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IPS Intentional Living Community

April 26, 2018

For a number of years, IPS students have requested the opportunity to live in “Intentional Communities”. There already exist several options for participating in intentional communities in Chicago (e.g., Amate House) but we want to make available as a pilot project the opportunity for students to self-select an “Intentional community” as a LUC residential life option.

For the upcoming year (2018-19) we have two suites (three bedrooms each) that are available for this purpose. We anticipate three men will be in one suite and three women in the other suite. To be clear, there is no programming specifically developed for this community but it does provide an opportunity for those who want to experience communal life with others and who wish to be intentional about this process. Sometimes “intentional community” is defined as a community of those seeking a high degree of social cohesion. Exactly what shape this particular intentional community forms will be up to the individuals who participate in this option.

Students will be assigned to a triple room apartment style suite at Baumhart Hall (26 E Pearson) along with two other IPS students. Each student will receive their own bedroom with shared common living spaces. These apartments come furnished with one bed, one desk and chair, and one dresser in each bedroom. The common area is furnished with two kitchen stools, one sofa, and two side tables. The annual room rate (fall semester, winter break, and spring semester) is $12,180-$14,470 USD per student. Students are also required to submit a $500 USD deposit that will be later put toward the annual room rate. Summer rates for 2019 have not yet been released but would be subject to an additional charge. Meal plans are optional for an additional charge.

The deadline to apply for this opportunity expires May 15. Students may submit a housing application through LOCUS by selecting the Residence Life link on the left hand side. Interested students are encouraged to contact Kristin Butnik at kbutnik@luc.edu in IPS or Clair McDonald, Assistant Director for Housing in the Office of Residence Life at CMcDonald5@luc.edu.

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To learn more about IPS, go to https://www.luc.edu/ips/.
For those interested in applying to IPS, go to https://gpem.luc.edu/apply/.

4-26-2018 | Comments Off

Luca Badetti, PhD joins IPS as Adjunct Assistant Professor

April 18, 2018

Dr. Luca Badetti has just joined the IPS community 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.

For more on Dr. Luca Badetti, go to https://www.lucabadetti.com/.

(Image credits: Sally O’Donnell Photography, Roberta Dupuis- Devlin)

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To learn more about IPS, go to https://www.luc.edu/ips/.
For those interested in applying to IPS, go to https://gpem.luc.edu/apply/.

4-18-2018 | Comments Off

Photos from April 5th IPS Alumni-Students Networking Event

On April 5th, IPS and Loyola Alumni Relations co-sponsored a networking event that featured the following speakers who presented on the topic “Ministry in a Dynamic World: Finding Focus, Activating Energy, & Nurturing Gifts”.

Deirdre Long, IPS Alumna 2015, Marketing Coordinator, Loyola Press
Fr. Jason Malave, Cardinal’s Liaison for Renew My Church, Archdiocese of Chicago
Ann Ridge, IPS Alumna 2002, IPS Adjunct Instructor, and PhD candidate at The Chicago Theological Seminary
Keyalo Gray, MS Ed., Career Advisor, Loyola University Chicago

Close to 40 people participated in the event, including several who viewed our livestream via the IPS Facebook page. Many thanks to Associate Dean and Assistant Clinical Professor Peter Jones for managing the livestream, undertaken to enhance the overall IPS experience of our online/distance students. Finally, over 20 people supported the IPS Student Scholarship Fund.

We’d like to thank Deirdre, Fr. Jason, Ann, and Keyalo for sharing their time, talent and treasure with us that evening.

For photos of the retreat, click here.

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To learn more about IPS, go to https://www.luc.edu/ips/. For those interested in applying to IPS, go to https://gpem.luc.edu/apply/.

4-11-2018 | Comments Off

A Lenten Reflection: “Consider a fast from technology for Lent”

A Lenten reflection from IPS Assistant Professor, Michael Canaris:

Theologian Daniel Groody, CSC has reflected on strengthening our spiritual disciplines in various demonstrations of solidarity and renewal, some of which are particularly appropriate for Lent: focusing on prayer, simplicity and recollection in regular moments like the Sabbath. One of the most eye-opening of these practices he suggests is considering a “fast from technology.”

