Into the Deep

Weekly reflections on Ignatian spirituality, prayer, and the interior life.

Encountering Christ in the Gospels—Mare
Encountering Christ In The Gospels

Encountering Christ in the Gospels—Mare

Mary Ann GessnerBy Mary Ann GessnerApril 19, 2026

We invite you to Consider This, the 2026 theme for our Into the Deep blog. It is an invitation to move deeper into understanding and noticing what God…

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Encountering God - Christ the Consoler
Encountering God

Encountering God - Christ the Consoler

Gretchen CrowderBy Gretchen CrowderFebruary 15, 2026

We invite you to Consider This, the 2026 theme for our Into the Deep blog. It is an invitation to move deeper into understanding and noticing what God…

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Encountering God - God Who Stays
Encountering God

Encountering God - God Who Stays

Liz AcevesBy Liz AcevesFebruary 8, 2026

We invite you to Consider This, the 2026 theme for our Into the Deep blog. It is an invitation to move deeper into understanding and noticing what God…

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Encountering God - Learning the Gift of Grief
Encountering God

Encountering God - Learning the Gift of Grief

Stephanie Clouatre DavisBy Stephanie Clouatre DavisFebruary 1, 2026

We invite you to Consider This, the 2026 theme for our Into the Deep blog. It is an invitation to move deeper into understanding and noticing what God…

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Encountering God - In Time
Encountering God

Encountering God - In Time

Jenene FrancisBy Jenene FrancisJanuary 18, 2026

We invite you to Consider This, the 2026 theme for our Into the Deep blog. It is an invitation to move deeper into understanding and noticing what God…

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Encountering God - God Makes a Way
Encountering God

Encountering God - God Makes a Way

Beth KnobbeBy Beth KnobbeJanuary 11, 2026

We invite you to Consider This, the 2026 theme for our Into the Deep blog. It is an invitation to move deeper into understanding and noticing what God…

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An Invitation of Hope to Consider
Hope Carried To Others

An Invitation of Hope to Consider

Michele EickmanBy Michele EickmanDecember 28, 2025

We are devoting this year's Into the Deep topics to an overall theme of hope as we align with the Church's Jubilee Year of Hope. This blog offering is…

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Hope Carried to Others - Light and Strength
Hope Carried To Others

Hope Carried to Others - Light and Strength

Stephanie Clouatre DavisBy Stephanie Clouatre DavisNovember 30, 2025

We are devoting this year's Into the Deep topics to an overall theme of hope as we align with the Church's Jubilee Year of Hope. Our seventh and final…

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Anchors of Hope - The Living Word of God
Anchors Of Hope

Anchors of Hope - The Living Word of God

By Michele EIckmanNovember 16, 2025

We are devoting this year's Into the Deep topics to an overall theme of hope as we align with the Church's Jubilee Year of Hope. Our sixth series of t…

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Anchors of Hope - Music is a Gift
Anchors Of Hope

Anchors of Hope - Music is a Gift

Kim ScottBy Kim ScottNovember 9, 2025

We are devoting this year's Into the Deep topics to an overall theme of hope as we align with the Church's Jubilee Year of Hope. Our sixth series of t…

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Anchors of Hope - Spiritual Directors
Anchors Of Hope

Anchors of Hope - Spiritual Directors

Mary Ann GessnerBy Mary Ann GessnerNovember 2, 2025

We are devoting this year's Into the Deep topics to an overall theme of hope as we align with the Church's Jubilee Year of Hope. Our sixth series of t…

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Anchors of Hope - Meeting God for a Snack
Anchors Of Hope

Anchors of Hope - Meeting God for a Snack

Stephanie Clouatre DavisBy Stephanie Clouatre DavisOctober 19, 2025

We are devoting this year's Into the Deep topics to an overall theme of hope as we align with the Church's Jubilee Year of Hope. Our sixth series of t…

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Witness of Hope - Finding Hope in Youth
Witness Of Hope

Witness of Hope - Finding Hope in Youth

Gretchen CrowderBy Gretchen CrowderSeptember 21, 2025

We are devoting this year's Into the Deep topics to an overall theme of hope as we align with the Church's Jubilee Year of Hope. In our fifth series o…

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Witness of Hope - Hope in the Grandeur of God
Witness Of Hope

