Adoring the Infant of Prague
The Nativity scene is a very important Christmas tradition in my family. We assemble one of our sets (we have several) in the living room, constructing a full backdrop for it in a little nook under a prayer table.
Waiting for Hope Incarnate
For to us a child is born. A child of hair and nails and teeth; a child of shoulders and ankles and wrists and knees; a child of muscles that strained and bones that broke and cartilage that twisted and rubbed and wore and tore. A child who could, and who would, feel the pain…
Finding the Reality in Christmas
My family has the unique claim of being the March family from Little Women. That, or the closest thing to it: four sisters and their mother. Of course, each sister doesn’t line up quite perfectly with her counterpart in Louisa May Alcott’s book. There are strangely similar attributes though, like the fact that we tend…
Genes Run in the Family
Liam and Grace Galligan Propel Franciscan to New Records If cross-country success at Franciscan University of Steubenville has a name, it’s Galligan. You could say that the genes run in the family, with Grace and Liam Galligan earning a multitude of accolades, from 2018 AMCC Runners of the Year, to Liam’s two-year winning streak at…
Michael Graul- What is Pastoral Counseling?
Pastoral Counseling is beyond what anybody quoted in a textbook can tell you. Many people will debate that only the clergy can do pastoral counseling. Some even say that everybody does pastoral counseling because we are helping other people to become the “best-version-of-themselves.” This is what we do as pastoral counselors, but we do it…
Joseph Cionni III- The Pastoral Counseling Inventory
Throughout this course, I’ve become more familiar with different possibilities for pastoral counseling techniques/methods and the contexts in which they may be appropriately utilized. From my perspective, the way in which pastoral counseling can be enacted varies widely. It is like a Gestalt. The particular pieces may be swapped out or re-arranged to meet the…
Claire Richard- Reframing in His Light
Many times throughout the day, we encounter facts, ideas, or individuals that will provide us with an opportunity to reframe a currently held belief. Reframing is a technique we are all familiar with despite whether or not the term is one you have heard before. It is the art and process of considering a situation,…
From the Vatican to Franciscan
Alain Sauret sits at his desk flipping through a photo album, his piercing brown eyes looking over each image in great detail. “This is when I met Paul VI,” he says. “This is John Paul II with my kids. And here’s another one of when he came by my office.” “You can see my superiors…
“It Takes a Village”: New Parents Take Up Residence as RDs
When Ian Gill and his wife, Eleni, returned to St. Junipero Serra Hall after the birth of their first child, they were amazed at the support awaiting them. “Father Gregory Plow came right out of his office and said, ‘I have to give your daughter her first blessing,’” said Ian. “And he did – right…
Joseph Cionni III – On Receptivity in Learning Pastoral Counseling
From what I’ve gathered from our assigned readings and class discussions Pastoral Counseling is: Counseling performed by someone affiliated with a particular religious institution Is not a form of Spiritual Direction (counseling is generally not directive) Is more specific to the particular faith tradition in which it is being carried out in contrast to a…