Dear LIS Friends,

Throughout my childhood, my parents would always remind my siblings and me that the first step in handling a challenge is to acknowledge that it exists. The next step was to provide a personal response to the demand. This process continues to ring true for me today as I witness the external pressures of our country’s current sickness of both soul and body. These external disorders have created racial, social and economic unrest which have profoundly interrupted all of our lives.

We’ve received orders throughout the pandemic to “shelter in place” and to “stay inside” for our well-being. And with uncanny similarity, the Spiritual Exercises invite us to do just that. Going within brings us to the seat of our emotions which offers a sturdy structure to rely upon while discerning life. The ability to realize where and why specific emotions surface for us allows us to respond to external situations. How are you handling today’s current events? What are you feeling? Where is God in all of this? May we all find comfort and spiritual direction in answering these personal questions. My prayer is that we accept the Spirit’s invitation to “go inside” to connect with our emotional longings and to uncover God’s presence in them.

Peace & Blessings,

Lori Stanley
Executive Director