more about Fr. George Drance and Magis Theatre Company: https://www.magistheatre.org/ AMDG is a production of the Jesuit Conference of Canada and the United States.

Saint Joseph is the most mysterious character from the Advent story. He doesn’t say anything and we know pretty much nothing about him, yet there are few figures more central to the story of our faith community. So host Mike Jordan Laskey asked his friend, Sister Colleen Gibson, SSJ, if she could help shed some light on this shadowy member of the Holy Family. Sr. Colleen is a Sister of Saint Joseph of Philadelphia and has spent a lot of time praying and reflecting on her community’s patron. Unsurprisingly, given Sr. Colleen’s intelligence and creative gifts, she brought multiple perspectives on St. Joseph you might have never considered before. Sr. Colleen also talks about her own vocation story of becoming a millennial religious sister, plus a bit of the history of the Sisters of Saint Joseph, which were founded in France by a Jesuit in 1650. Sr. Colleen also tells us about her own new podcast project, which she’s co-hosting with another sister of Saint Joseph. It’s called Beyond the Habit and they’ve just released their first few episodes. If you’d like some more Advent content from us here at the Jesuit Conference, you can sign up for daily email reflections on faith heroes formed in the Ignatian tradition at Jesuits.org/advent22 and register for a free evening of reflection on Zoom at Jesuits.org/adventprayer, which is being hosted by iconographer Kelly Latimore and writer Cameron Bellm (Wednesday, December 14, 7:30pm ET). Listen to Beyond the Habit on Spotify or wherever you get podcasts: https://open.spotify.com/show/3dcsfiK6IQJvWFvgAbZUuR Follow Sr. Colleen on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/yoitssistercoll/ AMDG is a production of the Jesuit Conference of Canada and the United States.