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Hoyas, Hope, and the Holidays

It is that time of the year. The final push in classes as final exams, projects, and papers loom. Colder, darker, wintry days are upon us. And students, staff, and faculty across Georgetown eye the exits to the break as we enter into a holiday season at the end of a year that few will ever forget. Many are anticipating time away from campus duties and welcoming the opportunity to take some rest and reset from a challenging semester. Georgetown, anchored as it is in its mission and values, encourages all of us not to rush this precious time period but pay special attention to the themes of this spiritually significant season. As the Jewish community celebrates Hanukkah and Christians enter into Advent in anticipation of Christmas, now is a gifted opportunity to reflect on the gratitude we have experienced together as a learning community and the possibilities of hope at the end of 2021. 

The holiday season at Georgetown is a festive time of year. The Jewish community celebrates Hanukkah and the Christian community enters Advent in anticipation of Christmas. 

In his opening reflection for Georgetown’s 2021 Advent Devotional, Fr. Mark Bosco, S.J., Vice President for Mission and Ministry, sets the context for the challenges we have endured as a University community: 

“We enter this liturgical season having struggled and survived through almost two years of the COVID pandemic – a time that has kept us sober about the fragility of life, yet aware of the hidden graces that God has revealed to us amidst this new reality. … Indeed, as we have found ourselves in close and sustained proximity with our family and only the closest of friends, we have been challenged to think more deeply about the preciousness of life, as well as the profoundly new ways in which we can support and sustain one another. … We anticipate coming out of our own COVID fog yearning for God to come and set the world right with perfect justice, truth, and peace. Welcome to this season of hope.” 

This reason for hope – the possibility of a more peaceful and just world – gives life to this season and animates the religious traditions celebrating their special holidays. Mission in Motion reflected at the beginning of the fall semester about this theme of hope expressed during the opening year Mass of the Holy Spirit. The takeaway message from President DeGioia’s remarks, rooted in the writing of Fr. Otto Hentz, S.J., still resonates in this holiday season: We can be hope for one another. The next few weeks, filled as they might be with final projects and parties, can also be a time to grow in generous service with and for others.  

SCS helped the community celebrate the holidays by programming a series of events. 

At SCS, this commitment to others as a reason for hope has been actively on display in recent days. The SCS Programming Task Force has put together a series of community-building events intended to help us take a short break from the press of end-of-semester obligations. From a scavenger hunt to a trivia game and much in between, including decorating holiday cards for kids at Children’s National Hospital, the SCS community has been spending quality time with one another. These events pointed us to what is possible when we invite others into our lives and make space for new encounters and new friendships. 

For me, in this season of anticipation and waiting, the greatest joy comes from savoring the gifts in my life – friends, family, and community. This gratitude can then give life to greater generosity and inclusiveness, wondering if I can be more hospitable in sharing these gifts. As we journey deeper into these December days, I hope you can find a little time to savor some gratitude and generate some generosity toward friends and strangers alike.

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English Language Center Celebrates Thanksgiving with Gravy and Some Gratitude

A now annual SCS tradition is the English Language Center’s (ELC) hosting of a panel discussion about the meaning of the Thanksgiving holiday. For several years, ELC has put together this dynamic event, which features SCS staff and faculty offering their insights and perspectives to an audience of ELC students learning about the diverse ways that America celebrates Thanksgiving. Moderated by Stephanie Gallop, associate director of ELC’s Intensive English Program, the panelists explored different preferences and customs that families engage in throughout the country. Turkey or stuffing? Family over football? Black Friday or Cyber Monday? The interactive discussion revealed some regional differences (sweet potato pie, for example, is more popular in the South) and some heartfelt reflections about why this is such an important holiday. 

The English Language Center hosted their annual panel on the meaning of the Thanksgiving holiday. SCS staff members (seated L-R) Jocelyne Quintero, Jamie Kralovec, and Katie Weicher shared their perspectives. 

The celebration of Thanksgiving is an opportunity to consider the central place of gratitude not only in this holiday but also in the Ignatian spirituality that gives life to the Spirit of Georgetown. I love Thanksgiving because of the way that it invites us to make space for naming the gratitude in our lives. Family, friends, and food come together around a table, a setting for deep pondering about the ties that connect us to each other and to the deeper purpose of our lives. This setting also becomes an opportunity to consider how we might move beyond our comfortable boundaries and invite others to the table, with particular attention to persons in our community in need of food, family, and fellowship.  

