Tending to the Soul
Tucked between two classrooms on the third floor, the Luvera Chapel of St. Ignatius of Loyola can be considered the heartbeat of the Law School. Adorned with a powerful crucifix and two beautiful stained-glass windows – one of St. Thomas More (the patron saint of lawyers) and one of St. Ignatius of Loyola (the founder of the Jesuits) – the quiet and peaceful atmosphere of the chapel invites those weary and burdened with the various challenges faced by members of our community, particularly students facing the pressure of law school.
The chapel is the one place where you do not have to have the correct answer; no preparation is required to enter. People are invited to come as they are, to come as they may. It is a place of refuge for those seeking solace, a quiet space to decompress and to encounter the Divine. The ever- lit sanctuary lamp serves as an unceasing reminder of the presence of Jesus Christ reserved in the Tabernacle. This is a privilege of being a Catholic chapel.
Our chapel is a space where fellowship can be found and where our weary spirits can find sustenance. During the academic year, our law school community gathers each Tuesday morning to celebrate our Catholic liturgy. All are welcome – those who are Christians and non-Christians, those who are seekers, and those who are “just looking.”
In gathering, we present to God the needs of our community: We pray for our current students and alums; we remember our faculty and staff, those who are currently here as well as those who are with us only in spirit. We pray for the intentions of those who asked us to pray for them during the week, including the sick who need healing in body and mind, expecting parents, those who are lonely or ostracized, or those who are weighted down by the everyday challenges of life. In our Book of Remembrance in the back of the chapel, we inscribe the names of our beloved deceased so we can remember and pray for them always. No prayer intentions are left out because we believe in a God who is inclined to hear the cry of His people. We gather to share the Eucharist because, while our minds may be enlightened by case analysis and jurisprudence in the classroom, our souls yearn for something more.
Our chapel has also been a place for other life celebrations. Such celebrations include baptisms, confirmations, marriage vow renewals, and funeral and memorial services of loved ones who have died. Among the pews, both tears of sadness and tears of joy have been shed. While it may be small and hidden, the chapel is truly the heartbeat of our law school community.
Gonzaga Law School is fortunate to have such a chapel built with such intentionality. Those who designed, supported and built the school over two decades ago had the wisdom to anticipate that we would need such a reflective space for us to animate and live our mission as a Catholic, Jesuit and humanistic institution. Recent graduates often shared how they miss having a chapel to go to in the middle of the day when they feel the need to center themselves and to find the Holy.
Cura personalis (or care for the person) implies caring for the whole self. This means attending to our physical, emotional, intellectual and spiritual needs. Among these needs, unfortunately, we
often neglect our spiritual needs the most. It is like holding one’s breath and hoping that the moment will pass. But it never does. When this happens, we find ourselves running on empty, and the weariness we feel becomes our new normal. We need to resist this tendency. As we leave law school and go into the world, we must find a space where our spiritual needs can be nourished and sustained.
It is only when our spirits are full that we can tackle the challenges of our times with courage, perseverance, and the audacity to make a difference.