As I write this post, my inbox is filling up with e-mails due to a dialogue with family members about various faith topics. What is unique about this e-mail chain is that my family is full of ordained ministers of different denominations (Anglican, Presbyterian, and Baptist). In the middle of all of these ministers, I [...]
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Monday night, the LSU Tigers play in the National Championship Game. Those who know me know that I am an avid LSU fan. Those who do not know me, trust me when I tell you, “I bleed purple and gold.” There was no doubt that when Chris and I became parents that we would pass [...]
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Kimberlee Conway Ireton writes about her family’s practice of praying the examen together: Our nightly practice of the examen around our dinner table helps Doug and me to recognize the gifts in our lives and to be more aware of God’s presence with us. It also helps our kids reflect on their lives, to be [...]
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This past Sunday was the feast of the Holy Family, and it calls to our imagination that “longest sermon” of Jesus first thirty years, as Cardinal Seán O’Malley called it. I remember, as a teenager, wondering what Jesus was like as a teenager. (What did he do with rushing hormones, for example?) As a father, [...]
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I took my girls to a place called Purgatory Chasm and had a metaphor experience. Metaphor experiences are of course those things you do which, once they are accomplished, emerge as perfect metaphors for life. And I tend to encounter them frequently because I look for them, and that, according to my wife, makes me [...]
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It occurred to me just a few days ago that without thinking about it, my family and I were doing a group Examen at our dinner table. I don’t know why it took me so long to recognize this fact, but now it’s obvious to me that one of the very important reasons families and [...]
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There were two stone masons, each doing the same job. The first, a melancholy man, was asked what he was doing. “I lay stones,” he replied, looking sullen. “Every day, stones and mortar. No difference from one day to the next. I lay stones, I get paid.” His was a dreary life. His colleague was [...]
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The Examen works for children too. Kimberlee Conway Ireton writes about her experience with it. “The examen creates a rich tradition for our family of listening and being heard—which is helping all of us learn how to hear and speak not just to one another, but to God as well.” Go here for another look [...]
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It is possible to bring an Ignatian perspective to parenting. My wife Sue and I don’t claim to be the best at this all the time, but the basic thrust of it goes like this. Taking the First Principle and Foundation (FPF) seriously means seeking to discover what kind of person God has created our [...]
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The fruit of the regular practice of the examen—or more broadly, the life of regular, cumulative, formative reflection—is living with greater attentiveness, greater readiness, even greater anticipation of God’s whispers. I felt it this evening, running an errand with my older daughter Grace. We searched six stores for an item she needed for a science [...]
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