Programs

<p>The <i>Spiritual Exercises</i> are a compilation of meditations, prayers, and contemplative practices developed by St. Ignatius Loyola to help people deepen their relationships with God. The most common way of going through the Exercises is a “retreat in daily life,” also known as the <i>19th Annotation</i>.</p>

<p>48hours is a weekend experience open to all first-year students who are interested in taking advantage of BC's intellectual, social, and spiritual resources.</p>

<p>4Boston is BC's largest weekly service organization. Volunteers serve four hours each week of the academic year with community partners in the social service, healthcare, or education sectors and engage in one hour of group reflection centered on community, social justice, and spirituality.</p>

<p>The First Year Academic Convocation—considered the signature academic event of freshman year—has become a beloved BC tradition that melds the University’s Jesuit, Catholic mission and heritage with its commitment to the liberal arts and formative education.</p>

<p>Alpha Sigma Nu is the honor society of Jesuit institutions of higher education which recognizes those students who distinguish themselves in scholarship, loyalty, and service.</p>

<p>Appa Volunteers is a service-immersion program committed to working with under-resourced populations in the United States via shared service and direct encounter.</p>

<p>Ascend is a program for first-year women through the Center for Student Formation. Participants have an opportunity to meet new peers, engage in meaningful conversations about life at BC, and connect with upperclass female mentors.</p> <p><a href="mailto:ascend@bc.edu" target="_blank" adhocenable="false" rel="noopener noreferrer">ascend@bc.edu</a>&nbsp;| 617-552-6140</p>

<p>Axios is a supportive, inclusive and affirming space for LGBTQ+ and questioning undergraduate students to reflect, in an ongoing peer community, on the intersection of sexuality and spirituality in their lives.</p>

<p>BC BIGS offers students the opportunity to serve as mentors to youth, become immersed in the Boston community, and meet other like-minded BC students who share similar passions.</p>

<p>Breathe is a half day retreat where participants get to take a break from their lives. It is a day of silence, reflection and quiet. A day to clear one’s mind and thoughts.</p>

<p>Center is a free, 6-week spiritual mindfulness group for Boston College Undergraduate and Graduate Students.</p>

<p>Christian Life Community offers students a space to engage in weekly intentional and reflective conversations with peers.</p>

<p>Civitas faculty lunches are held regularly during the academic year, intended to foster conversations and connections with colleagues in a great setting.&nbsp;</p>

<p>Students involved in the Compañía Pilgrimage travel to Spain and Rome for 10 days to retrace some of the key steps in the unfolding life journey of Ignatius Loyola.</p>

<p>The Compass mentoring program is an intentional involvement where first-year AHANA+ students (people of African, Hispanic, Asian, Native American, and mixed descent) can connect with upperclass mentors, develop friendships, and gain a strong sense of community as they navigate their first semester at BC.&nbsp;</p>

<p>Ignatius of Loyola drew on the wisdom and power of discernment in his own long hours of pastoral and administrative work. Discernment in the Workplace is a six-week program that will help you understand the art and skills of discernment as an organic part of your work life.</p>

<p>Eagle Volunteers work with students in local schools both inside and outside of the classroom, assisting classroom work, providing tutoring support, being a pen pal, or putting together packages for children spending time in hospitals.</p>

<p>Forefront Social invites faculty to explore the question: What might a more holistic and interconnected approach to whole-person education look like?</p>

<p>Foundations helps people explore the basics of Ignatian prayer.&nbsp; &nbsp;The program is divided in 6 sessions that take place at noon. Each hour-long session includes a presentation on an Ignatian theme, followed by a discussion.</p>

<p>The purpose of Gratia Plena is to build a community of women who are committed to learning about and growing in their Catholic faith together.</p>

<p>Coordinated by the Ignatian Solidarity Network, the Teach-In brings together Jesuit colleges, high schools, parishes, and others to “learn, reflect, pray, network, and advocate together.”</p>

<p>This retreat will offer relevant presentations based on the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius, followed by suggestions for prayer and abundant time for reflection.</p>

<p>The Ignatian Society of Boston College serves to promote the spirit and tradition of St. Ignatius and the Society of Jesus (the Jesuits). Our work focuses on two key areas: Keeping graduates from Jesuit high schools connected to their BC peers, and promoting the tenets of Jesuit spirituality across the wider BC campus.</p>

