Author: Jamie Kralovec

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A Thanksgiving Reflection on the Spirituality of Gratitude

A view from Georgetown’s Calcagnini Contemplative Center during last month’s Graduate, Professional, and Law Student Retreat. This week’s post invites pre-Thanksgiving reflection on the meaning of gratitude. 

The last month has been a time of profound challenge for so many. The war in Israel and Palestine, along with so many other conflict situations throughout the world, has surfaced deep divisions within our spaces and the visible and invisible suffering that many are carrying with them. For years, Mission in Motion has attempted to communicate the myriad ways that Georgetown, through an abiding commitment to its mission and values, seeks to accompany everyone on their journeys of life, especially during times of adversity and challenge. This offer of “care for the whole person” was especially evident during the COVID-19 pandemic and in response to the increasing awareness of the need for greater racial justice and urgent social change that leads to greater diversity, equity, and inclusion. 

In many ways, then, next week’s celebration of Thanksgiving might not have its usual glow. It is incredibly difficult to force a spirit of thanks and gratitude at a time when such dispositions seem so far away and unnatural to our lived experience. In this post, I would like to affirm that it is ok to feel less than enthusiastic about the coming holiday. I would also like to offer a reflection about how a spirituality of gratitude, which is at the root of Ignatian spirituality, has to be appreciated in a larger context. Gratitude alone is not sufficient to making our way through difficult times. We have to find ways, individually and collectively, to become more aware of the challenges that divide us as human beings and then work together, aided by the knowledge, skills, and values cultivated during our time at Georgetown, to repair harms and restore healing in the world. 

The Ignatian practice of the Examen, featured many times on the blog and practiced each Friday during the SCS digital meditations, revolves around gratitude. The cornerstone of the practice is becoming aware of our gratitude. We might ask ourselves during a regular practice of Examen: For what am I grateful as I look back at the last day/week/month? When I let myself be washed over with gratitude looking back at a period of time, what comes to the surface? The idea here is that locating a gratitude becomes an opportunity to self-reflect on my own giftedness and how I might be invited to share that thanksgiving through generous actions in the world. Gratitude is the soul of generosity and loving kindness in the world. It is difficult to express gratitude for others when we are not finding it within ourselves and our experience.  

There are so many possibilities to living life in a spirit of gratitude. But there are also some cautionary lessons about this way of proceeding spiritually. In their article, “Ignatian Spirituality and Positive Psychology,” Phyllis Zagano and C. Kevin Gillespie pick up on the work of Jesuit psychologist Charles Shelton, who is concerned about the potential to over-idealize gratitude. For Shelton, the gratitude disposition can lend itself to “optimistic exuberance” that covers up personal challenges that need to be addressed or more realistic engagement with a complex world that needs to be reappraised. Zagano and Gillespie maintain that gratitude has to be balanced, recognizing that the goal of life is not always the “simple pursuit of happiness” and “personal self-development.” Instead, spiritually mature people qualify happiness when situations of injustice and moral complication arise. 

So how does this connection to Ignatian spirituality relate to your Thanksgiving holiday? My hope is that you can take some time to recognize that while you might desire to feel gratitude, this feeling might not arrive. Instead of forcing it, I invite you to consider what you need in this moment of life to address the challenges you’re experiencing personally and professionally. We do not journey alone and this little Thanksgiving respite from work and study might be a good time to reach out for more support on your path ahead. 


Resources at the University are available to help you navigate the path ahead. In addition to professional counseling services (for faculty and staff, please consult the Faculty & Staff Assistance Program; for students, please consult Counseling and Psychiatric Services) and pastoral care resources (please consult Campus Ministry chaplains and staff), we are here to listen.

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This Veterans Day, Reflecting on the Military-Connected Patron Saint of Jesuit Education

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St. Ignatius of Loyola, founder of the Jesuits, was a military veteran like many SCS students. This week’s post considers the relevant connections between this saint of the 16th-century and the military-connected population at the University. 

