Having a faith conversation with old and new friends is as easy as setting the table.
FAITH FEEDS GUIDE
SPIRITUAL FRIENDSHIP
BOSTON COLLEGE | THE CHURCH IN THE 21ST CENTURY CENTER
The FAITH FEEDS program is designed for individuals who are hungry for opportunities to talk about their faith with others who share it. Participants gather online or in person over coffee or a potluck lunch or dinner and share a conversation using the C21 Center’s downloadable guides. The FAITH FEEDS GUIDE offers easy, step-by-step materials, including articles and questions, to guide the conversation. It’s as simple as: deciding to host the gathering wherever your community is found, selecting a themed guide, and spreading the word. All selected articles for this guide have been taken from the C21 Center’s Fall 2026 issue of C21 Resources, “Deepening Faith & Relationships in a Digital Age.”
CONTENTS Introduction to FAITH FEEDS 2 Conversation Starters/Articles St. Ignatius of Loyola on Spiritual Conversation by Barton T. Geger, S.J. 3 Questions for Conversation 5 The Gift of Spiritual Friendship by Emily Egan 6 Questions for Conversation 8 The Thirst and the Fountain: A Course I Taught at Boston College By Emanuele Colombo 9 Questions for Conversation 12 Resources for FAITH FEEDS Frequently Asked Questions 14 Checklist to Get Started 15 Facilitator Resources 16 Gathering and Closing Prayers
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ST. IGNATIUS OF LOYOLA ON SPIRITUAL CONVERSATION
ARTICLE 1
By Barton T. Geger, S.J. In the service of cura personalis, the writings of Ignatius and early Jesuits contain yet another gem, and one that bears numerous connections to other Jesuit values. It is the art of “spiritual conversation.” Shortly after his spiritual conversion at Castle Loyola, Ignatius began to recognize that engaging people in relatively informal, spontaneous, one-on-one conversations about God, faith, and “best practices” in the spiritual life was a powerful means to edify both them and him. Such conversations, by their nature, circled around the particular concerns and desires of Ignatius’s interlocutors and, as a result, they could be much more effective than a sermon, lecture, or book. What is more, since they could be practiced by anyone, anywhere, Ignatius could make a conscious ministry of it without the need to be ordained a priest or to possess a theology degree (both of which were still fifteen years away). Ignatius first learned the value of spiritual conversations while recuperating from his leg wounds in Castle Loyola. He had already decided to give his life to God and was anxious to begin, but was still trapped in bed. With no other means available to begin “helping souls,” he simply began to speak to relatives and friends who walked into his room of the things of God. Perhaps to his surprise, he discovered how effective it was. Looking back years later, Ignatius put it simply, “He did their souls good.” A few months later, in Manresa, Ignatius made a point of seeking people reputed for holiness to ask their advice about prayer and spiritual practices. He noticed that they began to seek him out as well, not because (as Ignatius himself conceded) he knew much about spiritual things but because they could see that he had a strong desire for God. And engaging anyone with such a desire will likely be a fruitful experience, no matter how unknowledgeable that person might be.
Spiritual conversations became a deliberate strategy for Ignatius. His interlocutors might have perceived them as chance encounters, but Ignatius was always listening for anything that could serve as a segue to more spiritual subjects. He described one such encounter in Venice while he was waiting for a boat to take him to Jerusalem. One day a rich Spanish man came across him, and asked him what he was doing and where he wanted to go. And learning of his intention, he took him to eat at his house. Subsequently he had him to stay for a few days until things were ready for his departure. Since Manresa, the pilgrim now had this custom: when he had a meal with people, he would never speak at table unless it was to reply briefly. But he would listen to what was being said, and pick up a few things from which he might take the opportunity to speak about God. And when the meal was ended, that is what he would do, and this was the reason why the good man with all his household became so fond of him that they wanted to have him as a guest, and pressed him to stay on in the house. Still later, while studying theology at the University of Paris, Ignatius said that “he began to give himself more intensively to spiritual conversations than he normally did.” Although he was eager to engage anyone in conversation, he kept a lookout for gifted or popular students. Should they have a conversion experience, and even better, if they could be persuaded to make the Exercises, they could reap especially great fruit for the Church. Ignatius’s two greatest success stories were his own roommates in the dormitory: a popular track-and-field star named Francis Xavier and a pious farm boy with a gracious personality named Pierre Favre. Here are a few dynamics of spiritual conversation that bear notable connections to other Ignatian themes.
