Prayer Lessons in Spin Class

by Jim Manney

Michael Rossmann, SJ, took up spinning to keep in shape during the winter.  He lists 11 lessons he relearned while he rode his stationary bike.  Number 3:

It’s important to push through to the very end. . . . Ignatius instructs those going through the Exercises to pray for an hour at a time and to make sure we spend the full hour in prayer.  He even goes out of his way to note that “the enemy of our human nature” will tempt us to shorten the time we had set aside for prayer.  It’s the same in spin.  It is tempting to relax during the bit of silence between the end of one song and the start of another, but instructors push us to keep up the intensity of the workout and in so doing they keep us moving through the lulls to the very end.

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May 8, 2012

A Saint Who Lives in Complete Activity

by Jim Manney

The Ignatian man ought to be a saint and he ought to live in complete activity. Previous spirituality opposed these two aspects. Activity seemed to be an obstacle to holiness which was conceived as contemplation. The revolution accomplished by St. Ignatius showed that that which appeared to be an obstacle could become a means. To the heart filled with God, all things speak of Him.

Jean Danielou, SJ

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May 7, 2012

Faith and the Cosmos

by Jim Manney

In a recent article in America, Adam Hincks, SJ, says that cosmologists don’t have definitive answers to the two questions most people have about the universe: when did it begin? and how big is it?  Scientists don’t even know what most of the universe is made of.  Hincks has a doctorate in cosmology from Princeton, and he’ll likely carry on the great tradition of Jesuit science.

Astronomers all over the world, professional and amateur alike, are getting ready to observe the rare transit of Venus on June 6.  They’ll see the planet of Venus cross the face of the sun, something that won’t happen again until 2117.  It turns out that the Jesuits have a long history of observing these transits.

Photo by Benutzer:Klingon from Wikimedia Commons

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May 4, 2012

Best Ignatian Songs: We Are Alive

by Jim Manney

My kids know I’m a big Bruce Springsteen fan, so I was pleased when my daughter Laura gave me his latest album, “Wrecking Ball.”  It’s terrific.  Several songs fortify the Boss’s reputation as the greatest Catholic poet of our time.  My favorite is “We Are Alive.”

We are alive
Oh, and though we lie alone here in the dark
Our souls will rise to carry the fire and light the spark
To fight shoulder to shoulder and heart to heart.

I couldn’t find a video of a live performance that I could recommend, so we’ll have to settle for the sound track with a poster.  Lyrics here.  Click here to watch it on YouTube.

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May 3, 2012

“Not Many Things But Much”

by Jim Manney

Something to think about ¦ A Latin proverb adds a spiritual dimension to the point: non multa sed multum, or “not many things but much.” Jesuits didn’t coin that phrase, though I’ve heard it attributed to them, probably because its spirit so closely aligns with other Jesuit ideals.

The quality with which a work is done—the “muchness” of it—can be more important than the sheer quantity of tasks a person completes. What value, for example, that a social worker counsels fifty people a day if each feels like a processed can rolling through an assembly line? Or what value is there in people parroting hundreds of prayers without real conscious engagement? We earlier quoted Archbishop Oscar Romero’s take on this theme: “We cannot do everything and there is a sense of liberation in realizing that. This enables us to do something and do it very well.” Or as Mother Teresa put it: “We cannot do great things on this earth; we can only do little things with great love.”

Chris Lowney
Heroic Living

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May 2, 2012

The Remarkable Mary Ward

by Jim Manney

Mary Ward was an amazing woman whose vision for an active religious community of women was realized in the Institute of the Blessed Virgin Mary–the BVM sisters.  She modeled the BVMs on the Jesuits.   I was one of the horde of boomer Catholic children whom they taught in the Midwest in the post-war years.

Tim Muldoon wrote about Mary Ward a few years ago.  Lisa Kelly has an appreciation  here.

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May 1, 2012

Daniel Lord on Suffering

by Jim Manney

Andy Otto has a fine piece in America about his experiences as a hospital chaplain.  He quotes the Jesuit spiritual writer Daniel Lord, SJ, on suffering: “Perhaps sorrow is not the horrible evil that men have thought it. Perhaps it has some beautiful and deep significance that can be read only by eyes that have looked into the blood-red sun behind Calvary’s hill.” Writes Otto:

“Reeling broken into the arms of God,” writes Father Lord, signals a thirst deep within us that arises frequently from an experience of pain. It is the “I-know-not-what” of St. John of the Cross for which we ache. There is a deep need to fill the emptiness created in sorrow and brokenness. It may begin with a loved one’s embrace or word, but it ends with the mystery of God.

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April 30, 2012

Conference: Finding God in Unsettled Times

by Jim Manney

Mark your calendars for what looks like an excellent conference: Finding God in Unsettled Times, June 29 to July 1, on the campus of Loyola University Maryland.  The conference is sponsored by the Jesuit Collaborative, a consortium of the Jesuit provinces on the East Coast.  Browse a list of 33 workshops here.

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April 27, 2012

Blog-alogue Final Question: Time for Social Media?

by Jim Manney

Meredith,

Alas, it’s time to bring our blog-alogue about social media to a close.  I think it’s been entertaining and thoroughly informative, and many followers of this blog feel the same way, judging by the many comments we’ve had to these posts.  We’re not finished with the subject by any means; you’ll be posting about social media here in the future.  But I’m going to end the blog-alogue part of it with one final question.

First, a summary.  In the past couple of months, we’ve talked about a vision for social media, its Ignatian character, giving it up for Lent, social media tools, and models.  My last question is one that’s been lurking in my mind all along, and I’ll bet it’s occurred to many readers as well: where do I find the time to do all this?