This semester, a group of SCS staff are going through the four-part Ignatian Tradition Seminar, a deep exploration of the enduring meaning and significance of St. Ignatius of Loyola, founder of the Jesuits. The four-part series takes place over the span of a semester and invites close reading, group discussion, and discernment about how to make Jesuit mission and values, as they arise from the life of Ignatius and the development of the Jesuit order, a part of one’s work at Georgetown. The seminar examines the history of Ignatius and the founding of the Jesuits, the origins of Jesuit education, contemporary Jesuit commitments to social justice, and the ways that Jesuit universities like Georgetown bring to life their Ignatian identity. 

Each Jesuit institution is unique, reflecting the context of its operation. This particular seminar at SCS emphasizes Georgetown’s abiding commitment to multi-faith and inter-religious dialogue. Of particular interest to the SCS participants is the opportunity to consider the relationship between the School’s hallmark incorporation of technology into learning and the heritage of Jesuit history and values. In other words, what can a 500-year-old tradition of humanistic education offer the ongoing development of innovative online and technology-mediated learning like at SCS? 

Through all of the seminar’s many conversations,St. Ignatius remains a central character in the narrative. Participants engage with the many personae of the patron saint and what relevance this 16th-century Spanish figure bears today for our work and study at Georgetown. Mission in Motion has previously reflected, as part of the Ignatian Year 500, about the aspects of the Ignatian biography that most align with the culture and characteristics of SCS. There are four ways that St. Ignatius and his story align so closely to the community of learners at SCS. St. Ignatius was: an adult learner, used technology as part of his leadership strategy, developed a model for incorporating contemplation into a busy and active civic life, and served in the military. It is this last attribute, Ignatius as military veteran and wounded warrior, that motivates this week’s reflection in light of the Veterans Day holiday.

Georgetown honors its military-connected students and faculty through dedicated resources and celebrations of the stories of these individuals that focus on their service. The core of the University’s efforts extends from student veterans to military spouses, caregivers, and other military-connected persons. A sizable military-connected population exists at SCS and has access to a comprehensive set of resources provided by Georgetown’s Military and Veterans’ Resource Center. 

The whole-person approach to caring for student veterans is evident not just in tangible resources but also in intentional messages and the creation of hospitable spaces for this community. At last year’s SCS commencement, for example, Jason Kander, military veteran and accomplished politician, gave a stirring address that focused on the particular mental health challenges facing military veterans. Kander made the point that self-care is not selfish, an idea that might seem anathema to a community that is so accustomed to putting others’ needs before their own. This emphasis on self-care provides a relevant connection to the military meaning of the Ignatian story. 

In their article in the magazine Conversations on Jesuit Higher Education, “Wounded Warriors: Ignatius of Loyola and Veteran Students,” Thu Do and Mary Dluhy make explicit the contemporary relevance of St. Ignatius for modern military veterans: 

“Ignatius is recognized as the patron saint of veterans because of his knighthood and military experience. Like Ignatius, veterans, service members, and wounded warriors experience both physical and spiritual sufferings. Leaving the military and returning to the civilian life, veterans often miss the sense of commitment to an important mission, deep fellowship, and intense stimulation on the battlefield.”

Ignatius provides a set of discernment resources and a structure for spiritual development that can help any person grow into the meaning and purpose of their life. The Ignatian biography, which included dramatic shifts in vocational choices—from courtier to soldier to pilgrim and finally to administrator of a global company—reveals that a person’s deeper meaning and purpose can stay the same even as the circumstances of one’s life can change. The important takeaway for veterans and other military connected students is that the entire University community has an important role to play in helping this community reconnect to their sense of mission and purpose after military service is complete.

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Jesuit Heritage Month Presents Opportunities to Pause and Ponder Georgetown’s Mission

Mission in Motion recently posted about the ongoing Mission Priority Examen that Georgetown is undertaking this academic year. This reflective, university-wide process of more deeply considering how effective Georgetown is at living out its Catholic and Jesuit mission will provide insights that shape the future of this work at the University. One of the themes that typically emerges in this collaborative process of reflective self-assessment is how to make explicit what it is often implicit in terms of Georgetown’s Jesuit mission and values. 

 The bell at the top of Dahlgren Chapel on Georgetown’s Hilltop Campus is a visible sign of Georgetown’s Jesuit identity. This week, Mission in Motion explores the reflective possibilities of November’s Jesuit Heritage Month.

