Live The Mission Conversation Guide

As Philadelphia’s Jesuit Catholic University, Saint Joseph’s provides a rigorous, student-centered education rooted in the liberal arts. We prepare students for personal excellence, professional success and engaged citizenship. Striving to be an inclusive and diverse community that educates and cares for the whole person, we encourage and model lifelong commitment to thinking critically, making ethical decisions, pursuing social justice and finding God in all things.

Learn more about Mission Week

• As a (student, employee, faculty, administrator or alumnus), what does it mean to be an engaged citizen at SJU? In Philadelphia? In the world?
• As a (student, employee, faculty, administrator or alumnus), what does it mean to find God in all things? Where do you find God in your daily experience?
• As a (student, employee, faculty, administrator or alumnus), what does it mean to care for the whole person? How does that inform the actions you take on a daily basis?
• As a department, how do we help students become engaged citizens/find God in all things/care for the whole person in our curriculum?
• As a (employee, faculty, administrator), how do I/can we help students become engaged citizens/find God in all things/care for the whole person in my work?

Articles and Documents on the Character of Jesuit Education

• Characteristics of Jesuit Education
  An in-depth examination of the characteristics of Jesuit education from 1980, written by an international group of Jesuit and lay people engaged in Jesuit secondary education.
• The Service of Faith and the Promotion of Justice in American Jesuit Higher Education
  Fr. Peter Hans Kolvenbach
  A well known and popular address by the former Superior General of the Society of Jesus about Jesuit education in the 21st century, and it’s what it will require of Jesuits, faculty, and students. Many have found this a challenging document.
• Five Ways to Find God in All Things
  Perhaps the most iconic Ignatian phrase, this article explores what it means to find God in all things.
• A Spirituality of Action
  Dr. Monica Hellwig
  Ignatian spirituality is one of contemplation, but always directed toward action. This article examines that dynamic.
• Letter from Peter Hans Kolvenbach to Friends and Colleagues of the Society of Jesus
  How would a Superior General of the Jesuits describe the Society of Jesus is?
• Salt And Leaven
  David McCallum, SJ
  A fan of organizational development principles? This article suggests how they provide a map for “mission integration.”
• Meeting the Victims, Falling in Love
  Dean Brackley, SJ
  Seeing God in the experiences of those at the margins of society has been a key theme for Jesuits over the past few decades. This article is an example of former SJU Maclean Chair Dean Brackley’s experience in El Salvador.
• Cura Personalis
  Fr. Peter Hans Kolvenbach, SJ
  We frequently use the term cura personalis when talk about the student in Jesuit education. This article by the former Superior General of the Society of Jesus explores what this term means in significant depth.

• The Meaning of a Jesuit Education at Saint Joseph's University Video
• How do SJU Students Live the Mission Video
• Do You Speak Ignatian? God in All Things
  A 7 minute breakdown of the Ignatian concept of “finding God in all things.”
• Do You Speak Ignatian? Magis
  A 5 minute breakdown of the Ignatian concept of “the magis.”
• Do You Speak Ignatian? Discernment
  A 5 minute breakdown of the Ignatian practice of “discernment.”
• On Being Podcast with Greg Boyle, SJ
  A 51 minute segment from the NPR radio show “On Being.” This episode features Fr. Greg Boyle, S.J., founder/executive director of Homeboy Industries in Los Angeles, California, and author of Tattoos on the Heart: The Power of Boundless Compassion.
• On Being Podcast with James Martin, SJ: Finding God in All Things and Who We’re Called to Become
  A 51 minute segment from the NPR radio show “On Being.” This episode features Fr. James Martin, S.J., editor at large of America magazine and author of Jesuit Guide to (Almost) Everything.
• Last Lecture with Fr. Michael Himes, SJ
  A 52 minute presentation in the popular “last lecture” format by Boston College Theology professor Fr. Michael Himes, S.J., where he shares his ideas about the most important things in life.

Loving God, our world is indeed charged with your grandeur for you labor with
and for us in all things to bring about the fullness of your Kingdom where justice,
love and peace will reign in the hearts of all your people.

Teach us, Lord, to be generous, Teach us to serve you as you deserve,
To lead our students to find joy in learning and to thirst for greater and
deeper knowledge of how they are called to labor with you in the wonder and
mystery of your ongoing work of creation,
To witness for our students the personal love and care that you have for each
of us so that they might attain the knowledge and freedom to achieve their full
potential as young men and women created in your image and likeness,

To teach as Jesus did so that by following his example our students will grow
up to be men and women in service with and for others as well as leading
discerners of your Spirit in the communities in which they live, work and worship,

To form our students into persons of intellectual competence, moral integrity
and religious conviction whose actions are informed by conscience, infused
with compassion and inspired by a commitment to a faith that seeks justice
for all your people, particularly among the poor, the suffering and the
neglected.

Bless us, Lord, and our mission as Ignatian educators. Guide us with your
Spirit that we may continually grow as a community of companions in the
ministry of teaching, working with and learning from one another to discern
how best to accompany our students on their journeys to becoming men and
women of the magis, asking always what more they can do for your greater
honor and glory. Amen.