Strake Jesuit Podcasts

The name of the Society of Jesus (Jesuits) was chosen because St. Ignatius of Loyola knew it to be a name with tremendous power, and it was given to Jesus on the occasion of his circumcision nine days after Christmas. Fr. Harmon and Fr. Wegenka discuss how this name affects their day-to-day life as Jesuits and how it is an antidote to many of the ills that each of us confront each day.

In this third of five podcasts on the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius Loyola, Fr. Harmon and Fr. Wegenka discuss the mediation on the Call of Christ the King as a transition to the meditations on the Incarnation and earthly ministry of Christ found in the "Second Week." By starting with what is recorded in Scripture and allowing the memory and will of the person who prays to be engaged in encountering the living person of Jesus Christ, we can come to see how the Scriptures come alive and speak to us in profoundly personal and meaningful ways. We thus find ourselves called to follow the Lord in order that we might labor with him and so enter into his glory.

In this second of five podcasts on the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius Loyola, Fr. Harmon and Fr. Wegenka discuss the themes of sin and intimacy as they relate to the "First Week." Far from being a time to beat ourselves up and compare ourselves to the people around us, this week is instead an opportunity to draw close to the Lord who approaches us with mercy and invites us to uncover the pain and ugliness that we are so often tempted to hide. When we show these hollow places, they become hallowed by the Lord. In place of the memory of our own falls, we instead hear the Lord calling us to follow him further into the retreat.

This week begins a series of five podcasts introducing the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius of Loyola. Rooted in conversation among friends, this series of meditations on the life of Jesus Christ is the foundation of every Jesuit's formation and the means by which many in the Church have come to know the will of God for their lives.

Although typically unseen by our human eyes, the angels are very much present to us in Sacred Scripture and the various ways they're depicted in art and popular culture. They are both companions and healers to us on our pilgrimage through life and also a terrifying manifestation of God's power to cast down the proud and hard-hearted. However, when a lowly human being receives an Archangel with a heart that is schooled in humility, we are redeemed and God's will is done.

This week Fr. Harmon and Fr. Wegenka talk about their own need to be converted and to see the world through the lens of Christian hope. In this light, even the ugliest of realities can be an opportunity to love and bless the world God is redeeming. The Cross of Jesus Christ is beautiful, and this mystery can free us from our own beige perspective on rainy weeks in the midst of a pandemic.

As Strake Jesuit begins hybrid learning this week, Fr. Harmon and Fr. Wegenka discuss what we can do when we don't feel like doing much of anything. There's hope that our feelings don't have to dictate how we act, and the fact that things aren't the way we want doesn't mean that we can't make them better. Ultimately, St. Paul encourages us to "rejoice in hope, endure in affliction, and persevere in prayer" (Romans 12:12).