Every November, the University makes this movement toward the explicit with Jesuit Heritage Month, a series of events and programs intended to invite deeper connection with the Jesuit values and the Spirit of Georgetown. Fr. Mark Bosco, S.J., Vice President for Mission and Ministry, describes this annual occasion as an opportunity to reflect on not only the Jesuit and Catholic dimensions of Georgetown’s unique identity but also the ways that the Jesuit values affirm a commitment to interreligious understanding: 

“This month is also a time to reflect on, and reaffirm, the core aspects of our university mission. Since its founding in 1789, Georgetown has been a home for all faiths. Our commitment to interreligious understanding – especially over the last 25 years – is rooted in our Catholic and Jesuit identity, informed by the documents of Vatican Council II on interfaith dialogue, and shaped anew by the call of Pope Francis to deepen our fraternal love for one another. These values shape the best of who we are as a university.”

As a mission integrator for the SCS campus, I am aware that many in the community feel like Georgetown is a very active place, sometimes too active. Every day at the University there are public events and other gatherings promoted through regular emails broadcasted to the entire Georgetown community. Each week, a list of events communicates the depth and breadth of conversations happening across the campuses. Students, faculty, and staff, who are busily engaged in the work of academic excellence in classrooms, have to make decisions about what extra-curricular experiences enhance their academic pursuits. The amount of potential activity to choose from can feel overwhelming. Especially for our adult learning population at SCS engaged in professional education, there are significant opportunity costs in choosing how to expend limited resources of time given other demands of work, family, and civic obligations. 

My invitation is to spend this Jesuit Heritage Month as an opportunity to pause and slow down. There are some good events to spur deeper engagement with the materials of Jesuit mission and values. You can check out the list here. But I also invite you to take a pause, especially in the context of the coming Thanksgiving holiday, and reflect on what Georgetown’s mission means to you. Is this mission at the center or the margins of your conscious awareness? Do you desire a shift or a transformation of your understanding of Georgetown’s mission and how it might be relevant to your work and study at the University? 

At SCS, we work to bring the Jesuit values to life in ways that meet the contextual needs of our unique community of learners. One of the ways you can directly engage with the spirit-mindfulness tradition of Jesuit practices is by signing up for the SCS Daily Digital Meditation. The meditations take place each day of the workweek at 12 p.m. ET. The sessions all occur on Zoom (registrants receive the link and instructions for joining via email) and last around 15 minutes. From Monday through Thursday, the session is organized as a mindfulness meditation that consists of a short body scan, intentional breathing, and then a period of silent, centering meditation with a melodic piano track playing in the background. The Friday meditation is reserved for an inclusively presented Examen meditation, modeled on the reflective practice arising from the Ignatian tradition of spirituality. The Examen consists of five reflective prompts that invite participants to notice with sacred awareness the significant events of their past week, exploring in more reflective detail times of gratitude, consolation, desolation, and hope for the week ahead. 

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SCS Campus Ministry Open House with English Language Center Shines Light on Global Diversity

This week, SCS Campus Ministry hosted an open house for students of the English Language Center (ELC). The discussion among the students reflected the global diversity of the ELC and the many ways it serves Georgetown’s mission and values. 

The English Language Center (ELC), an English language and teacher training center that has been at Georgetown for nearly 60 years, animates the University’s mission and values in many ways. Mission in Motion has reflected over the years on some of the unique values-oriented aspects of the ELC: 

Most recently, the blog highlighted the ongoing collaboration between ELC and the Jesuit Refugee Service in Amman, Jordan, to provide excellent English language training programs for the refugee population.  One of the through lines of the ELC is the Center’s commitment to global engagement. The world comes to the ELC and the ELC goes out to the world. This bi-directional orientation tracks with the five centuries of Jesuit history and the way that the religious order of the Jesuits has always been international in its composition and vision. The late Fr. John O’Malley, pre-eminent Jesuit historian and long-time Georgetown faculty member who passed away last year, described how novel it was for the first Jesuit companions to be from different countries, including nations at war with one another. 

