Long-time Adjunct Faculty member Michel Bland has recently been promoted to Adjunct Associate Professor.
Dr. Bland is a Licensed Clinical Professional Counselor and works as an educator, therapist, a consultant, and a psychometrician. Dr. Bland has a wide-range of experience in providing direct clinical services to adolescents and adults with post-traumatic stress, depression, anxiety, as well as individuals dealing with identity issues, life changes, including vocational, employment, relational issues, grief/loss, and geriatric issues in various clinical settings. Dr. Bland also has provided outreach to victims of sexual abuse including providing individual counseling and group therapy for victims and their families.
We recently asked Professor Bland to share with the IPS community.
How long have you
been affiliated with IPS? In what
capacity?I
am completing the end of my tenth year.
Are you currently involved in other formal pursuits, other than IPS?I have a private practice on the north side of Chicago.
What classes are you currently teaching this semester?This semester I am teaching: IPS 512: Ethics for Pastoral Counseling and Spiritual Direction, IPS 520: Testing, Measurement & Assessment, and in the fall, I will be teaching IPS 509: Psychopathology.
What continues to draw you to IPS?After being invited as a guest speaker a few times, I quickly found the spirit and mission of IPS to be very attractive, and in the Spring of 2009, I was asked to teach Psychopathology. I remain because of that same spirit, ministry, and passion. I enjoy the community and the diversity of the student population.
Can you share a personal spiritual practice that continues to restore and re-energize your mind, body, heart and spirit?I find it important for me to take quiet time for myself to be able to find my foundation and center. I also enjoy having Labrador Retrievers as they remind me to relax, enjoy and walk! Walking them a few miles a day forces me to enjoy the outdoors as well as my time with them!
We congratulate Professor Bland on his recent promotion and hope that he continues to be part of the formation of IPS students.
Which is right for me? Spiritual Direction and/or Pastoral Counseling?
This is a really good question and one that comes up often. So let’s start by defining terms. First, spiritual direction, as the name implies, is primarily about the spiritual life: our relationship with God and the movement of the Holy Spirit in our lives. It is also involved in fostering personal growth in and deeper intimacy with God (as experienced in prayer and lived out in discipleship).
Counseling and psychotherapy are different. These terms are often used interchangeably so I’d like to make a distinction here as well. Counseling helps us to work through and resolve problems in our lives and relationships. Psychotherapy, on the other hand, goes deeper and is primarily focused on the emotional life and helps us to heal past hurts and to look at and resolve unhealthy patterns in our lives.
When should you pursue counseling/therapy vs. spiritual direction?
If you are struggling with emotional pain and negative patterns of behavior in your life, dealing with depression or mood disorders, anxiety, addictions or other diagnosable conditions, psychotherapy is your best option. Do you need guidance and support sorting out your life and your relationships? Counseling would be the way to go.
Are you trying to grow in your relationship with God and discern the movement of the Holy Spirit in your life? Then, spiritual direction is what you should pursue.
Keep in mind that each discipline is not mutually exclusive and you can participate in spiritual direction along with therapy and counseling.
(Adapted excerpt from: Spiritualdirection.com – Catholic Spiritual Direction – What is the Difference between Counseling and Spiritual Direction?)
“Pastoral counselors hold a unique position in the field of counseling. With their combination of theological training and advanced education in the behavioral sciences, they are poised to provide effective mental health counseling that is capable of respectfully integrating religious and spiritual components.”
(The Misunderstood Pastoral Counselor: Knowledge and Religiosity as Factors Affecting a Client’s Choice, Walker, et. al., Paper based on a program presented at the 2012 American Counseling Association Annual Conference and Exposition, San Francisco, CA, March 23-25,)
Reflection Corner
As each one has received a gift, use it to serve one another as good stewards to God’s varied grace. 1 Peter 4:10
Spiritual formation requires taking not only the inward journey to the heart, but also the outward journey from the heart to the community and ministry. Christian spirituality is essentially communal. Spiritual formation is formation in community. In community, we learn what it means to confess our weakness and to forgive each other. In community, we discover our own woundedness but also a place of healing. In community, we learn true humility. Without community, we become individualistic and egocentric. Therefore, spiritual formation always includes formation to life in community.