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ARTICLE 1 FRIENDSHIP
Contemplation in Action: Persons who seek opportunities for spiritual conversation are profoundly mindful of the presence of God in every person they encounter: his or her desires for love, truth, meaning, value, beauty and immortality, which God Himself implanted in order to draw people to Him. To engage any person at the level of those desires is the ultimate cura personalis. St. Alphonsus Rodriguez, who worked for forty years as the doorkeeper of a large Jesuit community, is a wonderful model in this regard. Though the work itself could easily be considered humble or mundane, he chose to treat if he or she were Christ himself and thereby transformed their lives and his. Respect for the Individual: Spiritual conversation by its nature gravitates toward the particular needs and concerns of the individual. For that reason, its practitioners must fight the temptation to react before they reflect. Are they listening attentively, or are they formulating a response in their minds while their interlocutors are still speaking? “Be slow to speak and ready to listen for long periods,” Ignatius advised Jesuits.
Adaptation or “Inculturation”: Ignatius instructed Jesuits to adapt to their interlocutors. If one is cheerful, be cheerful; if serious and reserved, act similarly; if jocular and lighthearted, do likewise. “This is what pleases them,” he explained. People are more inclined to engage in substantial conversation if they feel a kinship. Ends and Means: Socrates played dumb, but he knew exactly what he was doing. Jesus’ parables were a deliberate strategy also. Practitioners of spiritual conversation always keep in mind their deliberate purpose: to bring people to God. Otherwise, conversations become self-indulgent or wander wherever chance takes them. Barton T. Geger, S.J., is associate professor of the practice at the Clough School of Theology and Ministry and a research scholar at the Institute for Advanced Jesuit Studies at Boston College. This article is an excerpt from "Cura Personalis: Some Ignatian Inspirations." Jesuit Higher Education: A Journal, Vol. 3: No. 2 (2014). Available at: https://digitalcommons.lmu.edu/jhe/vol3/iss2/2. Used with permission. FAITH FEEDS | SPIRITUAL FRIENDSHIP | 4
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ST. IGNATIUS OF LOYOLA ON SPIRITUAL CONVERSATION “Be slow to speak and ready to listen for long periods.” —Ignatius of Loyola Summary
In his article, Barton T. Geger, S.J. explores the origins of the Ignatian practice of "spiritual conversation." Ignatius of Loyola first started the practice of spiritual conversation while recovering from his leg wound at Castle Loyola. Rather than preaching, Ignatius listened closely to others and waited for natural openings to speak about God, an approach that led to deep friendships, including with his famous companions Francis Xavier and Pierre Favre. Geger highlights four aspects of this practice which make it a simple, relational ministry open to anyone—contemplation in action, respect for the individual, adaptation to others, and a clear sense of purpose.
Questions for Conversation
1. St. Alphonsus Rodriguez treated everyone that showed up at his doorstep as the face of God. Whom do you overlook in your daily life? How can you be more intentional about treating them as the face of God? 2. Why is kinship important for a conversation to be authentic? 3. Reflect on your own conversation practices. Do you listen deeply, or do you create a response in your head as your conversation partner speaks? How can you practice listening deeply?
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THE GIFT OF SPIRITUAL FRIENDSHIP
ARTICLE 2
By Emily Egan The Christian tradition is ripe with stories of spiritual friendship for the ages: John of the Cross and Teresa of Âvila, Francis and Clare of Assisi, Dorothy Day and Peter Maurin, Jesus and Mary Magdalene. In fact, the Jesuits began not as a formal institution but as a group of university friends studying together in Paris in the sixteenth century. Ignatius of Loyola and his first companions—such as Francis Xavier and Peter Faber—often described themselves as “friends in the Lord.” Their deep friendships shaped their vision and gave them courage to dream about how they might serve God in the world. From that circle of first companions eventually grew the global Jesuit network of over 3,600 schools, colleges, and universities. It is remarkable to realize how much of the Church’s history has been shaped by friendships grounded in faith. In today’s digital age, there are constant distractions and competing interests for our attention. It is tempting to underestimate the simple gift of spiritual friendship and its impact on a faith that is relational. The Courage to Ask Spiritual friendship requires courage. In fact, many people hesitate to talk about faith with others. I certainly did when I was younger. Faith mattered deeply to me, but I worried about how others might perceive this. I feared people would project certain beliefs onto me that I didn’t hold. I feared they might think I was naïve or overly serious. One memory from college captures this tension. I had a friend whose creativity and originality fascinated me. Our conversations were always interesting, but we had never spoken explicitly about faith. Eventually, I gathered the courage to ask him—rather awkwardly—“So…what do you think about God?” .