Set against the consumerist tendencies of our culture, the practice of Thanksgiving can help remind us of our gifts and how our gratitude for these gifts can inspire our generous action in the world. Such gifts do not require any payback or recompense. Instead, as Johanna Williams, executive director of the Jesuit-affiliated Kino Border Initiative, a transnational organization that works for humane, just, and workable migration between the U.S. and Mexico, reminded us recently: 

“Gratitude is key to Ignatian spirituality. It is not just a feeling, but a disposition. An attitude. Part of fostering gratitude is thanking God for all of the blessings and gifts He has given us. … Processing a life experience through a lens of gratitude does not mean dismissing grief and pain. Gratitude allows migrants and all of us to reframe loss and trauma into an opportunity for consciousness and power.”  

Such an attitude of gratitude animated the ELC panel and the joyful celebration that followed, a sampling of traditional Thanksgiving foods on the ground floor of the SCS building. The carefully selected spread of Thanksgiving tastes, the students enjoying their plates, and the staff that served them generously all point to a gratitude about how mission and values come alive at SCS. I found myself simmering in gratitude for the opportunity to share in this learning experience with the ELC students and the staff and faculty that care for them. A student later shared her reflection about the event, offering thanks for the opportunity to learn about a new holiday and create some lasting memories of Georgetown. 

After the panel, ELC students enjoyed a sampling of Thanksgiving flavors on the ground floor of the SCS building. School staff and faculty prepared and served the meal. 

As we enter into a week of Thanksgiving, I invite you to spend some time in gratitude for all of the gifts of your life, including the community at SCS. You might consider using a special Examen created for this purpose by the Jesuits: “An Ignatian Examen for Thanksgiving.” 

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Telling Your Story, Making a Social Impact

One of the goals of Mission in Motion is to highlight some of the ways that SCS uniquely manifests the mission and values of Georgetown by delivering a world-class, values-based education to a diverse array of communities and individuals throughout their academic and professional careers. In this Ignatian Year, we are each invited to engage with the origin story of the Jesuit founder, St. Ignatius, and then relate something from that story to the diversity of our own individual stories. 

Storytelling has become a cornerstone of the Ignatian Year, outlined as a practice on Georgetown’s Ignatian Year bookmark and highlighted during a recent signature event that modeled how to share our own stories and listen to the stories of others. An important implication of this kind of storytelling is that transformation is possible through stories, not only for individuals but also for communities. SCS is helping realize the personal and social change possibilities of telling stories. 

John Trybus, executive director and faculty of Georgetown’s Center for Social Impact Communication at SCS, interviews Dr. Tyron McKinley Freeman, author of “Madam C.J. Walker’s Gospel of Giving: Black Women’s Philanthropy During Jim Crow.” The event explored the story of Madam C.J. Walker and provided powerful examples of how stories can create social change. 

The Center for Social Impact Communication (CSIC), and specifically its Certificate in Social Impact Storytelling, demonstrates the potential for social change when professionals effectively tell their stories as part of social impact work. Anchored in CSIC’s mission, the Certificate in Social Impact Storytelling seeks to teach “changemakers of all types, especially current and aspiring marketers, communicators, fundraisers, and journalists, how to harness the power of effective storytelling for the strategic benefit of an organization and society as a whole.” This commitment to social change aligns with the Spirit of Georgetown and the University’s commitments to social justice and the common good. 

What is especially noteworthy is the congruence between the purpose of storytelling in the Ignatian Year and the mission of the storytelling certificate. The latter is grounded in the idea that telling stories effectively builds emotional connections that “bring to life the work of the issues we care so much about in ways that other forms of communication cannot.” The notion of connecting to others through emotions has a powerful linkage with the style of spirituality at the root of the Ignatian Year. Building relationships of trust  grounded in the honest sharing of stories aligns with a spirituality that is centered around shared human experiences. 

The starting place for a transformational spirituality is not by understanding abstract ideas, but by making meaning of our daily experiences and then relating that meaning to our ultimate purpose in life. St. Ignatius believed that through our emotions, the data of our everyday human experience, we are able to discern how we are called to lives of generous service. Our authentic callings and our deeper union with God flow out of the discernment we do of our interior, emotional experience. That interior work requires that we share our stories with others like trusted spiritual guides, friends, family, and others in our communities with whom we build trust. The philosophy of the CSIC storytelling certificate that “stories are inextricably linked to what it means to be human” similarly connects the sharing of stories with both individual and communal transformation.