(Henri Nouwen, Following the Movements of the Spirit, Spiritual Formation with Christensen, M. J. & Laird, R. J.)
Retirement is a new vocational moment; it is an invitation to a wisdom transition to engage proactively the leadership challenges of aging, meaningfully. This program has a trident strategy of attending to the personal journey, examining the past to turn experience into wisdom for legacy planning. The program integrates the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius as a tool for discerning vocational choices and decision making. The second prong of the trident strategy embraces a twenty-five-person cohort that will accompany each other on this year-long journey and engage in leadership dialogues about their new or evolving roles while becoming an encore learning community for the long term. The last prong of this trident process is engagement with significant mission driven institutions and ministries of the Society of Jesus.
Through the year, these fellows will involve the institutional leaders in real leadership conversations, listening to the challenges of running mission-driven, nonprofit, values-based organizations within the largest global educational network of universities and high schools. Thus one discovers that this is not a residential university program, but a spirited, Jesuit collaborative program on the move.
This Ignatian Fellows’ three continent journey will begin with a four-day residency hosted by the Institute of Pastoral Studies at Loyola in September, 2019, then continue in November, 2019 with a four day residency hosted by the Jesuit School of Theology and Ministry at Santa Clara University. In January, 2020, the cohort will experience a four day social immersion in Lima, Peru, followed by a March, 2020 four day residency hosted by the Boston College School of Theology and Ministry. The cohort will then meet for a four-day residency hosted by the McDonough School of Business at Georgetown University and finally a ten day excursion to Spain and concluding in Rome with a leadership conversation with the Jesuit Global Higher Education leadership team and the sharing of insights and observations from their year together. Between sessions there will be assigned reading and opportunities to dialogue using the Ignatian Colleagues Program and platform. Ultimately, this inaugural group of Ignatian Legacy Fellows will become Founders of the Ignatian Society of Fellows, an alumni community that will continue to convene around leadership conversations to foster the work of the Society of Jesus.
Contacts: John Fontana, Co-Director, 847-703-5836, jfontana@luc.edu or Mariann M. Salisbury, Co-Director, 301-807-5369, Msalisbury1@luc.edu
On November 16, 1989, members of the Salvadoran military brutally murdered six Jesuit priests and two of their friends at the University of Central America in El Salvador. They were targeted because they spoke out against government crime and corruption and were vigorous advocates for the poor. To honor the eight Salvadoran martyrs, Loyola built a memorial on campus in 2010. The structure includes the “Wounded Angel” statue and a wall curving along the sidewalk on the west side of Madonna della Strada Chapel, displaying the names of each of the victims.
November is Ignatian Heritage Month and Loyola University Chicago celebrates its Jesuit heritage with a range of events, including the presentation of the Martyrs Award. The award is presented annually to a faith-based individual or organization that embodies the values of the Salvadoran martyrs, being champions of social justice and serving marginalized communities.
The 2018 Martyrs Award was presented on Nov. 15, 2018 to Sr. Ann Credidio, BVM (the religious order of the Sisters of Charity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, the very same community of Loyola’s own Sister Jean!).
Sr. Ann is from Brooklyn, NY and attended Mundelein College (a women’s university founded by the BVMs in 1929 and integrated in Loyola University Chicago in 1991). She took a few courses at IPS to complete her degree; a connection we treasure. In the late 1980s she was teaching preschool in Guayaquil, Ecuador when she began to develop relationships with people suffering from Hansen’s disease and living in terrible conditions at a nearby run-down hospital. She eventually focused all her energy there and founded Damien House. She took over the Hansen’s wing of the infectious disease center, raised funds, and over time built it into a safe place where those suffering with Hansen’s disease can receive the care that they need and the love that all God’s creatures deserve: Damien House. That wing of the hospital is now deeded to the Damien House Foundation and flourishes under the care of Sr. Annie.
