Meet the Jesuit Ex-National Park Ranger at the Vatican Observatory
Rob Lorenz was a National Park Ranger who spent time working at places Arches National Park in Utah and Carlsbad Caverns in New Mexico. One of his favorite things to do was to give tours and ranger talks to groups, explaining the extraordinary places of natural beauty in ways that were accessible to people of all ages and backgrounds. During a post in Washington, DC, where he worked near the National Mall at places like the Lincoln and Jefferson Memorials, he started feeling like God might be calling him to something else.
Long story short, Rob joined the USA East Coast province of the Jesuits in 2019. Today, he’s in the stage of formation called regency, which is typically two or three years of active ministry that falls in between periods of philosophy and theology study. Rob is spending his regency as the outreach coordinator for the Vatican Observatory. Founded in 1891 by Pope Leo XIII, the Vatican Observatory is led by Jesuit astronomers who are doing high-level scientific research in Castel Gandolfo, Italy, and Tucson, Arizona. Rob’s job is to speak with groups about the wonders of the cosmos and the work the observatory – a job not too dissimilar from what he was doing as a National Park Ranger. He stopped by our Washington, DC, studio recently for a conversation with host Mike Jordan Laskey.
Rob Lorenz, SJ: https://www.vaticanobservatory.org/profile/rob-lorenz-s-j/
The Vatican Observatory: https://www.vaticanobservatory.org/
AMDG is a production of the Jesuit Media Lab, which is a project of the Jesuit Conference of Canada and the United States.
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37:15
Why This Catholic Author Retold Bible Stories As Fairy Tales with Rose John Sheffler
“To many, Fantasy, this sub-creative art which plays strange tricks with the world and all that is in it, combining nouns and redistributing adjectives, has seemed suspect, if not illegitimate. To some it has seemed at least a childish folly” writes J.R.R. Tolkien in his classic essay, “On Fairy-Stories.” He goes on to insist: “Fantasy is a natural human activity. It certainly does not destroy or even insult Reason; and it does not either blunt the appetite for, nor obscure the perception of, scientific verity. On the contrary. The keener and the clearer is the reason, the better fantasy will it make.”
In short, Tolkien is saying that the fantastical—stories of elves and dragons and magical staffs—are not escape hatches from this world but rather invitations to delve deeper into the truth of our own reality.
Today’s guest tests that hypothesis—and, in my humblest of opinions, proves just how right Tolkien was. Rose John Sheffler is a Catholic writer who has been telling stories her whole life. She’s written a delightful volume of Biblically inspired fairy tales called “Past Watchful Dragons: Biblical Stories Retold.”
Her book invites us into the world of Erith where we meet characters we know from the Bible but…different. Still—and, as you’ll hear—the truth of these stories, the values and the hopes that they point to, are familiar and likely resonate with what lies deep in your own heart.
If you want to learn more about Rose’s work or get a copy of her book, visit rosejohnsheffler.substack.com.
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The Fascinating World of Rare Books with Fr. Michael Suarez, SJ
If you love old books – if you love how they smell, if you love imagining their journeys through the world into your hands, if you can’t pass by a used bookstore without popping inside – then you’ll love today’s episode.
Our guest is Fr. Michael Suarez, SJ, a Jesuit priest and the director of the Rare Book School at the University of Virginia. The Rare Book School runs courses for students and practitioners from all disciplines on the history of written, printed and digital materials with leading scholars and professionals in the field. Fr. Suarez is also an English professor and an honorary curator of UVA’s special collections.
Host Mike Jordan Laskey asked him about the work of the Rare Book School and why he is fascinated by books (and all matter of printed material) as cultural objects. They also discussed how Fr. Suarez’s work has deep connections to his faith, and how the Jesuits through the centuries have often been at the forefront of writing and making books around the world. Fr. Suarez is so clearly passionate about his work and teaching that it’ll make you want to travel to Charlottesville, Virginia, to check out all the fascinating stuff housed in the special collections at the university.
