Dear Friends,

I am in a moment where I simply stand in awe of God. I feel pulled further into the expansion of Mystery, yet, here I am writing today to share a moment of clarity with you.

The Spirit awakened in me almost two years ago a sense that what I was doing in ministry was bigger than what was in front of me. I sat with my spiritual director each month, and we explored the awakening I felt, the calls that kept welling in me that didn’t quite make sense, and the deep desire I had for collaboration.

Clarity felt like an illusion at times. In prayer, I would catch a glimpse here or there of what the Spirit’s invitation might be. Over and over again, my spiritual director would tell me to keep praying and hold onto what the Spirit had made known and trust the rest would come into view when it was time. Pages and pages of my journals these last two years are titled at the top with “It Has Been Made Known” with bulleted lists underneath of me capturing what God had made known to me so far. If you read my journals, you would see words like…

• It’s bigger than me
• Empowering Voices, especially women’s
• Ignatian spirituality
• Collaboration
• Inviting people deeper
• Gathering Ignatian voices
• Collective wisdom

If you would have told me in those moments of confusion and discernment over the past two years that major clarity would come during a time of quarantine during the pandemic, I would have laughed out loud.

God is full of surprises.

So what’s the exciting news I want to share with you that has become clear during these past few months?

My blog has a new name: Into the Deep: Exploring Ignatian Spirituality through the Voices of Women. Joining me each month will be an amazing team of regular contributors, all women, and all trained in Ignatian spirituality and Ignatian ministry. Many of the names you will be familiar with as they have shared their wisdom here before in guest posts. They are all friends and colleagues of mine. So often when I listen to their wisdom in our conversations I think- I wish others could hear her wisdom! Well now you can!

Our blog will remain committed to providing reflections and resources for you to go deeper in your walk with Christ through the lens of Ignatian spirituality. While we are an all-women writing team, our blog is not only for women, but for all seeking to dive into the deep. We will explore prayer, discernment, faith in action, Jesus, love, mercy, and hope, as my blog has since 2009.

Our first series we are writing together is called Drawn to Ignatius. You will get to know each woman and read of her experience of how she came to know St. Ignatius and his spirituality. My guess is you will stand in awe of God as you read the way God worked in each of their lives leading and guiding them to this moment.

It all makes sense what God was stirring in me for two years now, and I am excited to finally live into the clarity of the call. Gathering these voices together brings so much peace and joy in me. When we are all together praying, discerning and sharing, I can feel the Holy Spirit empowering and emboldening us. Ignatian discernment wisdom reminds us to check for the fruits of the Holy Spirit as we live into our decisions. I feel and see the fruits of the Spirit already, and I cannot wait to see what fruits come from sharing this with others!

Let us continue to pray for each other as we are drawn into the deep!

Peace,
Becky