Connecting stories to social change was evident this week in a special event organized by CSIC about the book “Madam C.J. Walker’s Gospel of Giving: Black Women’s Philanthropy During Jim Crow” by Dr. Tyrone McKinley Freeman.  In conversation with John Trybus, CSIC executive director and faculty, Dr. Freeman explored how Madam C.J. Walker used her own story and her own voice for greater justice and inclusion in a society that marginalized African Americans. The story is one about the powerful bonds of community. Walker’s story of philanthropy challenges the notion that individuals are successful in private enterprise because they are “self-made.” Rather, like Madam C.J. Walker, individuals are “mutually made” in tight-knit communities and have the potential to generously share the power and dignity of their own stories with others. This story carries powerful lessons about the evolution of Black women’s philanthropy and the events that eventually gave rise to the civil rights movement in the United States. 

The call to action at the end of the book event was: Do what you can with what you have. That same call resonates with the potential of this Ignatian Year. How might we share our stories and our gifts and talents with others in the hope of making the world a more generous and welcoming place? 

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Jesuit Heritage Month at Georgetown Invites Remembrance, Reflection, and Connection

Jesuit Heritage Month at Georgetown takes place throughout November. Check out our events!

Jesuit Heritage Month at Georgetown, taking place throughout November, is an annual tradition that encourages members of the University community to more deeply engage with Jesuit heritage and its lasting resources. This year’s celebration is especially significant given that we continue to proceed through the Ignatian Year. The events of Jesuit Heritage Month can enrich exploration of the Ignatian Year by inspiring more reflection on the significance of our “cannonball moments” and the stories we share about them within our unique contexts at Georgetown.  

The signature events of Jesuit Heritage Month focus our attention not only on the past but also on the present and the future of Jesuit education. The central question giving life to these programs seems to be: How is the Jesuit heritage helping all of us at Georgetown live out our mission and values in a way that meets the world’s contemporary needs? 

Patrick Saint-Jean, S.J., will present a talk on “A New Way To Imagine Racial Justice with Ignatius of Loyola” (RSVP here) on Monday, November 8 at 4 p.m. ET in the ICC Auditorium. Mission in Motion has previously reflected on Saint-Jean’s book, which offers up Ignatian spirituality as a resource for the individual and collective work of racial justice demanded in our society. 

The next event in the series discusses the incredible life of Fr. John O’Malley, S.J., a renowned historian and long-time member of Georgetown’s faculty. The program, “The Education of a Historian: Discussing the Life, Work, & Education of John W. O’Malley, S.J.,” takes place on Friday, November 12 at 4 p.m. ET and features a panel that will converse with Fr. O’Malley and his life and lessons for life learned from a deep study of history. 

Participate in these events and celebrate the history, mission, and identity of the Jesuits at Georgetown, and beyond!

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Ignatian Year 500 at Georgetown Kicks Off With Stories and Some Poems

A profoundly inspiring event, “What’s Your Cannonball Story? Story-Telling in Georgetown’s Ignatian Year,” brought together students, staff, and faculty from across Georgetown on October 28. It marked the start of a year-long journey at the University to deeply explore the enduring legacy of St. Ignatius and the spirituality and style of education that he inspired. Introduced by Ignatian Year Working Group co-chairs Dr. Kelly Otter, Dean of SCS, and Fr. Ron Anton, Superior of Georgetown’s Jesuit Community, the event featured two levels of stories. 

Fr. Greg Schenden, S.J., Director of Campus Ministry, describes the importance of discernment in his own life by making a meaningful distinction between wants and needs. Where are the world’s greatest needs and how are we called to use our gifts and talents in response to them? Photo credit: Kuna Hamad. Watch the recording here. 

The first level of stories were the narratives provided from the stage by three talented story-tellers: Fr. Greg Schenden, S.J., Director of Campus Ministry; Michelle Ohnona, Assistant Director for Diversity and Inclusion Initiatives at the Center for New Designs in Learning at Scholarship (CNDLS); and Dawn Carpenter, DLS, Practitioner Fellow at the Kalmanovitz Initiative for Labor and the Working Poor. In their unique ways, each storyteller touched upon some common themes as they reflected upon personal transformations that arose from their own Cannonball-like experiences. Each referenced the importance of personal discernment and the need for community support in making significant life decisions. And each described instances where their journeys of life often ended up in unexpected places, but eventually aligned them more closely to their deeper purpose and calling in the world.  