Witness of Hope - Hope in the Grandeur of God

Stephanie Clouatre DavisBy Stephanie Clouatre DavisSeptember 14, 2025

We are devoting this year's Into the Deep topics to an overall theme of hope as we align with the Church's Jubilee Year of Hope. In our fifth series o…

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Witness of Hope - The Disabled Row
Witness Of Hope

Witness of Hope - The Disabled Row

Melinda LeBlancBy Melinda LeBlancAugust 31, 2025

We are devoting this year's Into the Deep topics to an overall theme of hope as we align with the Church's Jubilee Year of Hope. In our fifth series o…

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Witness of Hope - Becoming What We Receive
Witness Of Hope

Witness of Hope - Becoming What We Receive

Jenene FrancisBy Jenene FrancisAugust 17, 2025

We are devoting this year's Into the Deep topics to an overall theme of hope as we align with the Church's Jubilee Year of Hope. In our fifth series o…

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Witness of Hope - A Grotto of Hope
Witness Of Hope

Witness of Hope - A Grotto of Hope

Jean HeatonBy Jean HeatonAugust 3, 2025

We are devoting this year's Into the Deep topics to an overall theme of hope as we align with the Church's Jubilee Year of Hope. In our fifth series o…

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Lived Hope - How Do You Live Hope?
Lived Hope

Lived Hope - How Do You Live Hope?

Kim ScottBy Kim ScottJune 1, 2025

We are devoting this year's Into the Deep topics to an overall theme of hope as we align with the Church's Jubilee Year of Hope. In our third series o…

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The Hope I Seek - Perseverance
The Hope I Seek

The Hope I Seek - Perseverance

Gretchen CrowderBy Gretchen CrowderFebruary 16, 2025

We are devoting this year's Into the Deep topics to an overall theme of hope as we align with the Church's Jubilee Year of Hope. In our first ser…

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The Hope I Seek - Coming Home
The Hope I Seek

The Hope I Seek - Coming Home

Becky EldredgeBy Becky EldredgeFebruary 9, 2025

We are devoting this year's Into the Deep topics to an overall theme of hope as we align with the Church's Jubilee Year of Hope. In our first ser…

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The Hope I Seek - A Woman of Prayer
The Hope I Seek

The Hope I Seek - A Woman of Prayer

Monique JacobsBy Monique JacobsJanuary 26, 2025

We are devoting this year's Into the Deep topics to an overall theme of hope as we align with the Church's Jubilee Year of Hope. In our first ser…

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The Hope I Seek - Freedom to Live with God
The Hope I Seek

The Hope I Seek - Freedom to Live with God

Stephanie Clouatre DavisBy Stephanie Clouatre DavisJanuary 20, 2025

We are devoting this year's Into the Deep topics to an overall theme of hope as we align with the Church's Jubilee Year of Hope. In our first ser…

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The Hope I Seek - Empower My Life
The Hope I Seek

The Hope I Seek - Empower My Life

Kim ScottBy Kim ScottJanuary 5, 2025

We are devoting this year's Into the Deep topics to an overall theme of hope as we align with the Church's Jubilee Year of Hope. In our first ser…

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Savoring Easter - My Lord and My God
Savoring Easter

Savoring Easter - My Lord and My God

Mary Ann GessnerBy Mary Ann GessnerApril 28, 2024

We are long past Lent and Triduum, even Easter Day, as we enter the Fifth Week of Easter. Are you continuing to savor the joy and celebrate the Easter…

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Savoring Easter - The Walk to Emmaus
Savoring Easter

Savoring Easter - The Walk to Emmaus

Elizabeth AcevesBy Elizabeth AcevesApril 21, 2024

Do you stop and savor the Easter joy as you move from Lent and Triduum to the celebration of the Easter Season? Our current blog series invites you to…

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Psalms of Assurance - A Psalm of Courage
Psalms of Assurance

Psalms of Assurance - A Psalm of Courage

Gretchen CrowderBy Gretchen CrowderDecember 31, 2023

Psalm 23 - A Psalm of CourageOur first series for Into the Deep in 2024 is called Psalms of Assurance. Our writers will reflect on a grace they seek …

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God With Us In The Word: Christmas 2023
God With Us in the Word

God With Us In The Word: Christmas 2023

Deena PavinatoBy Deena PavinatoDecember 24, 2023

A Christmas Letter from our Director of Programming, Deena PavinatoI might be a bit unusual, but I love the reading of the genealogy of Jesus on Chris…

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God With Us In The Word: Remember the Dance
God With Us in the Word