On the day of the award presentation, four IPS students joined Sr. Annie for lunch and a conversation about her work. Not originally planned as a part of her stay in Chicago, she asked specifically to meet students so that she might learn about the work that they are doing and also to discuss challenges, share joys and frustrations, and foster new personal connections. IPS students, Toni Daniels, Julie Lipford, Lee Colombino, and I shared in this meal and conversation with Sr Annie, finding inspiration in her experience, joy, and wisdom.
I provided the introduction for Sr. Annie at the Martyrs Award Presentation, which took place at the Mundelein Center on the Lake Shore Campus at 4pm. I lived in Ecuador for 13 months as a volunteer at Damien House and have come to know Sr. Annie very well. I am happy to share with you the text of my introduction.
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“Hello everyone- My name is Emily Kane and I am a graduate student pursuing my master’s in social justice through the Institute of Pastoral Studies. I am also the graduate assistant for retreats in Campus Ministry right here on the Lake Shore Campus.
I’m here speaking to you today because in July of 2014, a brand new graduate from Loyola University Maryland, I traveled to Guayaquil, Ecuador to begin my year of service with a program called Rostro de Cristo, having absolutely no idea what to expect. One of our first tasks as newly arrived volunteers was to visit potential work sites, and one of our first stops was to Damien House, a long-standing partner of Rostro de Cristo volunteers.
If you don’t know already, Damien House is a care facility for people suffering from Hansen’s disease (formerly known as leprosy). While feeling a bit jarred at first when I encountered people who had lost fingers, limbs, or the cartilage in their ears and nose from the disease, I couldn’t help but be completely overwhelmed by the contagious love and joy exuding from all the patients I met. We were introduced to Sister Ann Credidio, BVM, a wild and crazy nun from New York who spoke Spanish with a Brooklyn accent (which I didn’t know was possible until I met her), and I was hooked- I knew I had to spend my year of service at Damien.
At that point, Annie as we affectionately call Sr Ann, had been in Ecuador for over 20 years. She first went down to Ecuador to be a teacher, but she began spending time at the infectious disease hospital, in the ward for patients with Hansen’s. At that time, the ward was in serious disrepair. The roof leaked, food was awful, rats bit patients on their toes during the middle of the night- it was a disaster. Annie realized that her presence was needed there, and she switched her ministry to be full-time at the hospital. Eventually, Damien House became its own entity, and Annie has been with them ever since.
While it may not have seemed like much at the time, Sister Annie and the patients of Damien House taught me the true meaning of a ministry of presence. They helped me understand the power of just sitting and being with someone- just offering your presence to them, sharing a cup of coffee with them, and asking about how they are doing. As a cradle Catholic, I spent my entire life hearing readings on Sundays about Jesus and “the lepers.” My time at Damien House gave this an entirely new meaning for me. Now “the lepers” were not this abstract concept- they were people I had come to know and love. They had names and feelings and flaws and stories that were just as real to me as my own. I carry them with me in everything I do: Esther, Blanca, Sonia, Manuel, Leon, Alceides….these are just a few of the people who will benefit from this gift Loyola is giving Damien House today.
All of this I have shared with you is possible because of the unbelievable force that is Sister Annie. Her determination and her tenacity to fight for the patients of Damien is unparalleled. She is the ultimate witness to selfless love. I feel honored to have been just a tiny part of Damien’s history, and I am honored to be standing up here welcoming Sister Annie to Loyola today.”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Emily Kane is pursuing the MA Social Justice. You can reach her at ekane5@luc.edu.
Each year, Loyola University Chicago honors its most outstanding students with the President’s Medallion. This award recognizes students who exemplify the three words etched on the medal: leadership, scholarship and service. Representing IPS in the roster of university-wide medallion recipients this year is Patrice Nerone, a dual degree M.Div.-MAPC (Master of Divinity-Master of Arts in Pastoral Counseling) degree student.
