Creating Privileged Moments

Creating

privileged moments

Creating

privileged moments Xavier University | Cincinnati, Ohio

Creating

privileged moments Xavier University | Cincinnati, Ohio

I

gnatius Loyola, founder of the Society of Jesus in 1540, formulated

a spirituality, a way of living, with an emphasis on the need for taking time out in our very busy days for self-reflection and self-awareness.

This book was joyfully prepared as a daily guide for such Ignatian contemplation and discernment.

I

gnatius Loyola, founder of the Society of Jesus in 1540, formulated

a spirituality, a way of living, with an emphasis on the need for taking time out in our very busy days for self-reflection and self-awareness.

This book was joyfully prepared as a daily guide for such Ignatian contemplation and discernment.

When do I feel most alive?

Don’t be afraid to feel as angry or as loving as you can, because when you feel nothing, it’s just death.

Lena Horne Colosseum Colonnade | William Froschauer

When do I feel most alive?

Don’t be afraid to feel as angry or as loving as you can, because when you feel nothing, it’s just death.

Lena Horne Colosseum Colonnade | William Froschauer

What am I? Do I try to be someone I’m not?

Learn to be what you are, and learn to resign with a good grace all that you are not.

Henri Frederic Amiel

Shy | Kevin Edward Fitzgerald

What am I? Do I try to be someone I’m not?

Learn to be what you are, and learn to resign with a good grace all that you are not.

Henri Frederic Amiel

Shy | Kevin Edward Fitzgerald

When do I feel most confident?

Do I help others to feel confident and welcomed when they are around me?

To value his [her] own good opinion, a child has to feel that [s]he is a worthwhile person. [S]He has to have confidence in himself [herself]as an individual.

Sidonie Greunberg

Shy Boy | Rebecca Gruenberg

When do I feel most confident?

Do I help others to feel confident and welcomed when they are around me?

To value his [her] own good opinion, a child has to feel that [s]he is a worthwhile person. [S]He has to have confidence in himself [herself]as an individual.

Sidonie Greunberg

Shy Boy | Rebecca Gruenberg

Do I reflect on yesterday, feeling the grace and experiencing the searching?

If you want to understand today, you have to search yesterday.

Pearl Buck The Sun Fall & Low Tide Sets in on the Ao Nang Beach | Erik Ball

Do I reflect on yesterday, feeling the grace and experiencing the searching?

If you want to understand today, you have to search yesterday.

Pearl Buck The Sun Fall & Low Tide Sets in on the Ao Nang Beach | Erik Ball

Am I open to any direction my path might take?

Progress lies not in enhancing what is, but in advancing toward what will be.

Kahlil Gibran Two Ways of Life | Dick Gruber

Am I open to any direction my path might take?

Progress lies not in enhancing what is, but in advancing toward what will be.

Kahlil Gibran Two Ways of Life | Dick Gruber

How does my being reflect the light of God that shines within me?

How little we know what a human life really is—even our own. To judge us by what we call our actions is probably as futile as to judge us by our dreams.

George Bernanos The Diary of a Country Priest

Hanging Out | Kevin Edward Fitzgerald

How does my being reflect the light of God that shines within me?

How little we know what a human life really is—even our own. To judge us by what we call our actions is probably as futile as to judge us by our dreams.

George Bernanos The Diary of a Country Priest

Hanging Out | Kevin Edward Fitzgerald

Do I pray for those who live in fear?

How can I help them with that fear?

Imagine what it is like for a child to grow up in fear. Pray for children who do.

T.G. Wilhelm

Muneca | Matthew Eisen

Do I pray for those who live in fear?

How can I help them with that fear?

Imagine what it is like for a child to grow up in fear. Pray for children who do.

T.G. Wilhelm

Muneca | Matthew Eisen

How am I taking time to see the beauty in all things?

Never lose an opportunity of seeing anything that is beautiful . . .

Welcome it in every fair face, in every fair sky, in every fair flower.

Ralph Waldo Emerson

Rice Plantation in Hilly Area | Hem Joshi

How am I taking time to see the beauty in all things?

Never lose an opportunity of seeing anything that is beautiful . . .

Welcome it in every fair face, in every fair sky, in every fair flower.

Ralph Waldo Emerson

Rice Plantation in Hilly Area | Hem Joshi

How do I practice reverence for life?

By having reverence for life, we enter into a spiritual relation with the world. By practicing reverence for life, we become good, deep and alive.

Albert Schweitzer Romero Anniversary | Irene Hodgson

How do I practice reverence for life?