I was reminded of the powerful testament of this early Jesuit history during an open house this week that I hosted on behalf of Campus Ministry with students in the ELC. The inspiring global diversity of the students was evident within the first 10 minutes of introductions and I began to map the countries of origin represented in the space (Turkey, Colombia, Mexico, Japan, Senegal, etc.). Students identified as Catholic, Buddhist, Muslim, and other. During the course of the presentation and conversations, students surfaced their questions and curiosities about Georgetown and how it maintains its heritage as a religious institution. Diversity was respected as was the particular needs and interests of individual students seeking deeper engagement with Georgetown and its multi-faith resources. 

The discussion turned to how different religious communities, which have homes at Georgetown, can find themselves belonging to an institution with a Catholic and Jesuit identity. Students were heartened to learn of the many opportunities available across the campuses for spiritual support and religious community. I found myself growing more and more aware of the extraordinary honor of being part of a university with such a global reach. The greater understanding and care for one another across lines of difference (whether they be national, religious, etc.) that Georgetown’s mission calls us to is not an abstract exercise. It involves listening to one another for understanding and growing in openness to the perspectives of those around us. 

At the open house, I witnessed firsthand the transformation that is possible when students from around the world feel free to express themselves and grow together through a Georgetown educational experience. My hope is that Georgetown community members seek out the Spirit of Georgetown as an anchoring resource for the hard work of global cooperation, dialogue, peace, and justice. 

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“I Didn’t Want to Let More Time Pass” – Emergency & Disaster Management Alumna Reflects on Her Values-Based Commitment to Protecting Vulnerable People

This week’s Mission in Motion is an interview with Aideé Stephanie Jiménez Ávila, an alumna of the Executive Master of Professional Studies in Emergency & Disaster Management. Currently serving as the Resilience Policy Coordinator in the Government of Mexico City, Stephanie reflects on her inspiring journey to Georgetown’s program that required her to overcome a personal health challenge by seeking out the care and support of others. She offers thoughtful insights about the need for human-centered decision-making in disaster prevention and response and shares about the importance of trust in building healthy, resilient teams. 

  1. Tell us a little bit about your inspiring story and what led you to the Executive Master of Professional Studies in Emergency & Disaster Management? 

In a way, I believe it was destined. I had worked in international cooperation, and my experience was that several social programs would be disrupted when disaster strikes, though previous and emerging needs increased. This led me to have an interest in finding a multi-sectoral program with a managerial vision that targets this lack of coherence in local development.

Initially, I found spaces for certain careers or programs that focused on first-response activities. That’s how I found the program, signed up for the newsletter, and saw the bulletin listing the trips they took to share the experiences of practitioners. It seemed unique to me. Later, I took on another position and postponed the plan of pursuing a master’s degree. With the occurrence of the 2017 earthquake in Mexico, I was working for the United Nations system, and as I learned that disasters were on the rise, I didn’t want to let more time pass without being able to guide governments.

However, I wouldn’t have known that months later I would stop walking due to spinal injuries, causing that dream and interest to be left behind once again. I was fortunate to find a surgeon who, even though I couldn’t walk, said, “You need to go fulfill a dream, what would you like to do?” At first, I thought he was crazy, but he changed my treatment and physical therapy. During those days, a newsletter from the Program arrived, and I applied. A few months later, I was in the Program, which allowed me to continue my treatment, learn, and be in a practical, multicultural program with a humane and quality staff, faculty, and my cohort.

I never imagined that I would be fulfilling a dream while learning to walk and be independent again. My personality before this condition would have never considered it.

  1. You have also received some important awards for your leadership. Can you share more about this recognition and what it means to you? 

Of course! Recently, in September 2023, the Women of the Future organization awarded me as a Rising Star in ESG. This is a global initiative and I’m very happy to be one of the 50 women whose work is not only endorsed by allies who nominated me for the projects I’ve driven in Mexico throughout the years, but it was also evaluated by leading experts from various sectors and regions globally. 

Knowing that issues like partnerships for accountability in disaster prevention and empowerment of young women, like me, in mid-level careers in disaster risk reduction, is not only critical but also inspiring for further Initiatives. With the Program, I now have a network of allies with whom I can learn, raise visibility, and express concerns. That guidance and support are invaluable and desirable for any professional.

  1. Of the 10 core values of the Spirit of Georgetown, what value do you think most expresses how you are putting into professional practice what you learned at the School of Continuing Studies?  