He paused for a long time, staring into the distance. I thought the question had fallen flat. Then his face lit up. “I’m still figuring out what I think about God,” he said, “but I like to imagine God as a chef. We’re the ingredients, and God keeps creating new things through us all the time.” What followed was one of the most imaginative reflections on the divine I had ever heard. It revealed a whole dimension of this friend that I would never have known if I didn’t conjure up the courage to ask Spiritual friendship invites that kind of discovery. It allows us to see depths in one another that ordinary conversation rarely uncovers. It is not simply friendship between people who happen to be religious. It is a relationship in which people intentionally help one another notice where God is moving in their lives. These friendships purposely make room for conversations about meaning, faith, doubt, hope, suffering, and love—questions that shape the deepest contours of our lives. Friendship as a Place of Grace About five years ago, several students kept telling me that I should meet someone named Doc. They would say things like, “You two listen to students in similar ways,” or “You talk about God in a way that reminds me of one another.” Apparently, they were telling Doc the same thing about me. For a long time, nothing came of it. Eventually, I invited him to an event I thought he might enjoy based on what I heard about him. He responded warmly and suggested we grab a coffee as well. That first conversation was wonderful. I could immediately see why students thought we might connect despite being over 30 years apart in age. After that, we started meeting about once a month. Five years later, the rhythm of a monthly coffee continues. What strikes me most about our conversations is how little time we spend on small talk. Instead, we talk about the moments when we glimpse something sacred in the people or places around us.
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ARTICLE 2 FRIENDSHIP Reflecting on such moments together grounds me. It reminds me to pay attention to grace. The way our first meeting came about also points to the importance of taking initiative. Notice how I reached out to Doc to invite him to an event and then he responded in turn by suggesting we get coffee. We also commit to meeting once a month despite the busyness of life as well as the twists and turns of inevitable yet unexpected life events. Spiritual friendship won’t likely just “happen” to you. Seeing Beyond Ourselves Spiritual friends also offer something else we cannot easily give ourselves: perspective. Each one of us has blind spots evident to those close to us but difficult to see on our own. Not long ago, I was sharing with Doc about someone whose actions had hurt me. I appreciated the space to express that pain; however, he did not let me remain stuck there. He gently reminded me that my relationship with that person was larger than this one hurtful action. Because he had heard me speak about the person for years, he was able to remind me of the bigger picture of that relationship. More importantly, his words helped remind me of the kind of person I want to be, regardless of how anyone else behaves. “Friends in the Lord” can bring you back to who you want to be based upon your convictions, values, and relationship with God. We all need people like that—friends who point us toward an ever-expanding horizon.
Savoring Life Perhaps the most beautiful gift of spiritual friendship is the opportunity to savor life together. When I speak with students, I often encourage them to think of life as a journey rather than a treadmill. It is easy to move through our days checking off tasks without noticing the gifts from God all around us. Spiritual friends help us slow down. Shared moments become experiences of grace rather than a happy memory that quickly fades. Spiritual friends help us feast on the lives God has given us. An Invitation for the Church Today In The Joy of the Gospel, Pope Francis writes that sharing faith is not only about the transmitting of ideas but also the sharing of life and friendship rooted in God. Such friendship is supported by companions who help us notice God’s presence in our ordinary lives. Spiritual friendship does not require elaborate structures. It begins simply: an invitation for coffee, a walk, a conversation that moves beyond surface-level updates. It requires initiative, intentionality, and vulnerability. But its impact can be profound. After all, the heart of Christianity is the astonishing claim that God desires friendship with us. Emily Egan is associate director of Campus Ministry in the Division of Mission and Ministry at Boston College.
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THE GIFT OF SPIRITUAL FRIENDSHIP "No friends are true friends unless You, my God, bind them fast to one another through the love which is sown in our hearts by the Holy Spirit." — Saint Augustine Summary
Emily Egan reflects on the gift of spiritual friendship, drawing on examples like Ignatius of Loyola and his companions, who called themselves "friends in the Lord" and shaped the founding of the Jesuits through their bond. She shares her original hesitancy to speak about God with her friends, but her five-year friendship with Doc exemplifies how her courage, initiative, and vulnerability to start spiritual conversations has brought her deep joy and fulfillment.
Questions for Conversation
1. Egan admits she feared others would misjudge her if she spoke openly about God. Have you ever felt that same hesitation? What holds you back? 2. Pope Francis says sharing faith means sharing life, not just ideas. Do you “share life” in your friendships? 3. Is there someone you’ve been meaning to have a deeper, spiritual conversation with? What steps will you take to make that happen?