Michelle Ohnona, Assistant Director for Diversity and Inclusion Initiatives at CNDLS, shares how she arrived at a lifelong commitment to teaching and learning. Sometimes our intellectual resources help us discern our vocation choices, other times our bodies communicate important data for discernment that we should pay attention to.  Photo credit: Kuna Hamad

The second level of stories were those occurring in small-group discussions at tables arranged around Copley Formal Lounge. The Ignatian Year Working Group intentionally designed the event to encourage participants to actively engage with the Cannonball theme by listening and then offering their own stories to share. The Ignatian Year 500 bookmark was the foundation for these table conversations and provided a model for how each of us at Georgetown, regardless of our role and responsibility, can learn from our own stories and those of our colleagues. It was encouraging to see students, staff, and faculty from across the campuses listening and learning from each other in this context. With this first event completed, a precedent has been set for how to move through the Ignatian Year and make time for ourselves to meaningfully reflect on our own stories and those of our colleagues. 

Dawn Carpenter, DLS, Practitioner Fellow at the Kalmanovitz Initiative for Labor and the Working Poor, tells a story about following unknown paths and the importance of faith and perseverance in response to adversity. Photo credit: Kuna Hamad

“Pause” comes first in the progression of practices suggested on the Ignatian Year bookmark. The hope of a “pause” is that it allows us to take some time to slow down our busy minds. But this can be difficult because many of us are accustomed to continuous mental and physical motion. We are processing so much data so often that we become inundated with experiences without making meaning of them. So we have to intentionally pause so that we can look about and re-evaluate our practices and direction. The pause moment in our day, our week, our month, or even our year is really a time to grow in our habits of attention and awareness. 

In his introduction, Fr. Ron Anton, S.J., encouraged this habit of attention and awareness by quoting from the poet Mary Oliver and her poem “The Summer Day.” As you read the poem, consider the ways that you take some pause in the next few days and simply pay attention to the awe and grandeur of the world around you.

The Summer Day

Who made the world?

Who made the swan, and the black bear?

Who made the grasshopper?

This grasshopper, I mean—

the one who has flung herself out of the grass,

the one who is eating sugar out of my hand,

who is moving her jaws back and forth instead of up and down—

who is gazing around with her enormous and complicated eyes.

Now she lifts her pale forearms and thoroughly washes her face.

Now she snaps her wings open, and floats away.

I don’t know exactly what a prayer is.

I do know how to pay attention, how to fall down

into the grass, how to kneel down in the grass,

how to be idle and blessed, how to stroll through the fields,

which is what I have been doing all day.

Tell me, what else should I have done?

Doesn’t everything die at last, and too soon?

Tell me, what is it you plan to do

with your one wild and precious life?

—Mary Oliver

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From Collision to Conversion: What’s the Significance Today of the Cannonball Story?

The Ignatian Year at Georgetown kicks off on October 28 with a special event exploring the meaning of the “cannonball moments” in our lives. RSVP here!

Ahead of the event, “What’s Your Cannonball Story? Story-Telling in Georgetown’s Ignatian Year,” I want to consider the significance of the Ignatian “cannonball moment” as it relates both to the life of St. Ignatius and to our lives today. For some, relating this historical image to our contemporary human experience is a fitting way to enter more deeply into the principles and practices of the Ignatian Year. For others, the cannonball theme may feel distant, remote, or even dissonant with a desire for healthy spiritual development. In whatever way you relate to this image, I offer some insights that can hopefully help make this Ignatian story come more alive for you. 

The cannonball was literal for Ignatius, but it does not have to be so for us. One of the potential stumbling blocks of relating this 500-year-old story to our present lives is its dramatic nature. Not all of us can relate to the monumental wounding of St. Ignatius in battle, a war-time injury that earned the respect of rival forces because of Ignatius’s bravery. Some of us have had similarly significant life experiences – especially for many at SCS connected to the military. But it might feel like an unachievable high bar to have a similar cannonball experience in order to enter into the personal reflection invited by this Ignatian Year. That is not the point of relating this story to our lives today. 

The point is that we all have had some foundational event or experience that has caused us to question our existing beliefs or behaviors. This is especially the case in the context of the ongoing pandemic and how it has forced greater awareness of our feelings and the changes in our interior dispositions, attitudes, and beliefs as we have adjusted to unpredictable exterior conditions. The enduring meaning of the “cannonball moment” is that reflecting on our own examples can help set in motion a process of profound personal transformation. Here is an example of a relatable transformation offered by a prior student in the SCS “Jesuit Values in Professional Practice” course: 

“During a difficult consolidation of an organization where I used to work that divided employees and company leadership, I decided to pause and think very carefully about whether I wanted to survive through political maneuvering or doing the right thing for the company and myself. I discerned that the right thing was to continue to perform, collaborate, share information, and support the needs of the business. I chose this path and the decision was a relief. Ultimately, this path led to me to consider a more honorable path forward in my career.”