“Each of the recipients was recommended for this award by their academic dean because they exemplify a wonderful combination of achievement in scholarship, leadership, and service,” said Jane Neufeld, vice president for Student Development. “In short, they are students for which Loyola and its founders can take great pride.”
We reached out to Patrice to find out what this award means to her, as well as to learn how IPS has impacted her life.
What does the President’s Medallion award mean to you, Patrice?
I feel very humbled to receive this award and what means most to me about it is that I feel seen and appreciated as a valued member of the IPS community. To know that everyone here is supporting me and wants me to succeed has had a profound effect on my sense of belonging and my desire and ability to risk putting myself out there more. I’m learning that succeeding doesn’t mean I’m expected to do everything perfectly, but that my humanly often imperfect self is sufficient.
I understand you’re currently on a dual M.Div.-MAPC track here at IPS. Can you tell us a little bit about what you were doing prior to enrolling at IPS? How did you discern IPS to be your next step?
I was a holistic nurse at Cleveland Clinic working with a team of chaplains to provide complementary therapies and spiritual and emotional support for patients, their families, and the employees. I deeply connected with the chaplains and decided to study spiritual direction with their encouragement. At the same time, I was learning hypnotherapy and between the two programs of study I felt called to something more. Through the process of Ignatian discernment my spiritual director suggested I consider chaplaincy and recommended Loyola. I was very drawn to the dual degree at IPS because it encompassed all of my interests and that the focus was on pastoral presence rather than an intellectual approach to counseling was a key factor in my decision making.
What has your IPS journey been like so far?
My favorite experience with IPS was the Rome study. It was as much a spiritual experience as it was educational and I am eager to return to Rome with IPS for a pilgrimage experience. I can’t imagine a better group to make a pilgrimage journey with and highly recommend including this opportunity in your studies, if possible.
I am so appreciative of my time at Loyola and realize how much Ignatian Spirituality and the IPS learning environment has helped me grow in awareness, acceptance, and empathy for myself and others. The administration, faculty, and students have all demonstrated a level of compassionate care and unconditional positive regard that makes Loyola stand out amongst all the other schools I’ve attended. I will hold in my heart many fond memories of all those who shared this particular journey with me.
How do you envision life unfolding after IPS?
This is still a work in progress. I will most likely be looking for either a post-graduate fellowship or a chaplain residency program that enables me to continue developing experience and skill in both chaplaincy and counseling. I believe I still have much to learn and yet I also have much to offer so, I feel it’s time now to put my experience to work in a meaningful way while continuing to build on the foundation Loyola provided.
How have you ensured balance in your holistic life, given your IPS commitments? Can you share a personal spiritual practice that continues to restore and re-energize your mind, body, heart and spirit?
My life journey thus far has helped me learn to accept my limitations without shame or guilt and that it’s ok, and moreover it’s necessary, to make my own wellbeing a priority. This means taking time to pay attention to what I am thinking and feeling, and not just intellectually or emotionally but physically and spiritually, too. The more I’m able to acknowledge what I’m experiencing the sooner I can do something to prevent a potential meltdown. The modality I employ to restore my equilibrium depends on what my particular need is at the time. For example, if I’m feeling stressed and anxious I will probably meditate more frequently, and if I’m feeling spiritually bereft I find Lectio Divina a particularly helpful practice for bringing me back into closer communion with God. Overall, being in nature gives me a profound sense of being grounded and connected to the Fullness of Life so I’m mindful of seeking opportunities to immerse myself in the beauty of creation as much as possible. Somehow, I never feel alone when contemplating nature.
Congratulations, Patrice, on this special honor. Thank you for embodying the IPS spirit of creative, compassionate, and courageous service to church and society.
Registrations for the Rome 2019 program are now open. Space is limited. 1st deposit deadline: Dec-15.