Rare Book School: https://rarebookschool.org/
Fr. Michael Suarez, SJ: https://rarebookschool.org/faculty/general/michael-suarez/
AMDG is a production of the Jesuit Media Lab, which is a project of the Jesuit Conference of Canada and the United States.
www.jesuits.org/
www.beajesuit.org/
twitter.com/jesuitnews
facebook.com/Jesuits
instagram.com/wearethejesuits
youtube.com/societyofjesus
www.jesuitmedialab.org/
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Care for the Person, Care for the Mission: Why Cura Apostolica? with Fr. Matt Carnes, SJ
If you’ve hung around Jesuits and Jesuit organizations long enough, you surely have come in contact with the phrase cura personalis. In short, practicing cura personalis means caring for the whole person: body, mind and spirit. It’s an invitation to ask more questions, deeper questions, about who we are and where we’re going and what unique tools and experiences we might need to get there.
You know cura personalis. But have you ever heard of cura personalis mission-driven, organizationally-minded little sibling, cura apostolica?
Cura apostolica means a care for the apostolate. This principle—like care for the fullness of a person—means recognizing and caring for the fullness of a mission. What is an organization meant to do? How can it persist in the work of shepherding a mission as time and circumstances change?
I’ll confess that I was far more knowledgeable of and comfortable with cura personalis. Cura apostolica seems a bit esoteric, relevant only to CEOs and HR departments. What has it got to do with me in my daily life?
Well, as today’s guest, Jesuit Fr. Matt Carnes insist, a lot. In fact, cura apostolica and cura personalis go hand-in-hand; they’re two sides of the same coin. Understanding and embodying one leads us to better live out the other.
Fr. Carnes is the Vice President for Mission and Ministry at Santa Clara University, as well as the Executive Director of the Ignatian Center for Jesuit Education and Professor of Political Science. Prior to joining Santa Clara University, he was an associate professor at Georgetown University in the Department of Government and the Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service, and he served as Vice Dean for Faculty Affairs in the School of Foreign Service and as the Director of the Center for Latin American Studies. Most important to today’s conversation, Fr. Matt is the editor of an upcoming book from Georgetown University Press entitled “Leadership Lessons from the Jesuits: Cura Apostolica and the Mission-Driven Organization.” It’s due out sometime next year.
I had a chance to read an early copy—and I found myself inspired by how cura apostolica can revolutionize how we approach our mission-driven work. I hope you get a sense of that today, and leave inspired to return to your own singular part of our shared mission.
Preorder the book: https://press.georgetown.edu/Book/Leadership-Lessons-from-the-Jesuits
Meet Fr. Carnes: https://www.scu.edu/cas/political-science/faculty--staff/matthew-e-carnes-sj/
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Unpacking Pope Leo XIV's "Dilexi te" with Fr. Chris Kellerman, SJ
Fr. Chris Kellerman, SJ, the Jesuit Conference's Secretary of Justice and Ecology, joins host Mike Jordan Laskey to discuss Pope Leo XIV's apostolic exhortation "Dilexi te," which calls on the church to remember that the care of those on the margins is at the heart of our mission.
Read the exhortation: https://www.vatican.va/content/leo-xiv/en/apost_exhortations/documents/20251004-dilexi-te.html
The Jesuit Conference's Office of Justice and Ecology: https://www.jesuits.org/our-work/justice-and-ecology/oje/
Fr. Kellerman's book, "All Oppression Shall Cease": https://www.amazon.com/All-Oppression-Shall-Cease-Abolitionism/dp/1626984891
AMDG is a production of the Jesuit Media Lab, which is a project of the Jesuit Conference of Canada and the United States.
www.jesuits.org/
www.beajesuit.org/
twitter.com/jesuitnews
facebook.com/Jesuits
instagram.com/wearethejesuits
youtube.com/societyofjesus
www.jesuitmedialab.org/
Jesuits and friends come together to look at the world through Ignatian eyes, always striving to live Ad Maiorem Dei Gloriam -- For the Greater Glory of God. Hosted by Mike Jordan Laskey and Eric Clayton. Learn more at jesuits.org. A production of the Jesuit Conference of Canada and the United States.
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