"The Ignatian approach to good choices emphasizes freedom. Making a free decision means that we set aside our own preferences and preconceptions and strive to be free of social pressures and psychological strains. We carefully examine our motives and desires."

See for Yourself - My friend John has that unchanging air about him, as we see each other but don’t realize that it's been an entire year since we last connected. This year, however, John is moving a little slower. 

Our modern technology means many people get notifications about news headlines on their smartphones. Their phones beep and blink, alerting them throughout the day when there has been a catastrophe in another corner of the nation or the world. Humans are hollowed into headlines, statistics. In light of this, a sister asks me: "Do we have a limited capacity for encountering suffering and pain? What does it do to the human psyche to receive a constant diet of bad news?"

"Sometimes the only thing one can do is pray!"

"My experience with nuns is that they're going to do the job no matter what, and they're some of the most bold, most intelligent, most passionate people I know. And I think that unnerves a bunch of people."

You might say prison ministry is my "hobby" since it has been outside my routine assigned work. Prison ministry has given me a broad picture of the world, and made me understand people and society better.

The U.N.'s  World Day against Trafficking in Persons may prompt renewed debate over prostitution. The debate splits groups often allied in other causes, including Catholic sisters and human rights advocates.

"God does not come in the wind, in the earthquakes, or in the fires. He comes as a gentle breeze."

Notes from the Field - I spent my last week in silence at the Seven Fountains Jesuit Retreat Center in Chiang Mai, Thailand. I'm not intimidated by silence, but eliminating language, technology, and many of the comforts I rely on in Nong Khai made this week uniquely challenging.