*** ALUMNI: Please contact Dr. Mike Canaris (mcanaris@luc.edu) before registering. ***
The IPS 2019 Study in Rome summer program provides a unique opportunity to experience firsthand the historical, cultural, and spiritual benefits of the Eternal City and the Vatican. Led by faculty members with longstanding personal relationships with local academic and ecclesial leaders there, the program is a unique opportunity for students of IPS. Participants are able to draw upon the invaluable resources of Loyola’s half-century presence running a campus for students of various ages and degree programs who choose to study in the Eternal City.
Upcoming Summer June 18–28, 2019 Courses:
IPS 402: Church and Mission, taught by Dr. Michael Canaris
IPS 599: Spirituality of Pilgrimage and the Contexts of Faith, taught by Dr. Bill Schmidt
Shingai Chigwedere and Doreen Kelly are two IPS students who participated in last summer’s Rome program. They have been kind enough to share their thoughts on their Eternal City experience.
From Shingai:The IPS Rome Summer Program is a unique opportunity to engage in faith, fellowship and delicious food. Rome is special because it is a trifecta of rich religious, political and cultural history. Two classes were offered, I took the Theology of Pope Francis class with Dr. Mike Canaris. I was impressed with the way our church tours and tourist location visits connected with our class content on encounter, service, collegiality and ecumenism to name a few. Dr. Canaris and Dr. Jones did a fantastic job preparing semi-lectures and discussion material for our in-situ experience. My class spent 1.5 days in Assisi learning more about the Franciscan influence in Pope Francis’ life. We did volunteer work at Sant’ Egidio community, had an insightful visit to the Jewish Ghetto Museum and Synagogue, and learned more about ecumenical dialogue at Centro Pro Unione.
My favorite part was celebrating Mass and having private prayer and reflection time in churches like St. Peter’s Basilica and Santa Maria Maggiore. Having participated in Loyola’s Ignatian Spiritual Exercises retreat, it was profoundly heartwarming to celebrate Mass in St. Ignatius’ room, with a Jesuit celebrant, with classmates from a Jesuit University, in Rome, during the pontificate of a Jesuit Pope. Wow, what a unique moment in time! It was enriching to walk with (figuratively and literally, we walked a lot!), learn with and from committed and passionate IPS classmates. The time we spent getting to know each other (encountering each other) as we broke bread and enjoyed great food and gelato was priceless. Don’t miss out on this educational and spiritually enhancing opportunity!
From Doreen: What I expected: To visit and learn about places important to the history of the early Church, to celebrate Eucharist in some unique and special locations, to eat great food, to walk a lot.
What I found: All of the above and so much more!! Rich stories about artwork and architecture shared by extraordinarily knowledgeable classmates and our professor; an unexpected and simple call from God to be with God in amazing places which commemorated both sinners and saints; walking that became a pilgrimage on which I met God in others; meals that became celebrations of friendship; the best gelato in the world; deep conversations which expressed faith seeking understanding; intense times of silence in the presence of places that had been inhabited by or items once belonging to saints; an opportunity to serve and pray with a community making a difference in the daily lives of immigrants; deeply spiritual sacramental moments.
How it has changed me: IPS Rome 2018 awakened the pilgrim in me, that belief that whether the road is ordinary or extraordinary, God waits there to be found in both subtle and majestic ways. I am ever grateful!
Named for Loyola University Chicago’s primary founder, Arnold J. Damen, S.J., the Damen Award is granted to an alumnus(a) from each of Loyola’s schools and colleges. It recognizes the qualities of leadership in industry, leadership in the community, and service to others.