Undoubtedly, “cura personalis.” I usually have clear boundaries between my professional and personal life, but when collaborating and leading teams their environments also influence their performance. If we can take five minutes to engage, offer our support, or exchange ideas, then we can find further opportunities to be better humans and professionals.

Currently, I am looking through several ways to give back the care and support I received at home, from the faculty and my cohort in the Program in daily life, so that my teams and professional networks know that we are in a trusting environment with support and looking out for their well-being and growth.

  1. What advice would you share with other students, especially those students whose journeys to Georgetown involve similar challenges to the ones that you overcame? 

I know that having a network of care and support is a significant privilege, but there’s an entire community of professionals who are interested in building a sense of community and teamwork during and after the program. In SCS, I recognize what “we got your back” really means.

My advice would be: First, TRUST in yourself. In SCS, there’s a whole community during and after the program that is interested in supporting your potential. Second, make every moment an opportunity to propose projects and ideas. In my case, I believe I’ve been very fortunate that even while learning to live with a chronic condition, I received job offers during the program from people who were aware of some of my limitations. This is invaluable and a practice I now seek to adopt in my initiatives. Third, share and create new ways to contribute to society; the networks in SCS will undoubtedly help you continue to grow.

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Georgetown Reflectively Assessing Its Mission Effectiveness

Being a Jesuit and Catholic University, Georgetown belongs to a national and global network of colleges and universities that are united in a common purpose. While each particular school context is unique, there is a shared heritage across the institutions rooted in Ignatian principles and values. Every now and then it is important for participating schools to enter into a reflective process about how Jesuit mission and values are coming to life in special and characteristic ways at these particular places. In the United States, the Association of Jesuit Colleges and Universities (AJCU) sponsors a process called “The Mission Priority Examen (MPE)” in order to reflect as a network on the Jesuit characteristics of individual institutions. With the support of partners in Jesuit higher education and the governance of the Jesuits, the MPE process helps schools discern where to focus their mission energies into the future. Each AJCU member institution goes through the process every seven years. 

This week we explore the Mission Priority Examen taking place at Georgetown this year, a process that occurs every seven years at Jesuit colleges and universities in the U.S. This is an opportunity to highlight the many ways that SCS lives out Jesuit mission and values, including this ongoing partnership to increase educational access for refugees in Amman, Jordan, through the Jesuit Refugee Service. 

Georgetown President DeGioia recently announced that the University is undergoing the MPE process this academic year. The basis for the MPE, which is intentionally situated more as an examen (learn more about this Jesuit spiritual practice) and less as a formal accreditation methodology, are some core Jesuit sources: “Characteristics of Jesuit Higher Education” and “Universal Apostolic Preferences.” The seven characteristics are intended to reflectively consider all aspects of the University’s life, culture, operations, and impact. The uniting theme that brings these characteristics together is a recognition of gratitude for the centuries-old tradition of Jesuit education and a hope that such a mission-committed foundation will be realized into the future. The Universal Apostolic Preferences, described in this earlier post, are anchoring orientations of all Jesuit works across the world. Of special importance to Georgetown’s self-reflection as a university is its commitment to “Journeying with Youth: Accompany Young People in the Creation of a Hope-Filled Future.” 

My hope is to encourage more reflection in the SCS community about the MPE process and encourage more sharing about how Georgetown might grow in mission effectiveness in its work of student formation, interreligious dialogue, Ignatian spirituality, inclusive community, and global engagement. There are two primary ways to add your voice to this conversation: 

  1. All members of the SCS community should consider sharing their feedback via this University survey. 
  1. Current SCS students are invited to participate in a live conversation during the month of October with SCS Associate Director for Mission Integration, Jamie Kralovec (i.e., me). Please reach out to Jamie if you are interested in joining this discussion. 

Mission in Motion was created to shine a spotlight on the many ways that SCS lives out its Jesuit mission and values in ways that are distinctive. SCS has played an important role in bringing the Jesuit heritage to life in curriculum design, technologically enabled learning, global engagement and service, community partnerships, and much more. This is an important moment for the SCS community to reflect not only on the strengths of these various efforts but also on how the School can further deepen its commitment to mission effectiveness. I hope you will join in the process! 

