Dear friends,
Blessings to you as you prepare for the new academic calendar. I hope your summertime has been restorative and filled with good memories from being with friends, colleagues, and family. I hope you are well and that your spirits are elevated.
Here is a program of offerings for the coming year. You are welcome to attend any of them. You may invite family and friends to these programs. Please feel free to share this email.
This email contains programs on the following topics.
- Wednesday Afternoon Ignatian Discussions, Autobiography of Ignatius
- The Practice of Compassionate Communications
- The Spiritual Exercises in Daily Life (19th annotation)
- Ignatian Artists Guild
- Tuesday Morning Adult Education: Prayer Takes Us Home.
Please email me if you have questions.
God bless you.
Fr. John Predmore, S.J.
Wednesday Afternoon Ignatian Discussions
4:00 to 5:00 pm EDT/EST
Sept. 27th – Pope Francis, The Synod, and the New Style of Church
Three-part series on Ignatius of Loyola
Oct. 11th Autobiography of Ignatius
Oct. 25th Autobiography of Ignatius
Nov. 8th Autobiography of Ignatius
“A Pilgrim’s Testament: The Memoirs of Ignatius of Loyola” (Jesuit Sources, BC: https://jesuitsources.bc.edu/a-pilgrims-testament-the-memoirs-of-saint-ignatius-of-loyola-new-edition/)
Early Jesuits urged Saint Ignatius of Loyola (1491–1556), founder of the Society of Jesus, to share the story of how God had worked in his soul. His memoirs, they hoped, would inspire and guide Jesuits and other readers for years to come. Barton Geger, S.J., provides a new introduction and original annotations for this edition of A Pilgrim’s Testament. Geger includes fascinating notes that accompany this important text, making the autobiography of Ignatius of Loyola more accessible to all.
St. Ignatius of Loyola (c.1491–1556) was a Spanish nobleman who had a spiritual conversion when he was thirty years old. Ignatius did two things for which he is famous. First, he wrote a little book called The Spiritual Exercises, which is a manual of sorts to guide people through a thirty-day silent retreat. The second thing that Ignatius did, after he became a Catholic priest, was to create a fraternity of priests and lay brothers called the Society of Jesus, or the Jesuits for short.
Readers will find Ignatius struggling with many of the same questions and tensions that Christians face every day: Why should I belong to the church, if I can follow God in my own way? What should I do with my life? How do I fight this temptation? How do I know when God is trying to tell me something? Is it ever acceptable to say “no” to good people who ask for my help?
Zoom Meeting: https://bchigh.zoom.us/j/85948192450?pwd=YWFLSFo1WU1HNlFrK2l5SXNXanNldz09
Meeting ID: 859 4819 2450
Passcode: 755679
The Practice of Compassionate Communications
This Wednesday afternoon online series keep us balanced during difficult conversations. We will examine what sort of information to take in, and to notice when conversations experience a power imbalance. We will negotiate and set boundaries, especially when dealing with someone else’s anger. We will review deep-breathing techniques to listen meaningfully and to develop understanding. We will learn how to use right speech to bring to sustain meaningful relationships. 4:00 pm -5:00 pm
RSVP for this series, come when you can, drop out as needed.
Join Zoom Meeting
https://bchigh.zoom.us/j/88406666714?pwd=dC9nVnJqZHJTb1YwcS80UnBRQSszdz09
Meeting ID: 884 0666 6714
Passcode: 367817
September 6th
September 20th
October 4th
October 18th
November 1st
November 15th
The Ignatian Exercises Retreat in Daily Life
(or The 19th Annotation Retreat)
August 28th, 2023 – May 6th, 2024
Mondays by Zoom: 4:30 – 5:30 p.m. Eastern Daylight and Saving Time
Resources: The Ignatian Adventure, Kevin O’Brien, S.J.
Retreat Direction: On an individualized basis, often by Zoom
Creativity Option: People are free to express their graces and experiences by drawing, sketching, painting, or through any creative technique that deepens their prayer movements.
Movements:
The first few weeks will help people assess and adjust their prayer practices to sustain a nine-month program. One moves through the Exercises by receiving graces from God.
The first movement focuses upon one’s relationship with God, the Creator, and our dependence upon God’s mercy.
In the second movement, God introduces us to the life of Jesus of Nazareth, with whom we deepen our relationship, often testing the limits of the friendship. This is the heart of the Exercises and the place where we will spend most time. We will focus upon dialogue and conversation as the central part of our prayer.
In the third movement, we follow Jesus to his Cross where we emphasize our compassion and solidarity with him as he endures his Passion. We become like chaplains to him as we listen to what he is experiencing in his heart and emotions.
The fourth movement is the time of Resurrection, which is a new beginning of the relationship, and a time to see and love the world the way that God sees and loves the world.
Ignatian Artist Guild
Faith-Art-Ignatian Spirituality
This is a group that will meet at BC High once a month from September through May to deepen one’s prayer and to explore one’s creativity. All levels of creators are welcome. No experience is needed. The goal is to enjoy our faith, to explore prayer techniques, and to have fun with creative endeavors to build community.
We will meet once a month on a Saturday morning: 9:00 – 11:00
We will run monthly podcasts for those who are remote and want to join our enterprise.
Sept 16th : Photography Walk or Zentangles (weather dependent)
Oct 14th : Pumpkins -watercolors
Nov. 4th: Zentangles or Photography Walk
Dec. 9th: Christmas Card making
Jan. 13th: Snowflakes; paper cut-outs
Feb. 10th: Snow- watercolors
March 9th: Collages
Apr. 6th: Poems - Easter
May 4th: Environment
Tuesday morning Theology Book Club:
Adult Education: Prayer Takes Us Home: Gerhard Lohfink
A lot of people would like to learn to pray all over again. Others are not so sure they ought to pray. They want to know whether prayer will help them and, more than that, whether it will be of any use at all to our world.
This book gives an answer—not in the form of glib instructions, but by introducing the reader to the theology of prayer. It refers again and again to the Bible, especially the Psalms. At the same time, it speaks about personal experiences as well. Gerhard Lohfink writes in inviting, easy-to-read language, answering questions such as:
“To whom do we pray?”
“Does it make any sense to ask for things in prayer?”
“What happens in the Eucharistic Prayer?”
“What is so special about the Psalms?”
“How can I practice Christian meditation?”
This book offers an inviting approach to Christian prayer.
Tuesdays 8:00 am - 9:00 am
Join Zoom Meeting
https://bchigh.zoom.us/j/81168224605?pwd=UlA0VFpKZyttRmxSU1QzSnpvN2kvQT09
Meeting ID: 811 6822 4605
Passcode: 866898