God With Us In The Word: Remember the Dance

Jen CoitoBy Jen CoitoDecember 10, 2023

The prima ballerina entered from stage right, and I felt the pricks of pain in my toe as if it were only yesterday. The silk of the ribbons around my …

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Called Deeper Together - Blessed and Sent
Called Deeper Together

Called Deeper Together - Blessed and Sent

Jenene FrancisBy Jenene FrancisNovember 3, 2023

Summer 2003. I was packed and mostly ready. Family and friends had helped sort through nine years of life abiding in one of Sachem Avenue’s beautiful …

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Living and Leading in the Deep - Community
Living and Leading in the Deep

Living and Leading in the Deep - Community

Deena PavinatoBy Deena PavinatoSeptember 10, 2023

Community – And every day the Lord added to their numbersAs we have discerned all of the various aspects and desires we were holding for Ignatian Mini…

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Consolation Beyond a Smile - Alignment
Consolation Beyond a Smile

Consolation Beyond a Smile - Alignment

Mary Ann GessnerBy Mary Ann GessnerJuly 30, 2023

Consolation Beyond a Smile - Alignment“There are no words.” A friend reached out to our prayer group in sorrow yesterday to share that her dear famil…

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Consolation Beyond a Smile - Boldness
Consolation Beyond a Smile

Consolation Beyond a Smile - Boldness

Jenene FrancisBy Jenene FrancisJuly 23, 2023

Consolation Beyond a Smile - BoldnessShould I stay or should I go? In a job? Where I’m living? In a relationship? Sometimes we come to life-defining c…

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Consolation Beyond a Smile - Increase in Love
Consolation Beyond a Smile

Consolation Beyond a Smile - Increase in Love

Monique JacobsBy Monique JacobsJuly 2, 2023

Consolation Beyond a Smile - Increase in Love“I don’t know what I am going to do,” my friend Tony slowly shook his head as I inquired about his antici…

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Resisting Jesus – Resisting Easter
Resisting Jesus

Resisting Jesus – Resisting Easter

Becky EldredgeBy Becky EldredgeApril 9, 2023

I have a confession to make. I resist the Resurrection.  Sometimes, I resist the very thing I begged God for in prayer.  I can think of mul…

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Resisting Jesus – Resisting Surrender
Resisting Jesus

Resisting Jesus – Resisting Surrender

Jenene FrancisBy Jenene FrancisApril 2, 2023

I’ll be honest, Palm Sunday, more precisely “Palm Sunday of the Lord’s Passion,” is my least favorite Sunday of the whole liturgical year. I resist as…

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Resisting Jesus – Resisting Mercy
Resisting Jesus

Resisting Jesus – Resisting Mercy

Jean HeatonBy Jean HeatonMarch 12, 2023

Resisting Mercy: Connection is the AntidoteWe sat at our gate staring at the monitor. Our plane had already been delayed once. If you’d told me that s…

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Resisting Jesus – Resisting Forgiveness
Resisting Jesus

Resisting Jesus – Resisting Forgiveness

Jen CoitoBy Jen CoitoFebruary 26, 2023

Holding Down the Sand – Resisting Forgiveness“I’m holding down the sand!” My daughter stamped down the shifting beach sand with all her might, trying …

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Resisting Jesus – Resisting Prayer
Resisting Jesus

Resisting Jesus – Resisting Prayer

Monique JacobsBy Monique JacobsFebruary 19, 2023

Squatting at eye level to see my tiny niece allowed me to hear her more clearly. The whispered voice, warm and moist with a child’s eagerness, played …

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Advent – A Pregnant Pause

Advent – A Pregnant Pause

Jen CoitoBy Jen CoitoDecember 11, 2022

You too must be patient. Make your hearts firm, because the coming of the Lord is at hand. – James 5:8During pregnancy everyone (and their mother) fee…

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Advent – Justice Shall Flourish

Advent – Justice Shall Flourish

Jean HeatonBy Jean HeatonDecember 4, 2022

I volunteered at the county jail for 5 years. The first time that I was buzzed through those heavy steel doors, I prayed for God to show me how to hel…

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Sustaining Hope in Forgiveness

Sustaining Hope in Forgiveness

Beth KnobbeBy Beth KnobbeMay 22, 2022

I need to apologize to you … I felt like the prodigal daughter who stomped away from a difficult conversation only to be filled with remorse. In …

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Sustaining Hope: Hope in the Storm