<p>The Imagine retreat offers an opportunity to step away from the typical rhythms of life and invites retreatants to engage in prayer, reflection, and contemplation through creative practices. Leaning on Ignatian Imagination and our creativity, retreatants are invited into encounter with God, self, and others.</p>

<p>Jamaica Mustard Seed is a service trip to Jamaica over spring break during which a team of BC students volunteer at Mustard Seed Communities, a non-profit ministry committed to caring for the country’s most vulnerable individuals.</p>

<p>The in-residence <i>“Jesuit Fellow”</i> position is available for any Jesuit around the world interested in spending four to nine months at Boston College during the academic year (September - May) collaborating with the work of The Center for Ignatian Spirituality and other pastoral ministries.&nbsp;</p>

<p>The Boston College Knights of Columbus is a fraternal service organization committed to faith in action. Through work in diverse fields, from Special Olympics to Catholic relief programs, we forge Catholic men for lives of distinguished service for and with others.</p>

<p>The Kolvenbach Grants Program provide an opportunity for faculty and administrators to incorporate a meaningful aspect of a retreat or trip into their own academic work.</p>

<p>The Center for Ignatian Spirituality offers lectures about the Jesuit mission and its relationship with culture and with other religious traditions. Each lecture is featured on the University Events Calendar.</p>

<p>Manresa is a silent retreat based on St. Ignatius of Loyola’s Spiritual Exercises. Held each year during winter break at BC's beautiful Connors Family Retreat Center.</p>

<p>Campus Ministry holds a Marriage Preparation Program for members of the Boston College community and St. Ignatius Parish, Chestnut Hill. The program consists of a series of presentations about realities common to most marriages and exercises designed to help the engaged couples to reflect on the topics highlighted by the married couples.</p>

<p>The Multifaith Retreat brings together students of different faiths, traditions, and worldviews to find common values, share in friendship and experience, and become advocates for interfaith cooperation.</p>

<p>Home to student groups celebrating a wide range of faith traditions, the Multi-Faith Center welcomes you to celebrate your own faith, as well as to learn more about cultures and backgrounds unfamiliar to you.</p> <p><a href="mailto:ministry@bc.edu" target="_blank" adhocenable="false">ministry@bc.edu</a> | 617-552-3475</p>

<p>Pause and Pray is a weekly, outdoor “retreat moment” for students to exhale, to reflect, and to be spiritually renewed through the end of the semester.</p>

<p>Prayer is at the center of the Christian and Ignatian experience. Following a long-time tradition, The Center for Ignatian Spirituality will once again offer noontime prayer sessions during the liturgical season of Lent. These sessions will take place in person at our retreat space, 36 College Road. Lunch will be available at 11:45.&nbsp;</p>

<p>The Prison Arts Outreach program offers students interested in the arts and prison reform opportunities to lead art workshops at a women’s prison in Framingham, Mass.</p>

<p>Each semester, Boston College students partner with Rebuilding Together Boston to help renovate a house belonging to people unable to pay for essential home repairs and much-needed updates.</p>

<p>Relay For Life is an overnight fundraising event in which participants honor cancer survivors and those who lost their battles, and fight back against a disease that has taken too much. Over the years, Relay For Life of Boston College has raised over $2 million for a cure.</p>

<p>Named after the English martyr who was chancellor of England under Henry VIII, the St. Thomas More Society (STM) is a student organization dedicated to promoting the rich heritage of the Catholic faith on campus. All students are welcome to participate in any activities of STM regardless of religious affiliation.</p>

<p>The Sons of St. Patrick, a society of Catholic men at Boston College, is dedicated to fostering a community of virtue, character, and faith amongst our peers and surrounding society.</p>

<p>The Center for Ignatian Spirituality, Intersections, and the Museum of African American History invite you to walk the Black Heritage Trail and Museum to reflect about change, challenge, and transformation.</p>

<p>Three Day Sabbatical is a time to reflect upon and reinvigorate your professional and personal lives through whatever activity inspires feelings of renewal.</p>

<p>Together is a student-centered grief support group for undergraduate students at Boston College.</p>

<p>Intersections Villa faculty writing retreat allows faculty to get a jump start on their summer projects, and gives them the opportunity to get to know colleagues and their work in a beautiful and serene setting.&nbsp;</p>

<p>In one of the University's proudest traditions, the BC community comes together each year for the Volunteer &amp; Service Learning Center's Red Bandanna Run, held to honor 9/11 hero Welles Remy Crowther '99.</p>