For Ignatius, the cannonball was a singular event, but for us personal transformation can take a long time and we might not consciously realize that it is even happening. While the fact of the cannonball collision is a salient detail in the Ignatian story, what matters most is how Ignatius responded over time. The injuries he sustained led to a deep shift in perspective that was possible because he committed to regular habits of prayer and self-examination. Battlefield wounds facilitated this process of conversion and enabled Ignatius to take time to imagine a different future for himself more aligned with God’s calling. 

For many, there is not a single moment that explains a deep change of heart that leads to reforming our habits, behaviors, and courses of action. Sometimes the interior transformation is a slow and patient process. It is only much later, with the help of dedicated reflection, that we understand what transformations actually occurred within us. One SCS alumna of the Jesuit Values course reflected on a slow change in her life in this way: 

“After a disappointing experience as a college athlete, I had to give up the sport that I loved. I became angry, disappointed, confused, and doubtful as a result of that decision. It took a long time for me to accept what felt like I had lost the most important thing in my life. Through much reflection over time I eventually embraced the decision, but it took a lot of patience with myself and others. I also later converted my passion for athletics into other ways of using my gifts and I became a mentor and have found other ways of helping people.” 


Over the course of the coming year, Mission in Motion will continue to bring to life the cannonball story by offering opportunities to make relevant connections to its enduring meaning. Please join us on October 28 as we mark Georgetown’s Ignatian Year by making some time and space to pause and reflect on your own cannonball journeys.

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Welcome to Georgetown’s Ignatian Year! (Wait, What’s an Ignatian Year?)

In her fall welcome message, “Looking Ahead with Hope,” SCS Dean Kelly Otter acknowledged the challenges and stresses many are experiencing in this semester of transition and pointed toward reasons for hope. Building upon the inspiration of Fr. Otto Hentz, S.J. that we can be hope for one another, Dean Otter articulated a special cause for hope at the University in 2021–2022: celebration of the Ignatian Year. 

This week’s Mission in Motion introduces the Ignatian Year, a celebration occurring in 2021–2022 at Jesuit institutions around the world. What is this Ignatian Year? And why should it matter to you? To answer these questions, we need to start at the beginning: the story of St. Ignatius. Check out this short film about his life. 

The purpose of this week’s reflection is to narrate the significance of the Ignatian Year, the 500th anniversary of the conversion of St. Ignatius of Loyola, the founder of the Jesuits, a religious order known for building schools all over the world. My own hope is that this brief summary of highlights will help make Georgetown’s Ignatian Year relevant to every member of this community. Regardless of your religious or spiritual tradition, your familiarity with the Spirit of Georgetown, or how long you have been at the University, the themes, principles, and practices at the heart of Ignatian spirituality and the style of education St. Ignatius inspired five centuries ago are relevant to you today. I invite you to consider how your ongoing journey at Georgetown, grounded in your unique lived experience, will be enriched by more deeply engaging with the events and opportunities planned for this special year.

This story begins with the story of St. Ignatius of Loyola (for an entertaining biographical summary, check out this short 10-minute film produced by Jesuits in Britain). The founder of the Jesuits was an unlikely saint, devoting the early part of his life to the pursuit of riches, honors, and conquest in battle. Upholding his knightly honor as a Spanish soldier, Ignatius defended against an invading French force and was struck by a cannonball that severely injured his leg. He had no choice but to recover slowly from his injuries, forced to stay put and entertain himself not with TikTok but with the castle’s only available reading material: religious books. This period of convalescence set into motion the deeper personal transformation that Ignatius would undergo for the rest of his life. 

What matters most for us about this transformation story is that Ignatius eventually decided on his life’s path because he paid attention to his daydreams! During his recovery, Ignatius began to notice how he felt after imagining his life’s alternate possibilities. The authentic option, the one that would lead him to pursue a profession of generosity and the common good, left him feeling joyful in a sustained way. When he imagined returning to his past life, Ignatius experienced fleeting feelings of excitement that ultimately left him feeling dry. The path toward realizing God’s invitation, his deeper purpose, would lead to deep delight and joy. Moving from a life of vainglory to a life of noble purpose required thoughtful discernment of Ignatius’s interior movements. And so it is the same for us today five centuries later. 

We are each called to make meaning of our experience by paying attention to our interior movements. You might consider these basic questions: 

  • What stirs you? 
  • What do you desire? 
  • What repels you? 
  • What distracts you?  
  • Where do you find purpose in your work? In your home? In your community? 
  • How and when do you feel most free to pursue the deeper meaning of your life? 
  • How do you want to share your gifts and talents with others? 
  • How do you want to realize justice, practice charity, and build bonds in your communities? 
  • Is there a shift in perspective that you are being invited to undertake? 

