Ignatian Week 2015

“You may not have S.J. after your name, but Ignatius is still your father and you are still part of our family.” (President Fr. Joseph McShane)

Keating Hall decorated for Ignatian Week!

Before I came to Fordham University, I didn’t know anything about the Society of Jesus and I had never met a Jesuit priest. I chose Fordham because I knew I wanted to be involved in community service and an education that prepared me to serve others in whatever career I choose. Fordham has provided me with both these opportunities, but it has also gone so much deeper. St. Ignatius of Loyola, the founder of the Society of Jesus, firmly believed in education as the best means to better serve others. Being an integral part of a Jesuit university doesn’t require any religion; it requires a willingness to search for truth and work for justice, while caring for and understanding others (including our Earth) and constantly bettering oneself. President Joseph McShane, S.J. always says students should graduate from Fordham feeling “bothered” by the world, with the skills and the heart to go out and change it. Each fall, Fordham celebrates Ignatian Week: a week full of activities for us to celebrate the Jesuit tradition of our school and to challenge our own individual lives by learning about and connecting through Ignatian spirituality. 

"Jesuit Storytelling" in the St. Ignatius of Loyola Room

Tuesday evening at the Rose Hill campus, I went to an event titled “Jesuit Storytelling: Three Generations of Jesuits Share Their Journeys”, pictured to the right. We learned about the best and most challenging parts of being a Jesuit from an 87-year-old biology PhD, a graduate professor of religious studies, and a 23-year-old Scholastic who will be graduating from Fordham this spring. Getting to know the Jesuits who live, work, and study at Fordham has been a crucial part to my understanding of being a member of the Jesuit family.

I also attended Wednesday’s dinner event titled “Finding God in Failure: Ignatian Spirituality for Our Dark Nights of the Soul.” College will probably introduce you to more failure than high school ever did, and so it was great for students and faculty alike to hear the presenters’ takes on how Ignatian Spirituality can inform your confidence in the face of failure. Tomorrow, I am really looking forward to attending the lunchtime conversation on “Global Justice and Solidarity.” If you're interested, check out this link to the full calendar of Ignatian Week 2015; these events are all examples of typical events put on by Fordham Campus Ministry.