AMDG: A Jesuit Podcast

Well, Lent is here. Hooray. To be honest, it feels like the last thing we need right now is 40 days of fasting and penance and just the general heaviness that comes with this season. We’ve been living in a perpetual state of Lent for two years now. So host Mike Jordan Laskey called up his friend Fr. Paddy Gilger, SJ. Fr. Paddy is a sociology professor at Loyola Chicago and a super thoughtful person. He suggested we reframe what the season is all about in the first place. His insights are so helpful and consoling if you’d rather just skip straight to Easter this year. Fr. Paddy was also the founding editor in chief of the Jesuit Post back in 2012, the wonderful culture and religion website that’s run by young Jesuits to this day. So we had to get his music and movie and reading recommendations for Lent. His picks are linked below. All of our hearts are especially heavy as this Lent begins due to the horrifying war underway in Ukraine. Pray and act here: https://www.jesuits.org/stories/pray-and-act-for-ukraine/ Fr. Paddy’s Lenten picks: “Come Healing” by Leonard Cohen: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MUB1O2cT2gM Springsteen on Broadway: https://www.netflix.com/title/80232329 “Ecce Homo” by Xavier le Pichon: https://onbeing.org/blog/xavier-le-pichon-ecce-homo-behold-humanity/ AMDG is a production of the Jesuit Conference of Canada and the United States.

One of the most interesting developments in the Jesuit world these days is the emergence of a field called “Ignatian leadership.” The concept comes from the belief that Ignatian spirituality has a huge amount to offer leaders today, whether or not they’re working in “religious” contexts. A lot of those Jesuit concepts that have been at the heart of the order since its founding can be incredibly helpful to leaders today. Think things like discernment, freedom and prayerful reflection through practices like the daily examen. There’s a lot to dig into here. One of the flagship programs promoting Ignatian leadership is called Contemplative Leaders in Action (CLA). CLA gathers young adults in cities across the country for study, reflection and hands-on leadership experiences rooted in the Jesuit tradition. Today’s guest heads up the CLA program and several other Ignatian young adult ministry efforts. His name is Sean Sanford, and he is the director of leadership and young adult programs for the Office of Ignatian Spirituality of the USA East Jesuit province. Whether you’re managing people at work or trying to help raise kids or just trying to have better relationships with the people in your life, Sean offers some helpful elements from the Ignatian tradition that can help all of us live richer, more holistic lives. Office of Ignatian Spirituality: https://jesuitseastois.org/ Ignatian Young Adult Ministries: https://ignatianyoungadults.org/ AMDG is a production of the Jesuit Conference of Canada and the United States. Subscribe to AMDG wherever you get podcasts.

Lent is only a few weeks away. But before you panic about what to do during these upcoming forty days of prayer, fasting and almsgiving, listen to the advice of spiritual author Gary Jansen. Gary is the author of several spirituality books, including his latest, “MicroShifts: Transforming Your Life One Step At A Time.” Throughout his career as a writer, editor and publisher, Gary has devoted a lot of writing and thinking to the intersection of spirituality and human potential. In “MicroShifts,” Gary grapples with the question: What would our lives look like if we lived fifteen minutes out of each day for something beyond ourselves? What changes could we make – in our lives and in the lives of those around us? The act of microshifting, as Gary explains, can affect any and all aspects of our lives – and so, this conversation spans all sorts of things, from Daoism to ghosts, from social media to Ignatian spirituality. Ultimately, this conversation will help you get ready for Lent, and the spiritual disciplines and opportunities it presents. And, as a bonus, throughout the month of February, you can download Gary's book, "MicroShifts," for free. Visit this link: https://amzn.to/3gDN6pi Learn more about Gary and his work at his website: https://www.garyjansen.com/

Dorothy Day is among the most inspiring, challenging and holy American Catholics ever. As the Jesuit peace activist Daniel Berrigan said, Dorothy "lived as if the truth were true." There were no half-measures with her. The co-founder of the Catholic Worker Movement, Dorothy put her faith into action in pursuit of social justice with so much passion and heart and intelligence that she’s now up for canonization in the church. Late last year, the Archdiocese of New York packed up hundreds of pounds of materials in support of her cause. The packages contain her published and unpublished writings, plus transcripts of interviews with people who knew her. There are books about her. A couple of DVDs of movies about her. Just an incredible volume of stuff. And the person in charge of collecting and organizing all this material is our guest, Jeff Korgen, who has been involved in social justice work in the church for decades. For the past seven years, Jeff has been learning about Dorothy and preparing all these documents for the Vatican. Officials in Rome will look through it all and study to see if Dorothy might take the next step toward canonization. Host Mike Jordan Laskey asked Jeff to explain the process and share the highlights from what he learned on his journey with Dorothy and those who knew her. It's a fascinating look behind the curtain of how a saint is made. Even better than learning about the process, though, was getting to hear Jeff talk about Dorothy and her witness. If you learn about Dorothy Day and then go back to living your life just as you had before, you’re missing the point. Her radical commitment to the Gospel and to those living in poverty invite all of us to discern how we can serve the Lord by working for peace and justice. AMDG is a production of the Jesuit Conference of Canada and the United States. You can subscribe to AMDG wherever you get podcasts.

