Articles by Vinita Hampton Wright

About Vinita Hampton Wright

Vinita Hampton Wright has served as senior editor at Loyola Press for 16 years and recently became managing editor of the trade books department. She has written various fiction and non-fiction books, including the novel Dwelling Places with HarperOne, Days of Deepening Friendship and The Art of Spiritual Writing for Loyola Press, and most recently, The St. Teresa of Avila Prayer Book for Paraclete Press. Vinita is a student and practitioner of Ignatian spirituality and is a blogger at dotMagis. For the past few years, she has co-led small groups through the 19th Annotation of the Spiritual Exercises. She lives in Chicago with her husband, three cats, and a dog. In her “spare” time these days, she is working on her next novel.

An Act of Creativity: Make a List

Vinita Hampton Wright

Let’s approach the new year with some encouragement to organization. Do you ever feel like this? There’s so much to do that I don’t know where to start. I think of everything I’m responsible for and everything I’d like to accomplish, and I panic—and sometimes I cope by doing nothing at all. Time to make a list. When life gets cluttered, it can be a good thing to get a huge sketchpad and just list […]

Strengthening Your Spiritual Life

Vinita Hampton Wright

A healthy and vital spirituality defines who we are and helps us to grow and develop along the way of faith. The way we express our spirituality should be a support and a consolation to us; it should also afford enough challenge to keep us moving forward and to help us avoid complacence. —A Faith Interrupted, p. 127 The crucial thing to understand is that faith needs to be nurtured. No matter where I am […]

Give Praise Where It’s Due

Vinita Hampton Wright

Do you ever feel like this? I’m so tired of people looking weary and glum wherever I go. Is everyone having that bad a day? Am I stuck forever in this atmosphere? You’ll be surprised at how people respond when you simply make the first move and say something nice. A courteous greeting will do, but a real compliment is even better. Most people try hard to do well. Sometimes their attempts are awkward and […]

The Fire and the Light

Vinita Hampton Wright

We are in the last week of Easter, which culminates in Pentecost. On the first Pentecost, the Holy Spirit “fell upon” the followers of Jesus of Nazareth, and at that point the community of faith became home to God, each person a dwelling place of the Holy Spirit. There was the “speaking in tongues,” with the Apostles proclaiming the story and work of Jesus in the languages of all people-groups present in Jerusalem at the […]

A Prayer for Play

Vinita Hampton Wright

It’s important for those involved in catechetical ministries to take time for self-care, and that includes time for fun! Today we ask for eyes and hearts open to see whimsy and to take part in play. Prayer for Play God who made each and every living being, I know there’s a fun and whimsical aspect to you because there is no complete logical explanation for the way kittens play, and children say the most accurate, […]