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In Times of Global Crises, Georgetown’s Center for Social Justice Realizes Value of “People for Others”

Georgetown is a large enterprise and relies on a constellation of mission-driven units to animate the mission and values of the University. So much of this animation rests on the Office of Mission and Ministry and Campus Ministry, who provide critically important spiritual care to the community in ways that further meaning, belonging, and purpose. These offices are understandably associated with the Spirit of Georgetown and a team of chaplains and ministry staff carry much of the work of mission integration across the campuses. But there are other key partners that realize Georgetown’s Jesuit mission and values and do so in explicit ways that invite deeper engagement with the larger meaning and purpose of Jesuit education.

This week’s post shines a light on the mission-committed work of Georgetown’s Center for Social Justice Research, Teaching & Service (CSJ). CSJ not only helps the Georgetown community respond to humanitarian disasters around the world but also offers an array of programs, like Hypothermia Outreach Team, to realize the Georgetown value of being People for Others.

One of these key partners is Georgetown’s Center for Social Justice Research, Teaching & Service (CSJ). The organization’s mission clearly expresses its mission-serving purpose: “In order to advance justice and the common good, CSJ promotes and integrates community-based research, teaching and service by collaborating with diverse partners and communities.” The statement registers as a distinctive element of Jesuit education, which has been clear about the social justice implications of teaching and learning in this tradition. 

Current Jesuit Superior General Arturo Sosa, for example, through a global discernment process, has made this commitment a pillar of the four Universal Apostolic Preferences, an orienting set of principles that should guide all Jesuit works across the world. One of these four, “Walking with the Excluded,” invites each Jesuit institution to “walk with the poor, the outcasts of the world, those whose dignity has been violated, in a mission of reconciliation and justice.” The Association of Jesuit Colleges and Universities (AJCU) makes this commitment to justice one of their seven guiding characteristics of all Jesuit schools. AJCU Characteristic 3, “The Pursuit of Faith, Justice & Reconciliation,” challenges Jesuit institutions to actively “respond to the most morally urgent issues of our times in ways that reflect the deepest sources of the Jesuit, Catholic tradition; anchor healing in truth; and recognize the fulfillment of justice as the forging of right relationships.” At Georgetown, the CSJ is centrally involved in realizing these global and national Jesuit priorities. 

The start of the fall semester has coincided with several global crises. These disasters have included wildfires in Maui, earthquakes in Morocco, and floods in Libya. In each of these instances, the University community has received a broadcast email with resources for support and information about how to respond to these situations of profound human need. You can review CSJ’s dedicated responses to each crisis here. Every notification includes opportunities to support disaster relief by tapping CSJ’s network of Catholic, Jesuit, and mission-based partners that are serving in affected regions. At moments of global challenge and disaster, it is a consolation that CSJ is in a position to help members of the Georgetown community respond to human suffering in a timely way. 

Responses to humanitarian disasters is only one part of the CSJ’s portfolio of programs and resources. SCS students, faculty, and staff should consider all of the opportunities made available for greater engagement. Of particular importance in the Downtown Campus is the work of CSJ’s Homelessness Outreach Meals Education (HOME) program. This is a comprehensive effort to promote human dignity and respect for people experiencing homelessness through outreach, education, and direct service. In the coming months, there will be more information about how the SCS community can become more involved in HOME efforts in the Downtown. 

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SCS Hosts Event Focused on Young Professionals: How Can We Live Faithfully in Our Personal, Professional, and Political Lives?

The post this week is a reflection on a recent panel event hosted at SCS by the Initiative on Catholic Social Thought and Public life about the public contribution of faith. You can watch a recording.

One of the many blessings of the SCS campus is that University offices and initiatives on the Hilltop like to host events in the 640 Massachusetts Avenue space. Proximate to Capitol Hill and centrally located in the Downtown, the SCS building is situated in the heart of this capital city.

One consistent University partner organizing dynamic panel conversations at SCS on wide-ranging topics is the Initiative on Catholic Social Thought and Public Life and particularly its Salt and Light Gatherings for young professionals. This week, a Salt and Light Gathering brought together an interesting mix of young leaders, ranging from a former political journalist on a new journey of self-discovery, an active duty U.S. Army major, a Congressional staff member, and a recent Georgetown graduate working in journalism.