The average American checks their phone every 12 minutes or over 80 times per day. More than two-thirds of us get at least substantial portions of our news from social media sources, which are intentionally designed to offer stories based on previous inclinations and interests. Self-sorting “traditional” media outlets on television and radio provide much of the same. All of this results in an increase in tribalism and the silos of echo-chambers that characterize so much of our public discourse. Dialogue with one another becomes strained. And if we claim to love God who we cannot see while refusing to hear the cries of our neighbor who we do, then we are liars according to the Word of God.

We often have recourse to fall back somewhat easily on the (admirable) directives of the church when it comes to questions of what our fasts should look like during Lent. These regular calls to penitence help us raise our hearts and minds to God, to focus on our radical dependence and constant need for God’s presence, forgiveness and revitalization in our lives.

But it’s also important to remember that God does not somehow intrinsically prefer one half of our surf and turf predilections over the other on certain days of the week. Choosing lobster over filet on Friday merely out of a rigorist interpretation of the law offers negligible impact on one’s spiritual life, and even less on the nature of God’s unbegotten and eternal beatitude and beneficence. (That said, I have eaten meatballs after midnight on early Saturday morning raids to the refrigerator more times in my life than I would like to confess in public.)

But to recalibrate the grounding of our self-mortifications consistently, it is essential to return often to the words of the prophet Isaiah, among my favorite in all of Scripture:

“Why do we fast, but You do not see?

Why humble ourselves, but You do not notice?”

“Look,” says the Lord, “you serve your own interest on your fast day, and oppress all your workers.

You fast only to quarrel and to fight and to strike with a wicked fist.

Such fasting as you do today will not make your voice heard on high.

Is such the fast that I choose, a day to humble oneself?

Is it to bow down your head like a reed, and to lie in sackcloth and ashes?

And you call this a fast, a day acceptable to the Lord?

Is not this rather the fast that I desire: to loosen the bonds of injustice, to undo the thongs of the yoke, to let the oppressed go free, and to break every yoke?

Is it not to share your bread with the hungry, and to bring the foreigner into your house; when you see the naked, to cover them, and not to hide yourself from your own kin?

Then your light shall break forth like the dawn, and your wounds shall be healed quickly.”

Our use of technology, which has given us countless blessings, is also increasingly enabling us to practice all too habitually the last of these divine condemnations. When our phones and computers hinder real connections and instead allow us sufficient cover “to hide our humanity from our own kin,” we know that we have not only a cultural but a theological problem.

Fasting from food is not the same thing as forced starvation. So too, a willingness to examine our practices regarding technological communication is not a compulsory abandonment of those realities that are necessary for the betterment of our professional and personal lives. But an honest scrutiny will likely reveal addictive or detestable practices for which a day of fasting may now be appropriate or necessary.

This may be the year when assessing and addressing these tendencies could help us grow closer both to our human neighbor and to God.

This reflection first appeared in Catholic Star Herald. Michael Canaris, PhD is an Assistant Professor at IPS. You can reach him at mcanaris@luc.edu.

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Join the Loyola community in prayer and celebration at HOLY WEEK services and events across the Chicagoland campuses. Click here.

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To learn more about IPS, go to https://www.luc.edu/ips/. For those interested in applying to IPS, go to https://gpem.luc.edu/apply/.

3-22-2018 | Comments Off

Photos from Lenten Retreat: “Living Your Life’s Transitions”

On March 10th, IPS and Loyola Alumni Relations co-sponsored a Lenten retreat facilitated by Joanne Cimbalo, Ph.D. and Sheila Morrow, M.A.

Close to 50 people attended the retreat, allowing for time to reflect on expectations of self during times of transition.