Sustaining Hope: Hope in the Storm

Stephanie Clouatre DavisBy Stephanie Clouatre DavisMay 8, 2022

We had no beds for our children after Hurricane Katrina. I remember sitting on the curb outside of an old K&B Drugstore that had long closed down …

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Sustaining Hope in the Unknown

Sustaining Hope in the Unknown

Gretchen CrowderBy Gretchen CrowderMay 2, 2022

Truth be told, I am kicking myself for agreeing to write on this particular topic for this series on Sustaining Hope. A couple months ago when I put m…

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Sustaining Hope During the Pandemic

Sustaining Hope During the Pandemic

Charlotte PhillipsBy Charlotte PhillipsApril 20, 2022

Having just passed the two-year mark from the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic, I spent some time asking myself, How did we ever make it through …

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Belonging: Belonging to Self

Belonging: Belonging to Self

Monique JacobsBy Monique JacobsApril 10, 2022

Sister Columbkill, our substitute teacher, looked around the room of fourth graders. There I sat, spellbound, listening to her story. “Listen carefull…

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Belonging: A Chapel of No

Belonging: A Chapel of No

Jen CoitoBy Jen CoitoMarch 27, 2022

It was “No.” As clear as day. I had prayed for an answer, and I heard the “No”. I wanted it to be yes… so, so, so badly. I was devastated. I remember …

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Belonging: Family

Belonging: Family

Gretchen CrowderBy Gretchen CrowderMarch 20, 2022

“It’s because he has not yet found his people, Gretchen.”This was one line that stuck with me all last year when I was agonizing over switching my old…

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Belonging: You Are Made for Us

Belonging: You Are Made for Us

Stephanie Clouatre DavisBy Stephanie Clouatre DavisMarch 13, 2022

We are us. Belonging to a community means there is an “us” and not just an “I.” Even before I was born, I belonged to an “us.” My twin brother and I w…

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Belonging: Belonging in Relationships

Belonging: Belonging in Relationships

Beth KnobbeBy Beth KnobbeMarch 6, 2022

My best friend and I recently spent a long weekend getaway in Michigan. We stopped by a local vineyard to sample the wine and ran into a married coupl…

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Advent: A Reflection on Luke 1:39-45

Advent: A Reflection on Luke 1:39-45

Gretchen CrowderBy Gretchen CrowderDecember 19, 2021

When I contemplated this familiar passage about Mary and Elizabeth to write this post, I found myself lingering on the very first line: “Mary set out …

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Advent: A Reflection on Psalm 126

Advent: A Reflection on Psalm 126

Jenene FrancisBy Jenene FrancisDecember 5, 2021

I am attracted to the Psalms. Maybe this is because one way God called me to deepen my life of faith was through music. I recall a preaching course du…

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Growth in the Spirit: Unfinished

Growth in the Spirit: Unfinished

Gretchen CrowderBy Gretchen CrowderApril 25, 2021

Have you ever seen DaVinci’s work The Adoration of the Magi San Donato in Scopeto?The most fascinating thing about this artwork to me is that it is un…

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Growth in the Spirit: Peace

Growth in the Spirit: Peace

Melinda LeBlancBy Melinda LeBlancApril 18, 2021

When I was young, my parents had a ritual on my birthday. We’d go out to the garage and my parents would measure how much I had grown in the past year…

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Growth in the Spirit: It is the Lord!

Growth in the Spirit: It is the Lord!

Becky EldredgeBy Becky EldredgeApril 4, 2021

As we enter the Easter Season, we also begin our next series, “Growth in the Spirit”. This series will explore the various ways Ignatian spirituality …

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Praying When It’s Hard: Jesus Wept

Praying When It’s Hard: Jesus Wept

Stephanie Clouatre DavisBy Stephanie Clouatre DavisMarch 31, 2021

I lived over an hour away when my Dad died. I remember driving with my husband on the long bridge over the Atchafalaya Basin, the longest wetland swam…

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Discipleship In All Ways: Come After Me

Discipleship In All Ways: Come After Me

Becky EldredgeBy Becky EldredgeJanuary 10, 2021

In today’s Gospel Jesus is calling Simon, Andrew, James and John to be disciples. It is a very fitting passage to introduce our next series, Disciples…

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Love Like God

Love Like God

Charlotte PhillipsBy Charlotte PhillipsDecember 30, 2020

November 20, 2020 marked the one-year anniversary of my Dad’s unexpected death following complications from a routine surgery. On the eve of this firs…