Ana Grande's great uncle was Fr. Rutilio Grande, SJ, a Jesuit from El Salvador who was just beatified last month. (Beatification is the final step before canonized sainthood in the church, and we can call him Blessed Rutilio now.) Blessed Rutilio was assassinated by El Salvador's security forces in 1977 for his ministry and community organizing with impoverished farmers. He was good friends with Archbishop Oscar Romero, and Rutilio’s death sparked Romero’s own conversion from a reserved leader who preferred to stay away from controversy into an outspoken prophet for peace and justice. Ana spoke with host Mike Jordan Laskey just a few hours after she had returned to her home in Los Angeles from Fr. Rutilio’s beatification. She talked about was like to be there for the ceremony, plus what it's like to have someone in your own family so close to sainthood. Ana has so clearly been inspired by Blessed Rutilio’s work for justice herself, as she has dedicated her life to social justice causes like immigration reform. She’s also a longtime member of Blessed Sacrament Church, the Jesuit parish in Hollywood. It's a privilege to hear from Ana about her experience at the beatification and how she thinks her great uncle’s legacy can inspire all of us today. Follow Ana Grande on Twitter: https://twitter.com/MsAnaGrande AMDG is a production of the Jesuit Conference of Canada and the United States. Subscribe to AMDG wherever you get podcasts.

Listen to our new Ignatian retreat, a four-part series of ten minute audio modules, written and narrated by Ryan Carroll, a PhD student at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill. Missed an episode of this prayer retreat? Find this and other digital retreats at https://www.jesuits.org/spirituality/ignatian-digital-retreats/.

John W. Miller was a successful journalist with the Wall Street Journal, covering all sorts of topics all over the planet. A few years ago, he gave it all up for an extremely different path. He tells host Mike Jordan Laskey about the spiritual journey that led him to co-directing his first feature film, the documentary "Moundsville," which tells the story of a small West Virginia town on the Ohio River. John also discusses a series of articles he wrote for America Magazine on economics and Catholic social teaching. In the conversation, John moves seamlessly between personal stories and high-level social analysis, peppering in plenty of Ignatian spirituality along the way. If you haven't encountered John or his work before, he's an incredible person to get to know. Watch "Moundsville": https://www.pbs.org/show/moundsville/ Learn more about the town: https://moundsville.org/ Read John in America Magazine: https://www.americamagazine.org/voices/john-w-miller Learn more about John: https://www.johnwmiller.org/

Listen to our new Ignatian retreat, a four-part series of ten minute audio modules, written and narrated by Ryan Carroll, a PhD student at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill. Take time to pray as you begin this new year. New episodes drop every Monday in January.

This Saturday, January 22, Father Rutilio Grande, SJ – along with laymen Manuel Solórzano and Nelson Rutilio Lemus – will be beatified in San Salvador, El Salvador. All three men are martyrs, killed in 1977. Fr. Grande, though, was the first priest assassinated before the Salvadoran Civil War began. And, he was a close friend of Archbishop and saint, Óscar Romero. Fr. Arturo Sosa – the superior of the Society of Jesus – wrote about Fr. Grande and his upcoming beatification: “Father Grande, born in the small town of El Paisnal on 5 January 1928, was a Jesuit of unsuspected religious and human depth. In his weakness he found his greatness. He lived much of his life in the silence and humility of those who are becoming, step by step, companions of Jesus.” Fr. Sosa goes on to describe the circumstances in El Salvador during Grande’s time: “The growing awareness of the need to promote a transformation of the inhuman circumstances of life of the peasant majority, a situation caused by the unjust structures of Salvadoran society, sparked the social and political struggles of this convulsive period in the history of this Central American country. Many members of the ecclesial communities participated actively in the social and political struggle. For Father Rutilio, his team, and his close collaborators, who were committed because of their faith to the struggle for the justice of the Gospel, there was a clear distinction between pastoral work and partisan political militancy.” Finally, Fr. Sosa writes: “The Church, in recognizing the martyrdom of Rutilio, Manuel, and Nelson, judges that their lives were taken because of the faith that gave their lives meaning, the faith to which they gave witness by shedding their blood.” Today, to help commemorate the life and legacy of Fr. Rutilio Grande, author and poet and Jesuits.org columnist, Cameron Bellm, is back on the podcast. She’s just finished a new devotional entitled, “No Unlikely Saints: A Mental Health Pilgrimage with Sacred Company.” In it, she devotes a chapter to Fr. Grande and his struggles with mental health. She shares what she learned about him in preparing this book, as well as why it’s important to weave this part of his story into his lasting legacy. Find her book here: https://brickhouseinthecity.com/product/no-unlikely-saints-a-mental-health-pilgrimage-with-sacred-company/

Listen to our new Ignatian retreat, a four-part series of ten minute audio modules, written and narrated by Ryan Carroll, a PhD student at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill. Take time to pray as you begin this new year. New episodes drop every Monday in January.