Time is precious.  I can’t keep up with the blogs I want to follow.  I don’t look at my Facebook page very often. I neglect Twitter.  So — how can I fit social media into my life?

Jim

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Jim,

Is there a sentient person alive today who doesn’t wish for more time? Given how calibrated time is a human fabrication, you’d think our forebears would have granted us more than 24 hours in a day.  Alas, they did not.  And what, pray tell, would we do with that “extra” time? Me? I’d probably get more sleep or deep clean my bathroom, thus raising the issue of priorities.

Once again, I’m going to say discernment is at the core of deciding how and when to fit social media into daily life.  Social media certainly seem to require an overwhelming amount of time. In addition to the growing number of tools, technology has changed the way we deal with time.

Lately I’ve been thinking a lot about how “real time” isn’t even real time as I’ve experienced it in the past. I’ve been pondering how asynchronous communication, such as that which (allegedly) occurs in the digital world, can actually feel synchronous.

Digital technology has also re-shaped expectations about response rate.

Post something on Twitter or Facebook and anyone paying attention in that moment  may respond immediately.  As a result, communication feels faster than fast.  More present. More real.  Real presence? But post a blog comment or send e-mail, and you might get a response hours or a day later. Behold a new source of social anxiety: What? You didn’t respond instantly to my post or e-mail?  What does that mean? Are you ignoring me?

What to do?  You can reduce anxiety by knowing why you want to use social media and then choosing platforms (i.e., tools) accordingly.

If, for example, you decide to use Twitter or Facebook lists as news feeds, then scan what’s there as frequently as you might read a daily print newspaper.

If, for example, you want to have conversations with like-hearted folks, then you’ll need to cultivate a consistent presence. Remember: whatever happens in “real” community will happen in a virtual community.  You cannot wander in and mostly out of a community and expect to be viewed as a member — not in the physical world and not online, although online community tends to be more forgiving of wanderers.

In either event, whether you want to use social media to retrieve content or engage in conversation, you can reduce time pressure by integrating it into the way you routinely engage with the world.  You’ve already done this with the telephone and with e-mail, so you know how to do this.  Don’t make social media into something different, separate, or special.

And here are some practical solutions to social media time management:

  • Use Tweetdeck or HootSuite to manage content from and post content to all your social media accounts.  My Tweetdeck is configured into 14 columns, one of which is exclusively devoted to accounts delivering secular and religion news.  It’s also set up so I can post from four different Twitter accounts and LinkedIn.
  • Use Google Reader to feed blogs you want to read into a desktop reader rather than cluttering your e-mail box. Periodically review and unsubscribe to blogs you never read.
  • Sort Facebook friends into groups and reconfigure your news feed so you see only what you want to read. My news feed is configured so I get news/posts from organizations and publications only.  Posts from people about their puppies, gardens, and Jesus show up in groups.
  • Either delete or don’t stress about accounts you never or rarely look at.  No one is taking attendance!
  • Set up and stick to a schedule for reading and commenting on blogs, Facebook posts, or tweets. You don’t even have to do this every day. I’m only on social media all day and much of the night because church communications is my ministry and I love it. What blesses me beyond measure may seem  like your worst nightmare.
  • Build social media Sabbaths and sabbaticals into your use, but if you’ve developed a presence, don’t disappear. Just as you’d record an “on vacation” message on voice mail, let people know when you’re taking a break.

These are some practical ways to fit social media into your life, but only if you want it to be there at all. Unless you’re a digital strategist, a community manager,  or love using social media to connect, you do not have do any of this.

That’s right — you don’t have to use social media. Go ahead and delete your Twitter and Facebook accounts.  No one’s salvation is jeopardized by opting out of social media, except possibly mine?!?

Meredith

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April 26, 2012

Breathing in the Silence

by Becky Eldredge

I found myself this morning reflecting on an experience that occurred last year during a Charis retreat. It was a Friday night last March, and I stepped outside the chapel into the cool air during a period of sacred silence. As the doors of the chapel closed behind me, I caught a glimpse again of the 30 young adults who were in total silence and prayer.

young woman in silenceThe silence came with me as I took a few deep breaths outside. As I did, I noticed the world alive around me. Across our church’s parking lot, a young woman along with her family and friends celebrated her Quinceañera in our main building. The pounding of the music and the laughter of the people inside drifted outside as the doors opened and closed. I breathed in the joy of the moment.

In the near distance, I heard the crack of a baseball bat and the cheering of the fans at the University of Georgia baseball game. I smiled at the cheers, knowing that something good had happened. I breathed in the excitement of the community.

Suddenly, I looked up because of the increasingly loud sounds of a helicopter. The helicopters were flying low and moving quickly with their lights frantically scanning. I breathed in the sadness of their search, for I knew they were looking for a young man who had shot and killed a police officer in our community days earlier.

Turning back to the young adults breathing deeply in the silence and in their time with God, I found myself overcome with the understanding that God was somehow in all of these moments at the same time: God speaking to each young adult uniquely in their silent prayer, God celebrating within the joy of the party, God savoring the experience of community at the baseball game, and somehow, at the same time, God was in the search for the young man, comforting the family and friends of the fallen police officer and comforting the family of the man on the run, and offering wisdom during the decisions of both the man and the officers who sought him.

I was overwhelmed with the clarity that night of God in all things. This night was not unique in the multitude of life’s events of both joy and pain and the fact that God was in all of them somehow. This night was unique because I noticed God’s infinite presence in our lives, and I noticed it because of the gift of silence that night.

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April 25, 2012

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