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.
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.