Currently the principal of St. Francis Xavier School, the only Jesuit Catholic PS-8 school in Phoenix, Kim Cavnar has devoted her life to teaching and leadership in education. Before pursuing graduate studies at Loyola’s Institute of Pastoral Studies, Ms. Cavnar earned a bachelor’s degree in communications from Loyola. Upon graduation, she served as the University’s associate director of campus ministry and also taught part time from 1977 to 1980 in the Department of Communication Arts. In addition, she has taught religious studies and served in campus ministry at Nazareth Academy in LaGrange, St. Louise de Marillac High School in Northfield, and St. Ignatius College Prep in Chicago. She taught and served in leadership roles at the Academy of Our Lady of Peace in San Diego, Brophy Jesuit College Preparatory in Phoenix, and Loyola High School of Los Angeles. Ms. Cavnar earned a second master’s degree in educational leadership from Arizona State University.
Mary Novak, a friend and former colleague of Kim, says, “Kim simply and directly defines Ignatian ideology.” She continues, “I was lucky enough to know Kim when she was the Assistant Principal in charge of Ministry at Brophy College Preparatory. I was working in counseling and became involved with the Office of Peace and Justice, through retreats and serving on committees involving student activism and peer formation. Her office was the hub. Students with a range of differences found solace and solidarity in that space because of Kim’s unique ability to engage even the most apprehensive students. She is inherently kind, and compassionate, traits driven by her genuine effort to create a society steeped in justice and inclusiveness.”
“Kim Cavnar embodies all that is good in this Jesuit community. In short, she makes people better, instilling in us in the responsibility to see the wrong in our society and commit to advocate for those most marginalized through prayer and action. I am so grateful to have had Kim who has mentored and nurtured my spirituality in a life-changing way. In the words of Pope Francis, “We must restore hope to young people, help the old, be open to the future, and spread love. Be poor among the poor. We need to include the excluded and preach peace.”
Kim embodies all of the above. Her commitment to Jesuit Education is not her job. It is her life, and those fortunate enough to have been touched by her guidance, are truly blessed.”
IPS is proud to honor Kimberly Cavnar with the Damen Award.
Over the last two years, Loyola University Chicago’s Institute of Pastoral Studies (IPS) has awarded close to 40 merit-based scholarships to various students in an effort to continue its mission to facilitate the integrated ministerial development of diverse and dynamic leaders for creative, compassionate, and courageous service to church and society.
“Due to the generosity of many benefactors, we can provide these scholarships to our students so upon graduation they can make a meaningful difference unencumbered by high levels of debt. We believe the world needs our students,” said Brian Schmisek, director of Loyola’s Institute of Pastoral Studies. “These scholarships reflect the hope and promise we see in them and their bright futures.”
Every year, IPS administers a limited set of scholarship and grant funds. IPS awards merit scholarships and ministry grants on the basis of academic achievement, leadership, embodiment of the IPS mission, and commitment to social justice. Merit awards cover a portion of for-credit tuition for the duration of the academic year in a degree program at the institute. Some of the scholarships offered include:
Deacon WP Worden Memorial Endowed Scholarship
Richard C. and Rosemary K. Leach Endowed Scholarship
Blanche Marie Gallagher B. V. M. Endowed Scholarship
Joan G. & Leonard D. Richman Family Foundation Scholarship
Ginny Lynch Memorial Scholarship
Rachel (Randy) Gibbons Endowed Scholarship
Robert O’Gorman Endowed Scholarship
Richard Daly is in his 3rd year at IPS pursuing the M.A. in Pastoral Counseling. When asked about how receiving an IPS scholarship has impacted his life, Richard, an ordained Episcopalian priest, says:
“This is my third year at IPS. I have taken 30 credit hours so far. The IPS scholarships and grants have greatly and tremendously impacted my life in that I do not have to work as much in my side jobs. I am helping my daughters with their loans and paying my tuition, too. Additionally, I also have more free time to volunteer in the community or serve at a parish. Without that aid, my time would be spent trying to rustle up tuition money through side jobs.”
“Next year, when I retire, the scholarships will help me even more. Though I am in a dialogue with my Bishop’s office about returning to parochial ministry, my studies at the IPS are of high priority to me. If I could not meet my financial obligations to the IPS, I know that without a doubt I would readily and easily give up on this program because I am going to be even further stretched financially in 2019.”