By having reverence for life, we enter into a spiritual relation with the world. By practicing reverence for life, we become good, deep and alive.

Albert Schweitzer Romero Anniversary | Irene Hodgson

What are the small things that make me smile?

How do I share that joy with those around me?

Sometimes your joy is the source of your smile, but sometimes your smile can be the source of your joy.

Thich Nhat Hanh

School is Out | Keith Klenowski

What are the small things that make me smile?

How do I share that joy with those around me?

Sometimes your joy is the source of your smile, but sometimes your smile can be the source of your joy.

Thich Nhat Hanh

School is Out | Keith Klenowski

What will I do today to move toward my dream?

I have a dream that one day every valley shall be exalted, every hill and mountain shall be made low, the rough places will be made straight and the glory of the Lord shall be revealed and all flesh shall see it together.

Martin Luther King Jr.

Free to Ski the Alps | Cate Guentter

What will I do today to move toward my dream?

I have a dream that one day every valley shall be exalted, every hill and mountain shall be made low, the rough places will be made straight and the glory of the Lord shall be revealed and all flesh shall see it together.

Martin Luther King Jr.

Free to Ski the Alps | Cate Guentter

In what ways do I feel grace in my everyday life, even during periods of prolonged exhaustion or desolation?

Jesus did not come to explain away suffering and remove it. He came to fill it with his presence.

Paul Claudel

Fish in the Streets | Kailyn Cripe

In what ways do I feel grace in my everyday life, even during periods of prolonged exhaustion or desolation?

Jesus did not come to explain away suffering and remove it. He came to fill it with his presence.

Paul Claudel

Fish in the Streets | Kailyn Cripe

What qualities do I possess that make me special?

Every individual has a place to fill in the world and is important in some respect whether he chooses to be so or not.

Nathaniel Hawthorne Feliz Navidad | Madeline Broerman

What qualities do I possess that make me special?

Every individual has a place to fill in the world and is important in some respect whether he chooses to be so or not.

Nathaniel Hawthorne Feliz Navidad | Madeline Broerman

How do I deepen my experience of God? I deepen my experience of God through prayer, meditation and forgiveness.

Marianne Williamson Faith | Tai Piazza

How do I deepen my experience of God? I deepen my experience of God through prayer, meditation and forgiveness.

Marianne Williamson Faith | Tai Piazza

What character traits do I value in a person?

Do I see those traits in myself?

Character is much easier kept than recovered.

Thomas Paine Destitute Daze| Tai Piazza

What character traits do I value in a person?

Do I see those traits in myself?

Character is much easier kept than recovered.

Thomas Paine Destitute Daze| Tai Piazza

Where do I see God?

In the faces of men and women I see God. Walt Whitman Doost | Meghan Snyder

Where do I see God?

In the faces of men and women I see God. Walt Whitman Doost | Meghan Snyder

What are my dreams?

Dream lofty dreams and as you dream, so shall you become. Your vision is the promise of what you shall at last unveil.

James Allen Church of the Good Shepherd | Mark Lee

What are my dreams?

Dream lofty dreams and as you dream, so shall you become. Your vision is the promise of what you shall at last unveil.

James Allen Church of the Good Shepherd | Mark Lee

What detours in my life have turned out to be meaningful?

The really happy person is one who can enjoy the scenery on a detour.

Anonymous Bras Only Please | Mark Lee

What detours in my life have turned out to be meaningful?

The really happy person is one who can enjoy the scenery on a detour.

Anonymous Bras Only Please | Mark Lee

Which talents do I develop in quiet places?

How does my character grow through my relationships?

Talent develops in quiet places, character in the full current of human life.

Johann Wolfgang von Goethe Adme | Meghan Snyder

Which talents do I develop in quiet places?

How does my character grow through my relationships?

Talent develops in quiet places, character in the full current of human life.

Johann Wolfgang von Goethe Adme | Meghan Snyder

What brings me joy in life?

The love of life is necessary to the vigorous prosecution of any undertaking.

Samuel Johnson Woman in Mamallapuram | Heidi Mallis

What brings me joy in life?

The love of life is necessary to the vigorous prosecution of any undertaking.

Samuel Johnson Woman in Mamallapuram | Heidi Mallis

What is inevitable in my life?

How do I accept life’s inevitabilities?

It’s the circle of life, and it moves us all, through despair and hope, through faith and love, till we find our place, on the path unwinding.

Tim Rice and Elton John, The Lion King

Spiral Staircase in the Vatican Museum | Emily Huebener

What is inevitable in my life?