Change is constant, continuous, and often challenging. The dynamics of change can affect our lives, our families, and our work in positive and negative ways. Transition is the process we go through as we struggle to adapt to interior and exterior change. All transitions begin with an ending and end in a new beginning. Therefore, in times of transition, we may find ourselves reliving the Paschal Mystery of death and rebirth. In this workshop we will discuss the beginning, middle, and ending phases of transitions and how living out that process affects our daily lives. These are times that offer us an opportunity to reflect on our expectations of self and our own personal journeys.

For photos of the retreat, click here.

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To learn more about IPS, go to https://www.luc.edu/ips/. For those interested in applying to IPS, go to https://gpem.luc.edu/apply/.

3-15-2018 | Comments Off

A Lenten Challenge: “What are the questions that would liberate us…?”

February 20, 2018

A Lenten reflection from IPS Assistant Professor of Spirituality, Jean-Pierre Fortin:

According to the Gospel of John, when Jesus is brought before Pontius Pilate, he tells the Roman governor: “For this I was born, and for this I came into the world, to testify to the truth. Everyone who belongs to the truth listens to my voice” (John 18:37). Jesus was born, came among us to bear witness to the truth. For us Christians, who profess to be followers of Jesus, a fundamental task and challenge to accomplish and face is to bear witness to Jesus. As it invites us to experience and celebrate the mystery of Christ’s Passion, death and resurrection in particular fashion, the Lenten/Easter season is a most suited time for us to reflect on the quality of the witness we bear of and to Christ.

A formative way to do this is to follow Pontius Pilate’s example, who admits to being profoundly challenged by the person and words of Jesus when he responds to Jesus’ witness with an honest question: “What is truth?” (John 18:38) Pilate opens himself to the possibility that he may be encountering a truth he had never foreseen. This encounter with truth in person may change who he is in profound ways. During this Lenten season, then, we may reflect on the ways Jesus questions our assumptions about our lives, we may think about the questions we have been carrying with us for some time (perhaps even a long time) which we know we should ask to Jesus in person. What are the questions that would liberate us, allowing us to pursue the truth revealed in Jesus in more faithful, complete fashion? We may bring these questions before Jesus in our prayer, with the desire and hope of being transformed so as to be able to bear witness to the truth that he is.

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See below for other Lenten offerings, resources, and events taking place around Loyola University Chicago and the greater Chicagoland area.

The Campus Ministry team has put together this web page to help prepare the members of the Loyola Chicago community recommit to their baptismal promises at Easter by returning to the basic practices of their faith during Lent: https://www.luc.edu/campusministry/sacramental_life/eucharist/lent/.

The Mission Office invites you to begin and end this Lenten season with an Ignatian examen focused on forgiveness and healing. Each session will begin with an examen followed by shared reflections on the insights or fruits of the examen. The first examen will focus on forgiveness, and as we begin Holy Week, the second examine will focus on healing. For more on this program, go to: https://www.luc.edu/mission/employeeprograms/lentenofferings/.

The Archdiocese of Chicago’s Department of Parish Vitality and Mission is delighted to provide Catholics and non-Catholics with a wide variety of opportunities to take Pope Francis’s words to heart and begin a Lenten mission of deepening relationships with those around them and with Jesus Christ. For specifics, go to this page: https://pvm.archchicago.org/lenten-resources.

Finally, for web-based resources, Campus Ministry has collated the below handout:

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To learn more about IPS, go to https://www.luc.edu/ips/. For those interested in applying to IPS, go to https://gpem.luc.edu/apply/.

2-20-2018 | Comments Off

IPS Honored with “Coordinating Board Award” by Association of Chicago Priests

February 13, 2018

At its 51^st Annual Mardi Gras & Ministry Awards gathering over the weekend, the Association of Chicago Priests (ACP) recognized IPS with a Coordinating Board Award.

Coordinating Board Awards were first given in 1973 and are presented to individuals and groups within the Archdiocese in recognition and appreciation for their outstanding contributions to the life of the Church of Chicago.

