Discerning our Future Together

By Robert Stephan, Director, Office for Mission and Ann Holmquist, Ed.D., Vice President for Mission

“Loyola exists to give students of all faiths a profound, life-changing experience of God’s unconditional love and a deeper understanding of themselves as persons of faith.”

THESE WORDS FROM LOYOLA’S CORE VALUES capture a fundamental experience at the heart of our institution. Fr. Gregory M. Goethals, SJ ’73 consistently calls our community to live out this commitment to love. The Loyola Board of Directors spent two days away on retreat this January, reflecting and sharing on the meaning of this call in the life of our school today.

This year’s retreat theme, “Seeing with the Heart: Discerning Our Future Together,” was designed to deepen the Board’s experience of the central themes of the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius, at the core of which is God’s unconditional love.

We began with a prayer experience led by Board member Fr. Jack Dennis, SJ on naming our great desires. This was followed with a session on centering our work in prayer and discernment with an emphasis on love in three forms: paying attention, prayer and listening. In response, Board member and class of 1998 alum Russell Silvers described the retreat as a “very special time” that helped develop “a much greater sense of belonging, community and closeness with the other Board members.”

The afternoon continued to draw from our Ignatian, Jesuit tradition with time for communal discernment grounded in our shared mission. The sharing in small and large groups was a meaningful time of personal connection. Board member and alumni parent Michelle Maravich said the retreat “deepened my relationships with the other Board members and allowed me to reflect upon my purpose on the Board.” The day concluded with a Mass at sunset with Fr. Goethals and a reiteration of the theme of the transformative power of love.

Strengthened by this time of prayer and connection, we turned our attention the next morning to the way that this love is alive at Loyola. Echoing many of the themes from the previous day, we listened to the conclusion of last year’s valedictory address. Jared Aimone, Class of 2022, posed the question, “How does Loyola do it? How does this school manage this feat of creating friendships that last 40 years rather than four?” His answer resonated with our collective experience on the retreat. He said that the answer is abundantly clear, “It’s love. The love we have for each other.”

The annual Board retreat is a time for directors to step away from the demands of daily life so as to deepen their mutual understanding and practice of Loyola’s Ignatian ways; it is a time for building trust and deepening bonds through personal reflection and sharing. Thanks to Fr. Goethals’ vision, the enthusiasm and support of former Board Chair Rick Caruso and the priority set by current Board Chair Robert Foster, the retreat has evolved over the years from a one-day gathering into an overnight experience that allows for the elements of retreat to take hold in hearts and minds. As this year’s retreat drew to a close, Fr. Goethals gave thanks for the graces of the time together, commenting that it has been his dream to have the Board engage in true Ignatian retreats. He marveled that the Board members were talking about, and reveling in God’s unconditional love.