This week in the United States, we celebrate Thanksgiving. It’s a holiday in which we’re invited to cultivate a disposition of gratitude. What are we thankful for? Who are we thankful for? How can we be gifts to others?

Gratitude is a foundational disposition in Ignatian spirituality. Ignatius wanted us to know that our God is a giver of good gifts, a God who delights in us for the gift that we already are—and for the giftedness we have yet to share with the world. From that place, that spiritual sense of self, we go out to do God’s good work.

Today’s guest is Jesuit priest Mark Thibodeaux. He’s the pastor of Holy Name of Jesus Parish in New Orleans and a prolific writer on all things Ignatian. He’s something of an expert on that foundational Ignatian prayer of gratitude: the examen. Fr. Thibodeaux has been praying the examen for a long time, and today we talk about how and why the examen is such a versatile prayer. There are examens to ferret out racism and examens to combat climate change and examens to help us better understand the mission of our Jesuit institutions.

But at the end of the day, the examen is about gratitude. Without it, everything goes south. So, today, we talk about prayer, spirituality and gratitude.

Check out our compilation of examen prayers: https://www.jesuits.org/spirituality/the-ignatian-examen/

Get a copy of Fr. Mark's book, "Reimagining the Ignatian Examen:" https://store.loyolapress.com/reimagining-the-ignatian-examen

Give Thanks the Ignatian Way with Mark Thibodeaux, SJ

Jesuits and friends come together to look at the world through Ignatian eyes, always striving to live Ad Maiorem Dei Gloriam -- For the Greater Glory of God. Hosted by Mike Jordan Laskey, Eric Clayton and MegAnne Liebsch. Learn more at jesuits.org. A production of the Jesuit Conference of Canada and the United States.

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This year marks 10 years since Fr. Paul Shelton, SJ, was ordained a priest. As a result, he's been feeling a bit reflective, nostalgic even. He's been thinking about the very first Mass he ever celebrated.

But not for the reason you think.

Today's episode of "AMDG: A Jesuit Podcast" is a fun one. In it, we hear from a variety of voices, a variety of perspectives on what actually happened at Paul's first Mass. Because it was anything but ordinary. It was Pentecost. And a Jesuit caught fire.

This is the story of that day.

This Jesuit's on Fire: A Pentecost Story

Welcome to “Pathway to Priesthood”—a limited audio series from the Jesuit Conference of Canada and the United States. In these conversations, host Eric Clayton talks with Jesuits who are in the final days of preparing for ordination to the priesthood. They reflect back on their vocation stories and experience of Jesuit formation, and wrestle with some of the biggest questions surrounding priestly ordination.

On this episode, they dive into one of those all-important Ignatian concepts: Discernment. The two Jesuit guests—Mike Tedone and Christopher Alt—talk about how they employed the tools of discernment in their own vocations. One of the most important questions any of us can ask when we stand at the cusp of a major vocational decision is this: How do I know I’m ready? Well, discernment helps us wrestle with that question; and, that question takes center stage today.

Christopher was raised in Oshkosh, Wisconsin. He attended the University of San Diego and, later, Boston College. It was there that he met the Jesuits, though it would be a number of years before he took the leap and entered. Mike grew up in Orange County, California. After a volunteer experience with Jesuit Volunteer Corps in Micronesia, he, too, eventually found himself at Boston College where friendships with Jesuit scholastics convinced him that he could become one himself. As you’ll hear, both men had to ask hard questions of themselves and of God about their vocation. While there may be few if any quick answers, Christopher and Mike share with us how they went about discovering the right answers for their lives. 

As you listen to their stories and reflections, I invite you to consider whether you or someone you know might be interested in discerning a call to Jesuit life. If so, head over to beajesuit.org.

Pathway to Priesthood: How Do I Know I'm Ready?

If you made a list of the best things about the Catholic Church in the United States, Catholic Charities USA would be in that list’s very top tier. A network of 168 local agencies based in dioceses throughout the country, Catholic Charities served more than 15 million of our at-risk neighbors last year alone. They serve people without homes, those who are unemployed or underemployed, children who are hungry or malnourished, elderly persons who are isolated, vulnerable migrants and refugees on the move, families recovering from natural disasters, pregnant women and new mothers in need, and persons with disabilities who have inadequate care. All together, the work of Catholic Charities makes up one of the largest networks of humanitarian aid in the nation.