Photos from 2018 Graduate School & Institute of Pastoral Studies Commencement
Loyola University Chicago’s Graduate School and Institute of Pastoral Studies Commencement ceremonies were held together at the Gentile Arena on May 8, 2018.
Dr. Luca Badetti has just joined the IPScommunity as an Adjunct Assistant Professor. He will be part of the Pastoral Counseling program and will teach two Fall 2018 classes: “Research Methods” and “Foundations of Pastoral Care”.
Dr. Badetti was born in Rome, did middle school in Milan, and then moved to the United States. He obtained a master’s in Clinical Psychology from the Institute for the Psychological Sciences at Divine Mercy University and a doctorate in Disability Studies from the University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC), writing his dissertation on “Self-Determination and Community Life in Persons with Intellectual Disabilities”.
VoyageChicago recently published a detailed profile on Dr. Badetti, highlighting among other things his current work as the Community Life Director at L’Arche Chicago, “a multi-cultural faith community on the west side comprised of three homes in which people with and without intellectual disabilities live together ordinary life (sharing meals, going on outings, praying together, etc.).” In this role, Luca supports community life across its different layers: hiring and training assistants/staff, leading team meetings, events and retreats, accompanying, listening and walking with people as they grow through their community journey.”
We would like to share below Dr. Badetti’s responses to a few questions we recently posed to him:
Why IPS? What drew you to this program?
I have come to believe that life reveals itself to us as we journey along – it can surprise us and lead us, sometimes in very unexpected ways. This is true across its different domains, even the academic and professional one.
I didn’t plan to find Loyola University’s Institute for Pastoral Studies but I found it, and it found me.
To give a bit of background, during my undergraduate studies I wanted to study the human person in a holistic way, and one discipline was not enough to do so! I therefore double majored and double minored, seeking to bring together theology, philosophy and psychology.
I obtained a master’s in clinical psychology from a graduate institute of the psychological sciences (its abbreviated name was IPS too!), which sought to combine psychology with theology.
I then continued my own reflection on integration, which continues to this day. This reflection also informs and has been informed by my community leadership and pastoral experience in L’Arche, a movement of faith communities in which people with and without intellectual disabilities share life together in a spirit of belonging. I currently am the Director of Community Life in our Chicago community, which I became a part of once I moved to the city about eight years ago for my doctorate in Disability Studies.
I was already interested in IPS when I found out about it years ago, having known some of its students but also one of its founders. Considering my background, here it was…an institute that sought to combine psychological and theological insights for the accompaniment of people! How could I not be interested?
IPS then found me, inviting me to teach as one of its adjunct professors.
How do you feel about joining IPS?
I am honored and pleased.
I just mentioned a bit about my academic/community background…I find so many connections between it and the focus of IPS. I am glad to now be part of the IPS team.
Coming originally from Rome and currently living in Chicago, I also find quite exciting that IPS has a presence in both Chicago and Rome. Yet another connection!
What are your expectations about being part of the IPS family?
I am ready to be surprised!
Expectations, on the other hand, can be tricky, precisely because of what I was mentioning before about life revealing itself. Expectations can be like little boxes in our heads, while life is so much bigger than them. But, yes, I am open to being surprised.
Finally, can you share a personal spiritual practice that continues to restore and re-energize your mind, body, heart and spirit?
I believe there is a deep core to spirituality, beyond words, that is very intimate, mysterious and profound. Like other intimate realities, it should be protected and not exposed.
There is also a level in spirituality that is personal while also being communal and social, from which one can share with others using words and from which I am drawing my reply to your question.
Instead of using the concept of a practice I do, I’d like to speak of a reality I like to enter into – and also nurture: leisure.
What in Italy is called the “dolce far niente” (the sweet doing nothing) is a beautiful being present. Whether sharing coffee with a friend, listening to music, enjoying good food, sitting quietly, strolling around and so forth, leisure can be a delightfully human, and therefore profoundly spiritual, experience. That primacy of being over doing.