Ignatius would tell you to pay special attention to the movement of these feelings within yourself and where they lead you. Ultimately, it’s the direction of the movements that matters. And while we may not have literal cannonball experiences like Ignatius, we are each invited – especially in light of the ongoing pandemic – to convert our individual and collective suffering and adversity into profound moral and spiritual transformation. 

Fr. Mark Bosco, S.J., Vice President for Mission and Ministry at Georgetown, discusses the significance of the Ignatian Year by describing an Ignatian movement from profession to purpose. Watch the video. 

For Ignatius and the Jesuit spirituality that carries on this legacy, implanted in our interior life, rooted in our deepest desires, is our vocation to be realized in the world. All of our lived experience – from the most tedious daily details to the biggest cannonball moments – present opportunities to encounter a loving God. There are many names and paths for this encounter and some may use less theologically oriented language like the true self, transcendent mystery, goodness, truth, etc. According to Fr. Arturo Sosa, S.J., Superior General of the Jesuits, all of us, regardless of our beliefs, share in the “same struggle” of realizing real change in our day-to-day mission of life. 

This Ignatian Year is also an opportunity to shine a light on how all Jesuit institutions are called to realize the Universal Apostolic Preferences. These orientations – Showing the Way to God, Walking with the Excluded, Journeying with Youth, and Caring for Our Common Home – are intended to focus the energy of all Jesuit works for the next 10 years. Georgetown SCS uniquely animates Jesuit mission in a way that honors the context of our learning community. One of the great opportunities of Georgetown’s celebration of the Ignatian Year is a deeper appreciation for the diverse ways that schools and units across the University bring to life an Ignatian spirit in their teaching, learning, and working. 

In the coming weeks and months, Mission in Motion will dedicate attention to the meaning of the Ignatian Year. Stay tuned for opportunities, like events, communications, programs, and practices, that are designed to accompany you on your journey. 

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An Invitation To Consider Some Commotion in Your Life and Work

This week’s Mission in Motion is a cross-post from the blog of Georgetown’s Campus Ministry, “Integrating Jesuit Values in Professional Education.” Campus Ministry invited me to share some reflections, in the context of the Ignatian Year (more to come in the following weeks about the Ignatian Year and how the Georgetown SCS community can engage in it), about how Jesuit values come alive at SCS. The post below presents the various ways in which the curriculum, student experience, and community engagement efforts at the School manifest an Ignatian vision of teaching, learning, and serving. 

I am inspired by an image from the autobiography of St. Ignatius about causing “commotion at the university” when I reflect on what the Jesuit tradition offers professional and continuing education. The dictionary sense of the word “commotion” conveys “tumultuous motion, agitation, and noisy disturbance.” But is there a more constructive and healthy way of considering “commotion” as a spur to disrupting the unreflective status quo in our lives, in the institutions in which we work, and in the social structures we inhabit? How can the Ignatian spirit inspire us to see our lives anew and transform our habits of heart and mind? 

Jamie Kralovec (left) with Rashada Jenkins, a 2017 graduate of the Master’s in Human Resources Management program. This week’s Mission in Motion is a cross-post from the blog of Georgetown’s Campus Ministry: “Integrating Jesuit Values in Professional Education.” 

In his autobiography, St. Ignatius of Loyola describes a “great commotion at the university” that occurs after he gives the Spiritual Exercises to a few prominent teachers and students. Five centuries later, a similar dynamic can occur whenever a student, staff, or faculty member is transformed by an Ignatian formation program and is invited to exteriorize what they have deeply interiorized. St. Ignatius was willing to disrupt the status quo of universities and other institutions in order to see things new and follow God’s calling in the service of the common good. Jesuit schools, in the spirit of their founder, have evolved over time to meet the educational demands of the changing societies in which they operate. And while the forms of Jesuit education have been updated, including the development of professional and continuing education programs like those at Georgetown’s School of Continuing Studies (SCS), the essential core of Ignatian-inspired teaching and learning has never changed. Universities like Georgetown and schools within them like SCS continue to uphold a humanistic tradition with a religious vision that, initiated 500 years ago and celebrated in this Ignatian Year, is constantly seeking how to most effectively respond to the challenges of our time while attending to the unique contexts of our diverse learners. 

