From the Provincial's Desk

     Welcome to the first issue of Ignatian Imprints. This magazine represents a new orientation in our desire to share with you the work that is being done throughout the Maryland Province. The magazine is also available on the web at www.ignatianimprints.org, where you can find additional information and links if you want to read more about one of our articles.
     It is my hope that through the articles in this and future issues, we will explore together how we can bring ourselves to a deeper understanding of our relationship with God and the world around us, to bring a more conscious attention to the abundance of grace in our lives. Some of the stories you will read illustrate how people can move from a certain comfort zone or complacency to something transformative. This movement toward the greater good is through grace.
     Our cover story is a moving look at the efforts of Brother Rick Curry, SJ, to help wounded and disabled war veterans heal. Moved by others’ reaction to his own disability, Brother Curry started the National Theatre Workshop of the Handicapped. Earlier this year, as he saw the increasing number of veterans who had returned from combat injured or disabled, he initiated a writing/theater workshop so these “wounded warriors” could learn how to move forward, tell their stories and re-imagine their lives.
     Elsewhere in this issue you will read advice from Father George Aschenbrenner, SJ, on how to move through the “spiritual blahs.” Noted author and academician Father Bill Byron, SJ, writes about how one can maintain one’s individualism and still work for the common good.
     Ignatian Imprints will have several regular features, including International Dateline, which illustrates worldwide aspects of Jesuit works and spirituality; A Moment in Time, which explores historic aspects of the Maryland Province; and Focus On… where we highlight a Jesuit and a lay person. This issue focuses on Father Don Clifford, SJ, a leader in Catholic-Jewish dialogue, and the surprising circumstances that led him to become a Jesuit. You will also read the story of Van Brooks, a courageous graduate of Loyola Blakefield, who was severely injured in a football game.
     Our daily experiences of life seem reliable and well-ordered. When something happens, as it did for our wounded veterans and for Van Brooks, life can seem to be unraveling. All our old assumptions need to be re-examined. It is in these moments that we can particularly experience that abundant grace that is transformative, that presents us with a new life lived in union with God.
     We are people full of grace and love. In reading these articles I have been re-awakened to my mission – to serve God and rise to be of real service to all men and women.
     I hope you enjoy Ignatian Imprints, and I encourage you to tell us what you think about this and future issues.

Yours in Christ,

Timothy B. Brown, SJ
Provincial