The question that animated the hour-long conversation and community-building reception that followed was: What do the resources of faith offer individuals in their professional and political lives at a time of increasing polarization and loneliness?

The beauty of this convening was that the conversation did not pretend to have an easy answer to this difficult question. Each commentator expressed a humility about not having the answers but drew insights from their reflections on life experience and observations of the world. A theme of the discussion (you can watch a recording) was an affirmation of discernment, a core practice of Ignatian spirituality, which can be cultivated through regular prayer, meditation, and other self-awareness exercises.

The panel also challenged social and cultural assumptions about what it means to have “faith” and to be a “person of faith.” One of the panelists described faith in a way that I had not heard before: “Faith is showing up for others in their suffering.” I found this to be a far more effective and imaginative definition than most explanations found in expert writings or in textbooks. 

But why does such an event matter to the lives of the members of our SCS community?

First, I think it is helpful to raise awareness about how SCS leverages its space and strategic location in D.C. to make connections with mission-oriented programs based on the Hilltop. Second, I believe that the SCS mission of contributing to the building of a “civic-minded, well-informed, and globally aware society” comes alive when spaces are intentionally created to reflectively consider a diversity of viewpoints and life experiences.

The question of how personal and communal structures of faith should influence participation in the public square is a pressing question that unfortunately receives too little attention in the media and the wider culture. Georgetown, given its spiritual tradition and its commitments to religious pluralism, dialogue, and the common good, is uniquely positioned to host critical conversations like this.

I hope you check out the recording and ponder a bit more about what “faith” means to you and what it has to positively offer our current political reality.

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URP Celebrates 10 Years: A Reflection on Mission Commitment in Urban Planning Education @ Georgetown

This week’s post celebrates the 10-year anniversary of the Master’s in Urban & Regional Planning program at SCS and emphasizes how the program forms students to pursue the work of mission and values in their careers. 

Former Jesuit Superior General Peter-Hans Kolvenbach, S.J., provided one of the most universally employed metrics to define what “success” looks like in Jesuit education when he said in 2000 that: 

“The real measure of our Jesuit universities lies in who our students become. For 450 years, Jesuit education has sought to educate ‘the whole person’ intellectually and professionally, psychologically, morally, and spiritually. But in the emerging global reality, with its great possibilities and deep contradictions, the whole person … cannot be whole without an educated awareness of society and culture with which to contribute socially, generously, in the real world. Tomorrow’s whole person must have, in brief, a well-educated solidarity.” 

These words of Kolvenbach reverberated in my mind as I participated in last week’s 10-year anniversary of the Master’s in Urban & Regional Planning (URP) program.  

Over the span of four hours, a series of students, alumni, faculty, and special guests reflected on the most pressing issues facing the professional practice of urban planning today and how Georgetown prepares them to meet these challenges. The vibrant and spirited reflections in the auditorium kept attendees, which included program supporters from the University and the broader community, engaged and curious about what the Georgetown master’s program has to offer cities and their residents around the world. The formal convening later transitioned into a celebration in the SCS atrium where Rabbi Rachel Gartner, SCS Senior Advisor for Spiritual Care, and Dr. Kelly Otter, Dean of SCS, toasted the URP program and its visionary faculty director, Uwe Brandes. 

The 10-year anniversary celebration featured a reception with toasts by Rabbi Rachel Gartner, SCS Dean Kelly Otter, and URP Faculty Director Uwe Brandes. 

As a faculty member in the URP program and the mission integrator for SCS, I reflected on how the entire event manifested the profound ways that this program at SCS is organized to advance the University’s mission and values. If the measure of our Jesuit universities, according to Kolvenbach, is who our students become, then it is quite evident that URP is meeting this standard. I observed both current students and alumni of the program articulating one after another how their time at Georgetown shaped deeper personal and professional commitments to mission. Students and alumni are advancing social equity, community building, cultural preservation, environmental sustainability, and other core values-based practice areas in a wide variety of ways. They are working at every scale of government and across the private and nonprofit sectors. But more important than a particular work area or site of work, I noticed that all of these program representatives manifested a passion for making cities and the world more just and more whole. 