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ARTICLE 3 FRIENDSHIP
THE THIRST AND THE FOUNTAIN: A COURSE I TAUGHT AT BOSTON COLLEGE By Emanuele Colombo “Good morning,” said the little prince.
The little prince fell silent.
“Good morning,” said the merchant.
“As for me,” he said at last, “if I had fifty-three minutes, I would walk—slowly—toward a spring of fresh water.”
Thus opens a scene from The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, which first returned to my mind a year ago as I tried to show my students that something essential is lost when we outsource our thinking—even to something as efficient as AI. In the book, the merchant is selling pills designed to quench thirst. People who take one per week are freed from the need to drink water. The little prince, with his simplicity of heart, is able to reveal the absurdity of such attempts at efficiency: “Why are you selling those?” the little prince asked. “Because they save a tremendous amount of time,” the merchant replied. “Experts have done the calculations. You save fifty-three minutes every week.” “And what do I do with those fifty-three minutes?” “Anything you like…”
This year, for the second time, I taught a course that, in a way, felt like a leisurely stroll toward a fountain. It’s called "Spiritual Exercises" and is part of the major in Transformative Education, though many students arrive out of curiosity. What we seek in this class is something that is both very precise and of the utmost urgency today: whatever keeps our deepest questions alive— the thirst for meaning that refuses to go away. In this course, the goal matters less than the path. And to walk, we begin by clearing space. For an hour and forty-five minutes, twice a week, we set technology aside. If attention wandered, it wandered inward—into memory, FAITH FEEDS FAITH | SPIRITUAL FEEDS | TRANSITIONS FRIENDSHIP | |98
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ARTICLE 3 FRIENDSHIP into restlessness, into thought. We returned, deliberately, to writing by hand. I distributed small notebooks—bright, almost childlike—that became our companions. The “notebook rule” was simple: what is written there belongs to you and can be brought to any test, any conversation—even the mid-term oral exam. And slowly, something happened: memory became dense, words took root, and the classroom became more human. The course unfolded in four movements. The first, The World We Live In, asks us to look without flinching at our contemporary lives. We live in a world of loneliness masked by noise, where we can feel alone even when surrounded by people. The quiet fatigue of relationships never quite begins, and the immersion in our phones consumes our days. We ask what holds us back from “spiritual exercises”—concrete actions and activities that allow us to reflect on what is happening to us—in our questions and in our intuitions about possible answers. We start by discussing “This Is Water,” a commencement address by David Foster Wallace, who invites us to resist the dull gravity of the “default setting,” that inward collapse of attention that renders the world outside ourselves almost invisible. Then we encounter the famous psychologist Jonathan Haidt, who, in his book The Anxious Generation, highlights the effects of excessive technology use, including spiritual degradation. Though he calls himself an atheist, he declares that, in order to describe human beings, he cannot help but use religious language (maybe because we are religious beings?). He says it plainly: we carry within us a God-shaped hole that we try to fill with whatever we can but it does not hold. The students recognize this immediately; there is no need to persuade them. They know the pull of the phone, the quiet compulsion, the way attention fractures, and the neglect of their own hearts. And yet, they also speak— sometimes hesitantly—of another possibility: of gestures, however small, that seem to gather the self back together.
