I started "The Ignatian Educator" in February of 2013, and in my first post (at my old site), I wrote:
My goal is to explore education after the cannonball: to connect participants in Ignatian ministries, mainly those in education, and to provide a forum to sympathize with shared concerns. My themes are faith, culture, Ignatian pedagogy and spirituality, and a miscellany of other matters that intersect with Catholic schooling. I want to show how Ignatian education responds to the challenges and complexity of the modern world, how it can assist in bringing clarity to an age of distraction, and how it can awaken desires that lead to the true self and, ultimately, to Christ.
In the fall of 2013, I was privileged to move the blog here, to America, where "The Ignatian Educator" has been able to reach a wider audience and participate in a national conversation about Catholic and Jesuit education. It's been an honor to write in this forum with the support of such great editors, and I am immensely thankful to those who have read my work and who have advanced the conversation with their thoughtful, learned responses. In what I've written, I've tried to adopt the mindset of both teacher and student—to be one who sparks fruitful inquiries as well as one who remains ready to learn.
Since starting the blog, a lot has changed. As you might imagine, blogging almost every day is a difficult pace to keep up in light of other full-time commitments. At this time, I feel called to embrace new opportunities and a new use of the gift of time. As of today, therefore, I will be stepping back from The Ignatian Educator, and the blog itself will undergo a reassessment among America editors.
Although I will no longer be blogging regularly, I will still be involved in Catholic discourse. I will contribute from time to time to the "In All Things" blog and, I hope, to the print magazine as well. Additionally, my first book, Why Faith? A Journey of Discovery, will be published by Paulist Press in May of 2016. So there are exciting things on the horizon. You can hear more about my endeavors at my website, www.matt-emerson.com.
Thank you again for your support, and may God bless you and yours with a joyful Thanksgiving and Christmas season!