How do I accept life’s inevitabilities?

It’s the circle of life, and it moves us all, through despair and hope, through faith and love, till we find our place, on the path unwinding.

Tim Rice and Elton John, The Lion King

Spiral Staircase in the Vatican Museum | Emily Huebener

Are there other masterpieces in my life?

The family is one of nature’s masterpieces.

George Santayana Shantin | Meghan Snyder

Are there other masterpieces in my life?

The family is one of nature’s masterpieces.

George Santayana Shantin | Meghan Snyder

What difficulties have I conquered recently?

Conquering any difficulty always gives one a secret joy, for it means pushing back a boundary line and adding to one’s liberty.

Henry Frederic Ameil Shades of Fraternity | Tai Piazza

What difficulties have I conquered recently?

Conquering any difficulty always gives one a secret joy, for it means pushing back a boundary line and adding to one’s liberty.

Henry Frederic Ameil Shades of Fraternity | Tai Piazza

What image do I envision when considering diversity in my life?

We should all know that diversity makes for a rich tapestry, and we must understand that all the threads of the tapestry are equal in value no matter what their color.

Maya Angelou

Paanii | Jessica McCoy

What image do I envision when considering diversity in my life?

We should all know that diversity makes for a rich tapestry, and we must understand that all the threads of the tapestry are equal in value no matter what their color.

Maya Angelou

Paanii | Jessica McCoy

In what ways do I make the most of my life?

The life given us by nature is short; but the memory of a life wellspent is eternal.

Cicero Mysore Palace | Heidi Mallis

In what ways do I make the most of my life?

The life given us by nature is short; but the memory of a life wellspent is eternal.

Cicero Mysore Palace | Heidi Mallis

Do I give into circumstance?

If so, how can I work to change my perspective?

The greater part of our happiness or misery depends on our dispositions and not our circumstances.

Martha Washington Mayan Farmer and his Maize | Austin Riker

Do I give into circumstance?

If so, how can I work to change my perspective?

The greater part of our happiness or misery depends on our dispositions and not our circumstances.

Martha Washington Mayan Farmer and his Maize | Austin Riker

Where do I find serenity and satisfaction?

It is neither wealth nor splendor, but tranquility and occupation, which give us happiness.

Thomas Jefferson Man Reading | Cassie Kennedy

Where do I find serenity and satisfaction?

It is neither wealth nor splendor, but tranquility and occupation, which give us happiness.

Thomas Jefferson Man Reading | Cassie Kennedy

What is it that I am pursuing?

Am I on the path that will reach my goal?

Pursue some path, however narrow and crooked, in which you can walk with love and reverence.

Henry David Thoreau

Los Guiadoritos Mios | Kathryn Franchini

What is it that I am pursuing?

Am I on the path that will reach my goal?

Pursue some path, however narrow and crooked, in which you can walk with love and reverence.

Henry David Thoreau

Los Guiadoritos Mios | Kathryn Franchini

How is love rooted in my life?

Love is the essence of human experience and emotion. It is at the root of all and everything we, as humans, do. Without love what do we live for?

Anonymous Little Buddhist | Kailyn Cripe

How is love rooted in my life?

Love is the essence of human experience and emotion. It is at the root of all and everything we, as humans, do. Without love what do we live for?

Anonymous Little Buddhist | Kailyn Cripe

For whom do I care?

Are there others who may benefit from my care?

If you find it in your heart to care for somebody else, you will have succeeded.

Maya Angelou Le Passion de Todas las Edades | Kathryn Franchini

For whom do I care?

Are there others who may benefit from my care?

If you find it in your heart to care for somebody else, you will have succeeded.

Maya Angelou Le Passion de Todas las Edades | Kathryn Franchini

What brings me peace?

When do I consider my day successful?

If I have been of service, if I have glimpsed more of the nature and essence of ultimate good, if I am inspired to reach wider horizons of thought and action, if I am at peace with myself, it has been a successful day.

Alex Noble

The Doorway to ‌ | Kyle Hackett

What brings me peace?

When do I consider my day successful?

If I have been of service, if I have glimpsed more of the nature and essence of ultimate good, if I am inspired to reach wider horizons of thought and action, if I am at peace with myself, it has been a successful day.

Alex Noble

The Doorway to ‌ | Kyle Hackett

reflections and quotes by: Division of Mission & Identity, Xavier University

for more information or for additional books: www.jesuitresource.org

photographs by: Xavier University 2008 International Photo Contest finalists

06.2008 BER 1000