In addition to IPS, the following also received a Coordinating Board Award:

Purpose over Pain
Wellness Programs for Priests- Loyola University, Ramute Kemeza, BSN, RN
Relevant Radio – Chicago
Archdiocese of Chicago Office of Radio and Television

During the same evening, Fr. Charles W. Dahm, a Dominican priest and the Archdiocesan Director of Domestic Violence Outreach, was honored with the Saint John XXIII Award. Catholic Charities Chicago received the The Joseph Cardinal Bernardin Common Ground Award.

IPS is humbled to receive a Coordinating Board Award, especially given the ACP’s mission:

To cooperate with the Archbishop in the Pastoral Care of the Local Church.
To foster dialogue and support among priests and deacons locally, nationally and abroad.
To nourish collaboration of priests and deacons with others serving in ministry.
To promote locally, ecumenism among the Christian Churches, and to cooperate with and promote interfaith dialogue with other faiths.
To seek cooperative action that promotes peace and justice through the entire metropolitan community, particularly noticing and attending to the needs of the poor and the alienated.
To strive for equality of women and men of all races and cultures.

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To learn more about IPS, go to https://www.luc.edu/ips/. For those interested in applying to IPS, go to https://gpem.luc.edu/apply/.

2-13-2018 | Comments Off

Launch of Certificate in Pastoral Ministry for Dioceses in the North of England

Late this past January, two induction ceremonies took place in Liverpool and Darlington in the U.K. to mark the official launch of the new “Certificate in Pastoral Ministry for Dioceses in the North of England”, a program designed jointly by IPS in collaboration with Dioceses in the North of England.

Veronica Murphy and Catherine Darby, both from the Archdiocese of Liverpool, serve as the primary liaisons for this program. They have shared the following photos from the two induction ceremonies, saying:

“We had a wonderful Induction Day with the students from this side of the Pennines on Saturday. There was almost full attendance despite poor weather and great enthusiasm and excitement were apparent. Both the Induction Days were very well received & appreciated. (The students) very much enjoyed meeting one another face-to-face…It was a privilege to be with both groups who are now ready to launch into their first module!”

IPS professors Peter Jones and Michael Canaris will teach the first module — “What is Pastoral Ministry?” — starting this week. Over 50 registered students are expected to explore what being called to pastoral ministry in the church means today.

The “Certificate in Pastoral Ministry” program will consist of 10 six-week modules delivered in an online format utilizing faculty from IPS and England. The certificate is a non-degree, non-credit program offered over two years that equips lay ministers, teachers, deacons, and parish leaders with up-to-date knowledge, skills, and education for contemporary pastoral ministry. Upon completion of the 10 modules, students will be awarded a Certificate in Pastoral Ministry by IPS.

To learn more about IPS, go to https://www.luc.edu/ips/.
For those interested in applying to IPS, go to https://gpem.luc.edu/apply/.

2-06-2018 | Comments Off

In Memoriam: IPS Co-Founder Fr. Ted Stone

Fr. Ted Stone, a key figure in the founding of IPS in 1964, passed away on January 4^that the age of 91.

According to long-time IPS professor and Aggiornamento Award recipient Peter Gilmour, Fr. Ted was a Chicago diocesan priest who worked full-time in the Confraternity of Christian Doctrine (CCD) office of the archdiocese when he helped co-found IPS.

Gilmour continues: “(Fr. Ted) worked closely with Michael Gannon to shape (IPS’s) first curriculum and community character. He was one of the major teachers in the summer program in its early years. (Fr. Ted) was well known internationally, having attended many of the “International Study Weeks on Catechetics” held around the world back then. He left the priesthood, married, and after his wife’s death, returned to the priesthood.”

A recent Chicago Tribune article chronicled more specifics of Fr. Ted’s life journey:

“Stone was an associate pastor at Mary, Seat of Wisdom for 20 years, until his retirement in 2002, but continued to serve the parish in the years that followed, the archdiocese said.”

