According to Michael Okińczyc-Cruz, CSPL was founded through one on one meetings. In the spring of 2017, several Catholic leaders in the Chicagoland area wanted to do faith-based community organizing, they came together and the organization was founded in June/July 2017.
CSPL works in the Western suburbs of Chicago – Maywood, Broadview, Melrose – these areas are deeply impacted by poverty, racism, and inequality. Michael believes people who have been marginalized have a significant role to play in the liberation and progressive development of their own communities. “The goal is to give voices of leadership to those who have been impacted by poverty and racism. During this time of profound fear and despair, it is important to support those who must be at the center of leadership and give them the hope to rise up and organize. These leaders must organize to develop creative and courageous solutions that reflect their deepest values.”
The coalition is also actively involved in issues of immigration, safety and violence prevention and the Census 2020, with committees that meet regularly to discuss these relevant topics.
CSPL offers leadership trainings for those who want to learn more about faith-based community organizing. “We believe that every person has the fundamental right and responsibility to be engaged in civic and democratic life and to work for the Common Good, as the Catholic Social Teaching tradition emphasizes.” CSPL’s leadership trainings provide grassroots leaders with the resources to effectively organize for social change in a manner that is deeply rooted in and inspired by the Catholic spiritual and theological traditions.
“There are numerous organizations in the Chicago area that do community organizing, we are one of many, but the most important thing is attending the leadership training to learn how to effectively organize in the community that you live in.”
Visit CSPL’s website to see the work Michael and the Coalition have been doing and learn more about ways to get involved.
Michael is an adjunct assistant professor at IPS and is the Executive Director and a co-founder of CSPL. CSPL is a non-profit organization committed to addressing social, racial and economic justice issues through grassroots leadership development and community organizing grounded in the Catholic spiritual and theological traditions.
A first-generation American, Michael has been a faith-based community organizer for 8 years, he has worked to address issues related to criminal justice, mental health, corporate bank accountability, immigration reform, refugee rights, public transportation, workforce development and workforce diversity on a local, statewide and national level.
9-18-2019|Comments Off on Learn about the Coalition for Spiritual & Public Leadership (CSPL) and its Executive Director & co-founder Michael Okińczyc-Cruz, IPS Adjunct Faculty.
This 2019-2020 school year, IPS welcomes Mariana Miller on board as the new Assistant Dean for the school of Contextual Education. Mariana expresses excitement as she begins her journey with the department.
Can you tell us a little bit about yourself? (Grew up where, family, etc.) – I grew up in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Yes! Where Pope Francis is from! We even had first communion in the same church! I’m the oldest of 4 kids. I got my BA/MA in English culture and Language and my teaching certificate in English as a second language. I worked as a teacher for a few years and I became interested in mission work and in spirituality. This took me to study theology and philosophy, and I explored a vocation to religious life in an order that follows Ignatian spirituality. Although I realized religious life was not my calling , Ignatian spirituality stuck with me, in part, maybe because I’m half Basque… In 1999, I came to the US permanently. I got my MA in Theology at Boston College where I had the fortune to study under great professors and meet great friends including my husband, Richard Miller. After graduation, I worked as co-director of campus ministry at Boston University for the school year of 2001-2002. In August of 2002, my first son was born and I left my job to stay at home with him. We moved to Omaha in 2005 when my husband started teaching in the theology department at Creighton University. At that point we had two boys and our third one was born in Omaha in 2009. We are very busy with family, friends and work! Our oldest son is an incoming junior at Creighton Prep, he wants to play soccer in College and LUC is one of the schools he’s looking at. Our three boys play soccer and they follow Argentine, Mexican and European soccer (mostly British football!)
What were you involved in prior to working at IPS?– I
come from Creighton University, where I was the associate director for the
Christian spirituality programs and the MA in Ministry. I am very excited to
stay within the Jesuit network!
How did you discern IPS to be a next step? – When I learned about the position at IPS, I saw an amazing opportunity for growth and for being part of sharing the Jesuit mission with the Church at large through all of our programs.
What are some of your favorite Chicago-related pursuits? – I love Chicago! Although I am not going to move from Omaha, since my husband is a full professor at Creighton, I love the opportunity to come every other week. My youngest sister lives here and I love spending time with her and her family!
Finally, can you share a personal spiritual practice
that continues to restore and re-energize your mind, body, heart and spirit? – As
far as a restorative spiritual practice, I love taking long walks with my
husband every night while the weather is nice. I practice the Ignatian examen every night
being grateful for the presence of God in my life through all the people I get
to share my time with, and I try to practice yoga, at least once a week.
7-29-2019|Comments Off on IPS Welcomes Mariana to the Team!
IPS
is proud to announce that the Board of Commissioners of the Association of
Theological Schools granted full accreditation to the Loyola University Chicago
Institute of Pastoral Studies on June 10, 2019.
The
IPS degree programs: Master of Divinity, Master of Arts in Christian
Spirituality (Professional MA), Master of Arts in Counseling for Ministry
(Professional MA), Master of Arts in Pastoral Counseling (Professional MA), and
the Master of Arts in Social Justice (Professional MA) were also approved, as
were our comprehensive online (distance education) programs. Dr. Brian
Schmisek, Dean of IPS said, “This accreditation recognizes the quality of the
IPS programs, the strength of our relationship as an integral academic unit at
Loyola University Chicago, and the efforts of the entire IPS community. We are
grateful for our membership in ATS, and are happy to have had such a positive
review.” The next evaluation of IPS is set to take place in the spring of 2026.