In this way, I could more easily understand how urban planning can help realize the vision for the environmentally sustainable and socially just world envisioned in Pope Francis’ 2013 global encyclical, Laudato Si. In that document, Pope Francis names a special responsibility that urban planning has to realize an “integral ecology” that honors the gifts of God’s creation: 

“More precious still is the service we offer to another kind of beauty: people’s quality of life, their adaptation to the environment, encounter and mutual assistance. Here too, we see how important it is that urban planning always take into consideration the views of those who will live in these areas. There is also a need to protect those common areas, visual landmarks and urban landscapes which increase our sense of belonging, of rootedness, of ‘feeling at home’ within a city which includes us and brings us together.” 

This is not easy work and there is little delusion that urban planners alone can solve the great challenges facing the planet. But it helps now and again to step back, celebrate a milestone like a 10-year anniversary, and then step back into the urgent and necessary work a little more refreshed and perhaps more grateful about the role that programs at SCS, like URP, play in advancing the common good. Cheers, URP! 

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Care of the Person + Care of the Work = Care of the Mission

Georgetown Staff Appreciation Day took place this week and gives us an opportunity to explore two key terms in Jesuit mission: cura personalis (care of the person) and cura apostolica (care of the work). 

This week featured an annual highlight in the life of the institution: Georgetown Staff Appreciation Day. Converted to an indoor celebration because of the heat wave, the multi-hour event included lots of food, games, raffles, and even massages. Coming together as members of the staff community, arriving from a diversity of offices and campuses across Georgetown, is a welcome opportunity to enjoy each other’s company and reflect on the purpose of our shared commitment. 

This may come as a surprise, but I believe that this yearly event provides a rich platform to explore core concepts of Jesuit mission. In particular, the gathering of staff for the purposes of honoring their individual and collective contribution to the University brings out two Jesuit ideas that are fundamental to Georgetown’s mission and values. These are: Cura Personalis (care of the person) and Cura Apostolica (care of the work). You can read Jesuit Superior General Fr. Arturo Sosa’s much more detailed account of these terms in this universal letter issued to Jesuits across the world a few years ago. In short, care of the person in a Jesuit context is to always pay individualized attention to the needs, desires, strengths, and weaknesses of the individual when discerning how best to realize their potential. This commitment is realized at the University not only in the teacher-student relationship but also in the relationship amongst staff and between staff and faculty. 

Where Cura Personalis is about the person, Cura Apostolica is about the work. In a Jesuit institution, this means that the individuals responsible for the work or the shared project need to pay attention to ensuring the flourishing of the organization as a whole. To care for the work is to discern choices on the basis of what ultimately serves the needs of the collective enterprise. Often, these two commitments are in alignment, but there are occasionally times of tension between the two. In some instances, commitment to the ultimate purpose of the work might result in less care of the person (and vice versa). According to Fr. Sosa, this tension is sometimes unavoidable but can be navigated in a way that ultimately serves shared mission:

“However, Ignatius’ experience shows that care, deeply rooted in his spiritual experience and his mystical journey, offers the true dimension of the unity cura apostolica-cura personalis, dimensions of one single cura, that is, care for mission. The single cura has as its focus persons, communities and works, which are the service of mission. It is mission, therefore, that must be the fundamental criterion that unites cura apostolica and cura personalis. Our mission includes and implies inseparably our way of living and relating to each other, of caring for people and communities. This care for our way of living and relating is also a mission in itself.”

The unity of these two communities – personal and collective – is possible through discernment about mission. This point affirms the need at Georgetown and other Jesuit institutions to share about the mission of Jesuit education and what this five centuries’ heritage and tradition mean for today. I hope that one of the takeaways of this reflection is to find time and space to more deeply reflect on how you are in relationship to the mission of Georgetown. How are you attentive to the needs of individuals in your work? How are you advancing the work overall? How are you relying on the resources of the mission to find unity when these two conflict? 

Staff Appreciation Day helps focus our attention on the various ways that day-in and day-out the members of the Georgetown staff community realize the University mission by caring for people and the work to which they have been entrusted.