“According to the Archdiocese of Chicago, Stone requested to leave the priesthood in 1969 in order to marry. He and his wife had two children, but after her death in 1981, he looked to return to the priesthood, the archdiocese said.

In 1996, following the death of Cardinal Joseph Bernardin, archbishop of Chicago, Stone shared with the Chicago Tribune of how he sought Bernardin’s help in resuming his vocation. According to Stone, it took seven years of interceding before the cardinal was able to get church officials in Rome to approve Stone’s reinstatement.

He kept going back and back, trying to get the authorities to allow it,” Stone was quoted as saying.”

Luca Badetti, Community Life Director at L’Arche Chicago, recently honored Fr. Ted with a L’Arche post, writing “Ted lived fatherhood in various ways: both as a priest and as a father of two…He left the active priesthood in 1969, after which he married. He fathered Tim, a beloved core member of our L’Arche community, and Bethanne, a precious friend of our community…”

In recalling the last year of Fr. Ted’s life, Badetti adds, “Even through the health effects of aging, Ted seemed to walk on earth as a “man on a mission” would. A soft-spoken and humble man, his posture, his walk, his glances and his attentiveness seemed to be directed to something – or better, Someone – much larger than himself. Ted seemed to be in this world, yet not of it.”

Fr. Ted with Elbert, Christianne and Jean at a L’Arche event

We – the students, faculty, staff and alumni of IPS – wish to relay our heartfelt gratitude for the life of Fr. Ted Stone and our sincerest condolences to Fr. Ted’s remaining loved ones, including daughter, Bethanne Stone; son, Timothy Stone; and sisters Mary Lippa and Dorothy Moore.

1-30-2018 | Comments Off

Alumnus Mark Bersano Managing Growth of Continuing Education at IPS

January 23, 2018

IPS is now home to the Chicago Catholic Scripture School, a program that provides in-depth knowledge of the Bible within a Roman Catholic framework to parish leaders, deacons, catechists, staff members, and anyone wishing to deepen their understanding of scripture. The IPS Chicago Catholic Scripture School (IPS CCSS) falls under the Continuing Education (CE) umbrella within IPS and is overseen by IPS alumnus, Mark Bersano.

With the help of CE administrative assistant Mirta Garcia, Mark also supervises the following CE programs:

Parish Leadership and Management Programs
IPS Continuing Education Courses
Parish Health and Pastoral Care Ministry Certificate
Restorative Justice Ministry Certificate
Certificate in Pastoral Ministry for North England and Wales
English Pronunciation and Parish Enculturation Course
Legacy Leaders Fellowship Program (Check out our recent blog “Loyola-IPS Receives Grant from Henry Luce Foundation for Legacy Leaders Fellows Program”.)
IPS Retreats for Catholic School Teachers

We recently sat down with Mark to learn more about him and his growing contribution to the life of IPS.

Let’s begin with CONGRATULATIONS on your recent promotion to Assistant Dean for Continuing Education, Mark! Any thoughts on this recognition?

It’s a great honor and I’m proud and very grateful to have the new title. It affirms the work Mirta and I are doing with Continuing Education and the importance of this work to the community. I’m both grateful and humbled. The title change should open more doors as I negotiate new Continuing Education programs and course offerings.

I understand you’re an IPS alumnus. Can you tell us a little bit about what you were doing prior to enrolling at IPS?

Before coming to Loyola in 2005, I was the Chief Deputy Recorder and Director of Technology for the Will County Recorder of Deeds Office in Joliet. I was a one-person computer department, overseeing and maintaining six servers, 75 user workstations, and a 20-million record database. I oversaw RFP’s for hardware and software; configured and maintained servers, databases, and networking equipment; trained users; improved process efficiency; and basically administered every piece of equipment in the office. When I came to IPS I often joked that I no longer wanted to deal with anything that had an electrical plug.

Why did you choose IPS? What did you study?

