Whether your new year is truly ‘new’ or just a repetition of the ‘old’ depends very much on you. Our lives and our work are a constant series of endings and new beginnings. Some of our endings come suddenly or unexpectedly. Others are planned and can come more gradually. Some are happy. Some are sad. But each ending gives us the opportunity for a new beginning.
Ignatian spirituality is grounded in the conviction that God is active in our world. As the great Jesuit paleontologist Pierre Teilhard de Chardin wrote: “God is not remote from us. He is at the point of my pen, my pick, my paintbrush, my needle — and my heart and my thoughts.” The spiritual path laid out by Ignatius is a way of discerning God’s presence in our everyday lives…and doing something about it. Ignatian spirituality is not merely an inward journey. It aims to bring people closer to God and more deeply into the world with gratitude, passion, and humility. It invites us to become “men and women for others.”
On this retreat day, we use the tools of St. Ignatius of Loyola to pause and reflect on the past year — where we have been, what has transpired, and how that journey has been for us —as well as to welcome the new year with hope. Our time together will include a large-group session in the morning followed by lunch and time for personal reflection, walking the labyrinth, and journaling in the afternoon.
Joy Aker, MA is a spiritual director, labyrinth facilitator, and a Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist. She has a master’s degree in Spirituality from St. Mary’s Seminary and University in Baltimore. She was also trained in Ignatian spirituality and the Ignatian Exercises at Ignatius Jesuit Center in Guelph, Ontario. Her focus is on helping others to develop a holistic spirituality which looks to wholeness in body, mind and spirit. Joy also has a great interest in assisting others as they deepen their relationship with God through individual spiritual direction and group retreats.