Even our viewing of “Nosedive,” an episode of the cynical British TV series Black Mirror, becomes a kind of parable in our classroom. The episode depicts how, in a world governed entirely by ratings, where every gesture is calculated, it is the flawed, unguarded figures who appear most alive—more fragile, perhaps, but also more real. In the second movement, Witnesses of Spiritual Exercises, we encounter men and women who, even in dire circumstances, have never given up on practicing “spiritual exercises.” A visiting scholar introduced us to Etty Hillesum (1914–1943), a young Dutch Jewish woman who wrote letters and diaries from the Westerbork Transit Camp, where she and thousands of other Dutch Jews awaited their transport to Auschwitz. Surrounded by destruction, she remained attentive to beauty, to music, to the presence of others and the need to care for them, and to God. Her life is a journey, from being a “kneeler in training” to someone who cannot live without God. A similar journey can be found in Dorothy Day’s (1897– 1980) long loneliness that slowly becomes a longing; in the burning colors and restless letters of Vincent van Gogh (1853–1890); in the quiet, sustained attention of Patrick Bringley, who, after a great personal loss, chooses to quit his job at a prestigious magazine and stand still—by working for ten years as a guard at the Metropolitan Museum of Art—until beauty begins, slowly, to speak again, as he tells in his memoir All the Beauty in the World. At the McMullen Museum, guided by Carina, a PhD student in Formative Education, we practiced contemplation: not consuming, not passing through, but remaining in front of artworks. Miriam, a professional pianist and a mother of six, came to visit us and turned an ordinary Gasson classroom into a concert hall. She gave us Bach, Chopin, and Schubert, but also a personal testimony: for her, music is not a luxury, but a necessity of the soul. Two Formative Education PhD students accompanied us in understanding the relevance of the body for FAITH FEEDS | SPIRITUAL FRIENDSHIP | 10
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ARTICLE 3 FRIENDSHIP “spiritual exercises.” Paul spoke of his life with people with disabilities in a L’Arche community, where vulnerability strips away illusion and reveals something essential. Harrison opened up a conversation on sports—not as performance but as a space in which the body itself searches, strains, and reaches beyond itself. The third movement—Spiritual but Not Religious?—challenges a nonsensical but oftrepeated self-descriptor of our age. Here we are accompanied by Augustine of Hippo and Ignatius of Loyola—two restless seekers who discovered, each in his own way, that finding does not mean ceasing to search but rather intensifies the quest. To encounter God is not to arrive but to begin again. As Gregory of Nyssa writes, life unfolds “from beginning to beginning, through beginnings that have no end.” We ended our semester with a long-awaited Spiritual Exercises Workshop. Each student brought something of their own life—an experience, a fragment, a gesture that, somehow, represented for them an exercise of the spirit. They spoke of walking, silence, music, friendship, of moments in which the surface of things gave way, just enough, to reveal a depth. And listening to them, you begin to recognize it again—that quiet, insistent thirst. A thirst that does not disappear, that cannot be managed or replaced; the thirst that, if we allow it, sets us in motion—slowly, patiently—toward a fountain. Emanuele Colombo is professor of formative education in the Lynch School of Education and Human Development and a research scholar at the Institute for Advanced Jesuit Studies at Boston College.
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RECLAIMING SMALL MOMENTS “Let us cultivate relationships! In an era that favors speed and fragmentation, the human person still yearns to receive care and recognition from attentive minds, kind words and hands capable of tenderness.” [Magnifica Humanitas 239] — Pope Leo XIV Summary
Author Scott Olivieri describes his senior Capstone course at Boston College, entitled “The Balancing Act,” where students confront their technology and social media habits through Jesuitinspired reflection. After his students averaged nearly 150 phone ‘pickups’ per day, Olivieri explained how each ‘pickup’ eroded their capacity for prayer, connection, and deep thought. Olivieri then invited his students to participate in small, practical "Tech Tactics,” allowing them to reclaim small moments in their days to reflect and deepen their relationships.
Questions for Conversation
1. A ‘pickup’ is any time you grab your phone, even briefly. How many small moments in your day do you tend to fill with your phone? 2. Students found fulfillment after swapping their screen time for a walk or a meal with a friend. What’s one small swap you could make this week? 3. Olivieri has his students identify their "core group." Who is in your core group that you could invite to participate in a “Tech Tactic” alongside you?
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NOTES:
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FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS Who should participate in FAITH FEEDS? Anyone who is hungry for opportunities to talk about their faith with others who share it! The program is designed for parishes, schools, other organizations, and/or friend groups. Who should host FAITH FEEDS? Any member of the group who has a heart for bringing people together and facilitating conversations about faith is perfect to host FAITH FEEDS. (The host could choose to ask another group member to facilitate.) Where do I host FAITH FEEDS? You can host a FAITH FEEDS in-person at a location that makes sense for the participants (e.g., private home, parish center, local coffee shop, etc.) or virtually through video conference software (e.g., Zoom, Google Meet, etc.). Both versions are effective for conversations and building community. If more than 10-12 are participating, we recommend splitting into smaller groups. When do we host FAITH FEEDS? You should offer a FAITH FEEDS discussion on a day and time that is mutually convenient for your group. The host can help poll the group to figure out what is best. We recommend setting aside one hour for each session.