A colleague in the Management Information Systems Department in Will County was doing her MA in Pastoral Studies with IPS. She told me about a new MA in Social Justice degree that IPS was starting. I came in and spoke with Mary Elsbernd (who oversaw the Social Justice MA at that time), and was enrolled in the very first social justice course in the summer of 2005. I was impressed with the Jesuit ideals around social justice and the way IPS offered a transformational education experience. After the first course, I was hooked and ended up working with a major university grant project while I pursued my studies for the MASJ.

What was life like as an IPS student? Any particular memories of classes, characters, etc. that remain with you to this day?

Classes were wonderful—with so many interesting people as both instructors and classmates. Discussions were always rich and courses were challenging and thought provoking. The semester that stands out the most for me was Spring 2008—my final semester. I took Hearts on Fire to learn about Ignatian Spirituality at the same time as a Nonviolence class based in Franciscan teaching. The courses complemented each other and I felt quite steeped in the two traditions. When the Hearts on Fire course ended, no one wanted to leave the classroom. We stayed after the last session for a couple of hours just chatting. I’m still in touch with some of those classmates, nearly 10 years later.

How did you become the Coordinator of Continuing Education (CE) here at IPS?

While I was working on my MASJ degree, I worked for a Lilly Grant called INSPIRE. It was a partnership between LUC and the Archdiocese of Chicago that supported teambuilding on the staffs of Catholic parishes. When I graduated, I went to work for the grant full time. When the grant ended, my current role was created to extend the learning of INSPIRE into the future, and now I am in charge of all Continuing Education programs that IPS provides.

What is your mission as Assistant Dean for Continuing Education?

My mission is to provide engaging non-degree educational opportunities to people in parishes and congregations who wish to supplement their knowledge in service of the Church. This role developed out of the INSPIRE project, which ended in 2013. I have been working at IPS in this capacity since 2014.

How is your IPS degree allowing you to fulfill your goals as Assistant Dean for Continuing Education at IPS?

My social justice degree coupled with my work with INSPIRE provided me with a wonderfully supportive network of people in diocesan and congregational roles. I also got a great understanding of the educational needs of people in parishes. Armed with these tools, I’m able to effectively interface with a wide variety of people, assess needs, and create educational opportunities to address those needs. My office aspires to be flexible in order to address continuing education needs in real time as they surface.

You and Mirta continue to service an increasing number of constituencies. What are the highlights/challenges associated with such growth?

The highlight is certainly that we have the opportunity to do a lot of different things with a very diverse group of people. For example, we’re working on a new restorative justice ministry. New ideas and opportunities are always arising, and we’re able to act on them relatively quickly. The challenge is that with so many projects, it can be difficult for two of us to keep up! We’re creating projects based on innovative ideas at a much faster rate than we can make them reality.

Can you share a personal spiritual practice that a fellow IPS community member may find helpful?

At night before bed, I try to assess what’s going on with me—an examen of sorts. I try to move into an “observer” mode. I look at my emotions, knowing that they are not me. I look at my thoughts, knowing that they are not me. I look at my body and any pains or physical sensations—knowing that they are not me. I look at all of the things stimulating my emotions and thoughts, knowing that they are not me. I recall that I am consciousness—the observer of all these things. That’s me. It’s a very emotionally grounding and calming exercise.

Any words of wisdom for IPS students unsure about how their current studies will manifest concretely down the line?

Stay present. Learn. Absorb. Build relationships. You never know how what you learn or who you meet will manifest in your life later. It’s part of the great mystery.

You can reach Mark Bersano at mbersan@luc.edu.

To learn more about IPS, go to https://www.luc.edu/ips/.
For those interested in applying to IPS, go to https://gpem.luc.edu/apply/.

1-23-2018 | Comments Off

Category : IPS Students

IPS Intentional Living Community

To learn more about IPS, go to https://www.luc.edu/ips/.
For those interested in applying to IPS, go to https://gpem.luc.edu/apply/.

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