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Saints Among Us: Saints I Have Known

Saints Among Us: Saints I Have Known

Melinda LeBlancBy Melinda LeBlancNovember 22, 2020

Saints are holy people. To be a Saint is to participate in, and to be an image of, the holiness of God. I love our Catholic tradition of recognizing S…

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Saints Among Us: St. Frances Cabrini

Saints Among Us: St. Frances Cabrini

Charlotte PhillipsBy Charlotte PhillipsNovember 8, 2020

Maria Francesca Cabrini was born on July 15, 1850, in a small town outside of Milan, Italy. Being born prematurely, she was a petite and sickly child.…

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Saints Among Us: A Saint Like Me

Saints Among Us: A Saint Like Me

Gretchen CrowderBy Gretchen CrowderNovember 4, 2020

It was December 2017, less than a month after my son first received his hearing aids. We were taking a very last minute family staycation in a hotel i…

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Saints Among Us

Saints Among Us

Becky EldredgeBy Becky EldredgeOctober 28, 2020

Dear Friends, I am writing this letter just two days before I head on my annual eight-day silent retreat. By the time you read this, I will actua…

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Uniquely Created: Ministry and Motherhood

Uniquely Created: Ministry and Motherhood

Charlotte PhillipsBy Charlotte PhillipsOctober 25, 2020

This month’s blog series is “Uniquely Created.” Last month we spoke about Gathering the graces. God graces us with all we need to be the person God un…

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Uniquely Created: Bigger on the Inside

Uniquely Created: Bigger on the Inside

Jenene FrancisBy Jenene FrancisOctober 7, 2020

This month’s blog series is “Uniquely Created.” Last month we spoke about Gathering the graces. God graces us with all we need to be the person God un…

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Uniquely Created: The Miracle of Faith

Uniquely Created: The Miracle of Faith

By Faye CoorpenderSeptember 30, 2020

This month’s blog series is “Uniquely Created” Last month we spoke about Gathering the graces. God graces us with all we need to be the person God uni…

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Uniquely Created

Uniquely Created

Becky EldredgeBy Becky EldredgeSeptember 27, 2020

Today, Becky introduces October’s blog series, “Uniquely Created.” Last month we spoke about gathering the graces. God graces us with all we need to d…

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Gathering the Graces: Good Grief

Gathering the Graces: Good Grief

Jenene FrancisBy Jenene FrancisSeptember 16, 2020

This month’s blog series is “Gathering the Graces”. St. Ignatius invites us to ask God for a grace each time we pray. This month, blog contributors wi…

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Gathering the Graces: My Basket of Graces

Gathering the Graces: My Basket of Graces

Charlotte PhillipsBy Charlotte PhillipsSeptember 6, 2020

This month’s blog series is “Gathering the Graces”. St. Ignatius invites us to ask God for a grace each time we pray. This month, blog contributors w…

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Gathering the Graces

Gathering the Graces

Becky EldredgeBy Becky EldredgeAugust 30, 2020

This month’s blog series is “Gathering the Graces”. St. Ignatius invites us to ask God for a grace each time we pray. This month, blog contributors w…

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To Know, To Love, and To Follow

To Know, To Love, and To Follow

Becky EldredgeBy Becky EldredgeAugust 2, 2020

Dear Friends, I hope you are each doing well! I also hope you enjoyed getting to meet our new team of writers. As I read each woman’s story, I fo…

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Drawn to Ignatius: Finding My Feet

Drawn to Ignatius: Finding My Feet

Gretchen CrowderBy Gretchen CrowderJuly 22, 2020

During our first Into the Deep blog series “Drawn to Ignatius” members of our writing team will tell us the ways Ignatian Spirituality has informed th…

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Drawn to Ignatius: Two Pilgrims

Drawn to Ignatius: Two Pilgrims

Melinda LeBlancBy Melinda LeBlancJuly 19, 2020

During our first Into the Deep blog series “Drawn to Ignatius” members of our writing team will tell us the ways Ignatian Spirituality has informed th…

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Drawn to Ignatius: A Moment of Clarity

Drawn to Ignatius: A Moment of Clarity

Becky EldredgeBy Becky EldredgeJune 28, 2020

Dear Friends,I am in a moment where I simply stand in awe of God. I feel pulled further into the expansion of Mystery, yet, here I am writing today to…

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