Today’s guest is Kerry Robinson, the president and CEO of Catholic Charities USA. If Catholic Charities is in the top tier of American Catholic endeavors, Kerry is in the top tier of American Catholic leaders. She’s dynamic, passionate, faith-filled and extremely smart. And she’s the second-ever woman and second layperson to lead the network. Before joining Catholic Charities, Kerry spent almost two decades working with a group called Leadership Roundtable, which she helped to found in 2005. Leadership Roundtable helps the church develop and implement best management practices to build accountable and transparent leadership culture. Kerry’s entire career has been dedicated to strengthening the church, and her experience and vision helped prepare her to lead this massive network. 

Host Mike Jordan Laskey asked her about what she has learned in her first year on the job, plus how Catholic Charities is responding to the extremely challenging conditions facing migrants and asylum seekers arriving in the US in the hopes of providing safety and opportunity for their families. She also shared some favorite stories and things she has learned from traveling all over the country visiting Catholic Charities agencies and how her Jesuit education at Georgetown University helped set her on her life path.

Learn more about Kerry Robinson: https://stories.catholiccharitiesusa.org/introducing-kerry-alys-robinson/

Catholic Charities USA: https://www.catholiccharitiesusa.org/

Catholic Charities staffers facing rising threats: https://religionnews.com/2024/03/22/threats-to-catholic-charities-staffers-increase-amid-rightwing-anti-migrant-campaign/

AMDG is a production of the Jesuit Conference of Canada and the United States.

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How Catholic Charities Lives the Gospel with Kerry Robinson

Welcome to “Pathway to Priesthood”—a limited audio series from the Jesuit Conference of Canada and the United States in which host Eric Clayton talks with Jesuits who are in the final days of preparing for priestly ordination. 

Hear Jesuits reflect back on their vocation stories and experience of formation, all while wrestling with some of the biggest questions surrounding priestly ordination.

On this episode, we’re asking a basic question: Why even consider religious life? And what actually is it?

To reflect on these questions and more, we have two Jesuits: Michael Mohr and Brook Stacey. 

Michael was born and raised in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. He has a background in teaching, and has spent the last couple of years of his formation studying at the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome. Brook grew up in Toronto, Ontario. Though his undergraduate studies were in geology, he has more recently completed a master’s degree in psychospiritual studies. Both men have had the opportunity to live in a variety of places throughout the formation, and they both come at this question of religious life from very different perspectives. But at the end of the day, they both have found great consolation as members of the Society of Jesus.

As you listen to their stories and reflections, consider whether you or someone you know might be interested in discerning a call to Jesuit life. If so, head over to beajesuit.org.

Pathway to Priesthood: Why Religious Life?

In 60-plus years of life, Reynaldo Domínguez has never heard someone say, "I live without water and I live in peace." Water is fundamental to a healthy and peaceful life, he says. Yet for Reynaldo and his community in Guapinol, Honduras, access to clean water has become a deadly fight that has killed two of his brothers and sent him and his family into hiding. 

The conflict started in 2018 when the Honduran company Inversiones Los Pinares, backed by international investors, began to dig out a road through the mountains deep inside the protected National Park Carlos Escaleras. As they began they began digging an open-pit iron ore mine, harmful sediments filled the Guapinol River, the source of water for many of the surrounding communities. Reynaldo and his community quickly organized to push back against this illegal and life-threatening environmental disaster. Things quickly turned deadly. Many of Reynaldo's fellow activists have been jailed, even more have been forced to migrate, and several have lost their lives in the fight to protect the land for future generations.  

Reynaldo joined us from an undisclosed location to tell us about what's happening in Guapinol.

This episode was recorded in Spanish. Listen to the original here: https://soundcloud.com/jesuitconference/reynaldo-spanish-mixdown-v2-240118?si=f61e75f956234a7fa9f55ddf0ebaf2ca&utm_source=clipboard&utm_medium=text&utm_campaign=social_sharing

Learn more about our partners Radio Progreso: https://www.radioprogresohn.net/
Learn more about SHARE Foundation: http://www.share-elsalvador.org/

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This podcast was edited and produced by Harrison Hanvey and MegAnne Liebsch. Jose Artiga, executive director of the SHARE Foundation, provided English language dubbing. Original theme music by Kevin Laskey. Photo by Photo by Roberto Palomo.

Give Thanks the Ignatian Way with Mark Thibodeaux, SJ

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