Spring 2018 Stories

By Rev. Dorian Llywelyn, S.J.
Executive Director
Ignatian Center for Jesuit Education
Santa Clara University

The surprising origin of the word explore is two Latin words that together mean to cry out on a hunt in order to flush out game. It wasn’t until the 17th century that explore took on our modern sense of the word: to seek new discoveries. 

St. Ignatius saw gratitude and wonder as the first steps toward “seeking and finding God’s will in everything.” His phrase, which we sometimes truncate as “finding God in all things,” conveys Ignatius’ firm trust that God is interested in all spheres of human action and with the right combination of “hunting” and divine selfcommunication, God’s hopes and desires for each of us can be “flushed out,” embraced, and carried out.

Jesuit education seeks to foster wisdom, inspired by Ignatius’ lifelong stance of allowing himself to wonder as he explored God’s will. From that search came deep insights into our relations with God, each other, and all that God creates. Among the most characteristically Jesuit of our Santa Clara values is the eagerness to seek out the very largest questions that can be asked: what matters to us and why, what the ultimate meaning of our lives and our world is, and why there is something rather than nothing. That contemplative stance is the common ground where our action both with and for others—especially the poorest inhabitants of our world—grows most authentically. The Ignatian Center strives to help our students, faculty and staff seek and find contemplation and service, reconciliation and justice, scholarship and passion, imagination and meaning.

Discovering the stories in this edition of explore, I hope, will inspire your own sense of gratitude and wonder.

FR. DORIAN LLYWELYN has served as Executive Director of the Ignatian Center since August 2016. In this role, Fr. Llywelyn oversees the overall execution of the Center’s strategic plan seeking to promote and enhance the distinctively Jesuit, Catholic tradition of education at Santa Clara. The Center engages campus members, local neighbors, and the global community through its signature programs including the Bannan Institutes, Arrupe Weekly Engagement, immersions, Ignatian tradition offerings, and the Thriving Neighbors Initiative. As Executive Director, Fr. Llywelyn also leads the University’s efforts in promoting and strengthening the understanding, engagement, and shared appreciation of the Jesuit, Catholic character of the University.