At SCS, whose vision is to “transform the lives and careers of diverse lifelong learners by providing access to engaged and personalized liberal and professional education for all,” the intentional incorporation of the Spirit of Georgetown continues to bear fruit across the academic enterprise. Faculty are encouraged to explore the resources of Ignatian Pedagogy in order to integrate Jesuit values across the curriculum. For example, SCS Vice Dean Shenita Ray’s “Strategies To Integrate Georgetown Values into Online and On-Campus Courses,” helps faculty and instructional designers visualize the practical ways that Ignatian Pedagogy can come alive in assignments and other learning activities. 

Students, faculty, and staff are also invited to participate in a variety of Ignatian-inspired retreats and other spirituality programs, including SCS Daily Digital Meditation, a digitally connected community that originated at the beginning of the pandemic that continues to extend the resources of mindfulness meditation, including a weekly Examen. And a weekly blog reflection, Mission in Motion, narrates the many ways that SCS students, faculty, staff, and alumni live out Jesuit values in their study, work, and engagement with the communities beyond Georgetown. 

One of the signature SCS manifestations of Ignatian spirituality and pedagogy is “Jesuit Values in Professional Practice” (recently renamed “The Reflective Professional”), a first-of-its-kind elective open to all degree-seeking students at the School. Offered annually since 2016, this community-based learning course, which is supported by Georgetown’s Center for Social Justice, Research, Teaching & Service, is a reflection-based exploration of the history, education philosophy, spirituality, and social justice applications of Jesuit education. I created the interdisciplinary course in response to my own transformative experience of the Spiritual Exercises. Similar to those early Ignatian-animated citizens of the university, I discerned at the retreat’s conclusion how best to share my transformative experience with others. The outcome of my discernment was a dedicated course that introduces some of the tools of the Ignatian tradition in a way that honors religious pluralism, advances social justice, and meets the needs of busy adult learners at SCS. 

All of these experiences hopefully make clear that the enduring resources of Jesuit education and the vision of its founder animate the life of the School of Continuing Studies. In this Ignatian Year, I invite you to consider: what might it mean for you to cause a little graced commotion at Georgetown and beyond? How might you listen for and respond to deep callings in your life, your study, and your work?  

Jamie Kralovec is the Associate Director for Mission Integration at the School of Continuing Studies.

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Curious About the SCS Daily Digital Meditations? Some Frequently Asked Questions

SCS continues to offer a Daily Digital Meditation for interested students, faculty, staff, and alumni. This week, Mission in Motion considers frequently asked questions about this program and encourages you to participate by signing up here.

Since the pandemic began, the School of Continuing Studies has offered a digital daily meditation each day of the workweek. The meditations have become an important piece of the School’s commitment to Care for the Whole Person as we continue to confront the challenges of COVID-19 and its related disruptions and stresses. For two years, Mission in Motion has reflected on the meaning and purpose of the daily offering of meditation, including a post last summer that featured testimonials from regular attendees: “The Value of Inner Silence: Participants Reflect on  the Benefits of SCS Daily Digital Meditations.” In that reflection, I offered some insights about the physical, mental, and spiritual benefits of such a daily mindfulness practice. More than 200 students, staff, faculty, and alumni have registered to receive the log-in instructions since March 2020, and I continue to enthusiastically lead these sessions and believe in their enduring value. The virtual nature of this activity has enabled greater access to our SCS community members dispersed in different places.  

With the fall semester well underway, I want to answer some frequently asked questions about the meditations we offer. My hope is that some or all of these questions help persuade you to join our welcoming community and put into practice the University’s Jesuit value of Contemplation in Action. 

What if I have never practiced meditation? What can I expect?

The SCS Daily Digital Meditation is a form of mindfulness practice and there is no prerequisite for participating. It starts at 12:00 p.m. ET and runs until about 12:17 p.m. ET. During that time, we engage in a body scan, a conscious breathing exercise, nine minutes of silent centering meditation assisted by a piano soundtrack that facilitates a sacred setting for attendees, and a short closing. Most participants join the Zoom room on camera and then turn off the camera as we transition into the meditation experience. The approach is inspired by Western and Eastern traditions and the core exercise resembles “centering prayer” with its encouragement of naming a single, sacred word to gently push aside any distracting thoughts or feelings that creep into one’s conscious awareness during the time of pure silence. On Fridays, we practice an inclusive form of the Examen, modeled on Ignatian Spirituality, to reverentially review in silence the experiences of our week. 

What if I like the idea of meditation, but committing to a daily practice feels like too much? 