What is the host’s commitment? The host is responsible for coordinating meeting times, location, and refreshments; sending out an invitation with materials and meeting details (including a video conference link, if online); collecting RSVPs; and determining how many conversation groups to create based on the number of participants (small groups are suggested). What is the facilitator’s commitment? The facilitator guides the conversation, asking participants to introduce themselves, sharing the FAITH FEEDS “Recipe for Success,” suggesting which articles and questions to discuss, and encouraging individuals to participate in the conversation as they feel comfortable. What is the guest’s commitment? Participants are asked to read the articles that will be discussed and to be open to faith-filled conversation. What themes are available for FAITH FEEDS conversations? The C21 Center’s website offers a large collection of themed guides (and new guides are always being added). Visit bc.edu/FAITHFEEDS for a complete list of available guides. Still have more questions? No problem! Email The C21 Center at church21@bc.edu for more information and guidance. We are here to help you get set up and support you on your journey!
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CHECKLIST TO GET STARTED STEP ONE Coordinate a date, time, location, and guest list. An hour is enough time to allocate for the virtual or in-person gathering. Select a theme/guide to use for the session. The collection of guides can be found on bc.edu/FAITHFEEDS.
STEP TWO Invite potential guests via email/text and ask them to RSVP directly to the host. Share a link to or downloaded copy of the FAITH FEEDS guide selected and ask guests to bring a potluck dish or drink to the gathering. For virtual FAITH FEEDS, send out your video conference link.
STEP THREE Decide if the host will also facilitate the conversation—if not, ask another member of the group to lead the conversation. The facilitator should review the articles in the FAITH FEEDS Guide and decide which article and question(s) will serve as a starter for your discussion. More resources for facilitators are provided on the C21 Center websites at bc.edu/FAITHFEEDS.
STEP FOUR The host should send out a reminder email/text a week or so before the FAITH FEEDS gathering. On the meeting day, the host and facilitator should plan to arrive early for in-person or virtual set up.
STEP FIVE Let the session begin! Welcome participants, make introductions, share a Gathering Prayer (suggestion offered in this guide), review the “Recipe for Success” (conversation guidelines), and open the discussion using the suggested questions. The conversation should grow organically from there. Enjoy this gathering of new friends, knowing the Lord is with YOU!
STEP SIX Before closing the session, make plans for another FAITH FEEDS and share prayer intentions and/or a closing prayer. And we would love to hear about your FAITH FEEDS experience! Contact the C21 Center at church21@bc.edu.
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FACILITATOR RESOURCES SUGGESTED TIMELINE for FAITH FEEDS Sessions are usually one hour. We recommend the following timeline and activities for facilitators: Welcome & Introductions (10 minutes) Welcome the group and offer an opening prayer Ask participants to briefly introduce themselves Share the “Recipe for Success” (ground rules) for the session Select an article and question from the FAITH FEEDS Guide to start the conversation Share conversation (40 minutes): Continue to move through questions and other articles as time allows. Closing & Sending Forth (1o minutes): Leave time at the end for planning the next session, sharing prayer intentions in the group, and offering a closing prayer.
RECIPE FOR SUCCESS Conversation Guidelines 1. Privacy: Keep all shared personal stories and opinions private. 2. Speak from the Heart: Use "I" statements and speak from personal experience. 3. Respect: Consider each other's viewpoints without interruption. 4. Listen to Understand: Focus on listening without needing to respond. 5. Be curious: Engage with an open mind and seek greater understanding. 6. Share the Space: Be mindful of speaking time to allow everyone to contribute. 7. Respond: Share when you are comfortable, but feel free to just listen if you prefer. 8. Express Gratitude: Express appreciation for the opportunity to learn from each other. 9. Trust: Lift up the conversation for the greater glory of God. The Holy Spirit will be there to guide. 10. Reflect: Spend a few minutes after the conversation thinking about its impact on your faith journey.
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GATHERING PRAYER Be With Us Today St. Thomas More (1478–1535)
Father in heaven, you have given us a mind to know you, and a heart to love you. Be with us today in all that we do, so that your light may shine out in our lives. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.
SENDING FORTH PRAYER Fall in Love Pedro Arrupe, S.J. (1907-1991) Joseph P. Whelan, S.J.
Nothing is more practical than finding God, than falling in Love in a quite absolute, final way. What you are in love with, what seizes your imagination, will affect everything. It will decide what will get you out of bed in the morning, what you do with your evenings, how you spend your weekends, what you read, whom you know, what breaks your heart, and what amazes you with joy and gratitude. Fall in Love, stay in love, and it will decide everything. Amen.
For more information about Faith Feeds, visit bc.edu/FAITHFEEDS This program is sponsored by Boston College’s Church in the 21st Century Center, a catalyst and a resource for the renewal of the Catholic Church. (617) 552-0470 • church21@bc.edu • bc.edu/c21