6-20-2019|Comments Off on IPS Receives Accreditation from ATS
In his new book, Woven Together: Faith and Justice for the Earth and the Poor, James Mastaler makes the case that now, more than ever, it is critical that religious stories encompass a call to moral responsibility for the earth and to the global poor.
James is an alumnus of the Master of Arts in Social Justice program at the Institute of Pastoral Studies and he has a PhD in theology from Loyola.
James S. Mastaler, PhD
The book, with a foreword by distinguished environmental philosopher Holmes Rolston III, has been endorsed by Bill McKibben as a “good-hearted and useful effort to bridge some of the gaps between communities of faith and the environmental justice movement.”
*Readers are encouraged
to connect with the author in the Facebook Group “WE ARE
#WovenTogether” or on Twitter @JamesMastaler
*Available wherever
books are sold in paperback and e-reader versions, including Kindle on
Amazon, or from your local independent bookstore (such as Chicago’s Unabridged Books).
6-05-2019|Comments Off on IPS Alumnus Publishes New Book “Woven Together : Faith and Justice for the Earth and the Poor”
By Michael Canaris, PhD (Assistant Professor at Loyola IPS, mcanaris@luc.edu). This piece was originally published in the Catholic Star Herald.
Lent has traditionally been an annual opportunity to recalibrate one’s relationship with his or her neighbor and the gifts of creation, in addition to with God. In preparation to celebrate the Paschal Mystery more fully, the church has historically provided prayerful and ascetical tools and “space” to rid ourselves of disordered attachments, so as to re-commit ourselves to the Risen Lord more emphatically. It has been clear for almost the entire history of the Christian faith that if believers do not consciously emulate the death of the Son of God in a very tangible sense in their own spiritual journeys, then the exultation of the empty tomb will ring exceedingly hollow in the subsequent Easter season.
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This
year, I have decided to focus my own Lenten disciplines on attuning myself more
intentionally to Pope Francis’s call to integral ecology. Distancing ourselves
from an addictive culture of disposability should not be a partisan issue,
whether in the church or in wider society. Catholic Social Teaching has
consistently made clear, at least since Pope Leo XIII’s groundbreaking document
Rerum Novarum, that orienting our
discipleship of Jesus around principles like the common good, solidarity, and
the universal destination of created things demands that we interrogate our
attitudes and lifestyles through the lens of the Gospel. This includes
“practical” as well as “spiritual” matters.
Being
stewards of creation mandates that Christians and all people of good will
refuse to treat things as trash, and other people as things. Such a
reductionism is antithetical to a holistic approach to “our common home,” this
earth across which the entire human race shares our origins, experiences and
telos (“goal”) in the divine plenitude, as Nostra
Aetate points out.
Residents
of the United States in particular are guilty of viewing the world as a spigot
of limitless resources, and of generating immense quantities of refuse to
sustain our relatively comfortable lifestyles. Questioning our (im)prudent use
of the wonderful realities that technology and American ingenuity have brought
forth in our era ought not to be a controversial initiative, if we claim to
care about our children “to the seventh generation.” Limiting one’s extemporaneous
use of items that cannot be recycled, his or her carbon footprint, and our
collective egotistic practices that ignore their impact on wide swaths of the
global population are legitimate Lenten theological aspirations. My own
complicity in such patterns is acute and disgraceful, and so I feel called to
examine such realities in my personal and professional life in the coming
weeks.
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Human
beings, social creatures who exist in networks of love, responsibility, and
blame, cannot experience the divine other than through our interactions in the
natural world. Our liturgical prayers emphasize that a matrix exists — between
God’s abounding generosity and the work of human hands, in which we collaborate
with the divine to live out a sacramental reality, whereby the natural is the
conduit through which we access the transcendent.
Put
crudely, if there is no clean oxygen, pure water or soils protected from
ultraviolet rays, there is no Blessed Sacrament, whether understood
eucharistically or anthropologically, as the human being is the ultimate
mysterious (saramentum is the Latin
version of the Greek mysterion)
recipient of God’s most gracious gift of Self.
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The coming season of reflective and consequential purification provides an excellent opportunity to examine how we can better take responsibility and agency in devoting ourselves to that vivifying encounter with that world which God and unfathomable amounts of time have provided us, and which we all too frequently disregard and degrade for immediate gratification.
Originally from Collingswood, Michael M. Canaris teaches at Loyola University, Chicago.
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.)
A video tribute honoring Rev. Jimmie Flewellen was presented at the Founders’ Dinner on Saturday, June 8, 2013.
Rev. Jimmie was the first African-American Catholic chaplain for the United States Justice Department, along with being one of the first deacons in the Archdiocese of Chicago. He remained an active member of the IPS community for years, serving as a member of the IPS Advisory Council.
To view the 2013 video tribute to Rev. Jimmie, click here.
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.”
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Emily Kane is pursuing the MA Social Justice. You can reach her at ekane5@luc.edu.
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!