We hold the meditations every weekday and you’re welcome to attend whenever you like. Some attendees participate multiple times a week and others log in less frequently. There is no expectation to join on a regular basis. Daily meditations allow us to include as many participants as possible each week. And even though the sessions are in silence, there is a feeling of community among those who log in. As one participant shared: “I wasn’t sure how I would feel practicing meditation with a group. As it turns out, over the past several months I have found a community of individuals who share a common goal of sitting in silence to contemplate whatever they are dealing with on any particular day.” 

I’m interested in the meditations, but what else can you tell me about it and other similar programs being offered at Georgetown? 

Please reach out to me, Jamie Kralovec, SCS Associate Director for Mission Integration, at pjk34@georgetown.edu. At Georgetown, there are many ways to practice mindfulness and wellness along with spiritual development. You can also learn more about Georgetown wellness (for students and faculty/staff) and spiritual accompaniment. 

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SCS Doctoral Student Puts Values, Skills into Practice by Contributing to In-Depth Study of Women and the Diaconate

Enshrined in Georgetown University’s mission is a dedication to “creating and communicating knowledge” through education “in the Jesuit tradition for the glory of God and the well-being of humankind.” This aspiration anchors the excellent undergraduate, graduate, and professional education offered across the University. At SCS, learning experiences are designed to maximize impact on the common good by cultivating professional skills that can be brought to bear on the pressing needs facing communities around the world. The Doctor of Liberal Studies (DLS) program demonstrates this commitment by encouraging students to frame issues in ways that cut across traditional disciplines, engaging in interdisciplinary reflection and analysis rooted in Georgetown’s Jesuit values. 

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This week’s Mission in Motion is an interview with Jennifer Sherman, Doctor of Liberal Studies student, who recently contributed to a social science research study about U.S. Catholic women and the diaconate. 

In this week’s Mission in Motion, we sit down with DLS student Jennifer Sherman, who reflects on her learning journey at Georgetown and a research study published this week, “Called to Contribute: Findings from an In-Depth Interview Study of US Catholic Women and the Diaconate,” which she contributed to on a research team with Cella Masso-Rivetti and the study’s primary author, Dr. Tricia C. Bruce. This sociological study relies on in-depth interviews with women in the U.S. Catholic Church whose call or ministry bears similarities to that of ordained male deacons. The motivation for this systematic, social science research arises from the Catholic Church’s growing exploration, evident in the recent appointment of commissions by Pope Francis, about questions surrounding women and the diaconate. In the interview, Jennifer, who is also an alumna of Georgetown’s Bachelor of Liberal Studies program, reflects on her SCS curriculum, what led her to take on this project, and what this experience means for her professional future.

(MiM) Did you ever expect to be involved in a research project like this? Tell us more about the journey that led to your participation in this study. 

(JS) Not at all; it still feels more like a happy surprise or a dream come true than an expectation met. This despite the fact that my coursework and connections at Georgetown not only led me to this work but also helped prepare me for it. 

My involvement in the study began with a directed reading I did with Jamie Kralovec on women’s ordination. One of the readings he suggested that semester was a reflection by Casey Stanton on the Amazon synod. When Jamie and I discussed the article, he encouraged me to reach out to Casey, considering our shared interest in women and the diaconate. When she and I spoke, her Discerning Deacons project was just launching. Casey introduced me to Tricia, who was leading the sociological arm of that project, and the rest is history.

(MiM) In the course of your work on the research team, in what ways did you rely on the skills, knowledge, and values of your Georgetown education? 

(JS) I could provide many examples, but instead I’ll touch briefly on each category. In terms of skills, there were the research philosophy course with James Giordano, the quantitative studies on women’s ordination with Mark Gray, and courses on gender and religion with Lauve Steenhuisen. On the knowledge front, there was the historical study of women’s roles in the Church with JoAnn Moran Cruz. When it comes to values, Jamie Kralovec’s Jesuit Values in Professional Practice course was quite influential in that it allowed me to consider how I might align my values with my professional goals. It may sound cliché, but it’s because of experiences such as these that I was ready when the opportunity arose to work on this study.

(MiM) Can you reflect on how this experience is informing your own ongoing professional discernment?  

(JS) It certainly reinforces my desire to do further sociological work on women’s ordination and other topics in religion. But my interests are broad, and this experience reminds me that what’s important to me is working with others toward goals that support shared values such as those in Georgetown’s mission statement, including cura personalis, justice, and “people for others.” These values come into play in various other projects I’m involved in.

(MiM) Anything else you would like to share? 

(JS) Yes. For anyone who wants to discuss this or another project, or otherwise communicate with me, please contact me at jms354@georgetown.edu. I look forward to hearing from you!