Us, Here, Now
Rooted in tradition,
moving forward in mission
Join the entire LMU community in learning, reflecting, and acting throughout November!
Each November, LMU celebrates our unique identity, mission, and traditions as a Jesuit and Marymount university. These weeks invite us not only to learn about our shared history and values, but to consider our Jesuit and Marymount traditions as part of our DNA, shaping our community and how we engage the world today and tomorrow.
The Constitutions of the Society of Jesus (the Jesuits) emphasize the importance of attention to the persons, times, and places of one's context. Our women’s sponsoring communities, the Religious of the Sacred Heart of Mary and the Sisters of St. Joseph of Orange, share this commitment to discerning the “signs of the times” and responding with integrity, courage, and care for the neighbor.
Our annual celebration of identity and mission, Us / Here / Now, invites the entire LMU community to consider our own persons, places, and time:
- US: Who are we at LMU? What foundations, values, and goals unite us?
- HERE: What do we notice in our campus, city, nation, and world? What needs and opportunities surround us?
- NOW: What does this moment ask of us? How will we discern, choose, and act in alignment with our deepest values?
Every member of the LMU community shapes who we are—here and now. Find a program that speaks to you, join the conversation, and help bring our mission to life.
Scroll to see all programs below, or use the options below to view by week or by audience!
Show me programs just for....
Food Drive for SC LAMP
The fall holiday season is a time of joy for many, but for neighbors facing food insecurity, it can also bring added stress. This November, the Truth, Community Healing, & Transformation Alliance is working with LMU units to collect donations and volunteer with South Central LAMP, a community partner co-founded by the Religious of the Sacred Heart of Mary. We're hoping to provide meals for 100 families in our community—and need your help in making this possible! Donate items at collection bins from Oct. 30 - Nov. 13, sort items on Nov. 13, or join us for a Day of Service at SCLAMP on Nov. 16.
Donation collection bins located at: Collins Center, Founders' Pavilion, WHH Library, Hilton Center for Business Administration, Human Resources (UH 1900), Malone 201, McKay Community Space (near Iggy's Diner), Pam Rector Center for Service and Action, the Cave (Chapel lower level), University Hall floor 4
Learn more and contribute
Honoring the Jesuit Martyrs of El Salvador
On November 16, 1989, six Jesuits at the Universidad Centroamericana (UCA) in San Salvador, along with their housekeeper and her daughter, were assassinated on the university campus in response to their courageous witness and advocacy on behalf of the poor and marginalized of El Salvador during the country's civil war. Each year, Jesuit universities around the world honor the legacy of these martyrs and reflect on the challenge their witness extends to us today: What is a Jesuit university for? How do we act for the more universal good as a community committed to justice, even in the face of resistance?
Go deeper: Attend the Ignatian Teach-In for Justice, attend an on-campus memorial in honor of the martyrs on Nov. 19, or learn more about these persons.
Black Catholic History Month
November is also Black Catholic History Month, an occasion to honor the rich heritage of Black Catholics in the United States, celebrating the contributions of Black Catholics to the Church today and tomorrow. In a particular way, we commemorate the seven Black Catholics on the path to becoming the United States' first African American saints: Venerable Pierre Toussaint, Venerable Henriette Delille, Venerable Augustus Tolton, and Servants of God Mary Lange, Julia Greeley, Martin de Porres Maria Ward, and Thea Bowman.
Go deeper: Participate in Mass in the Black Catholic tradition on Nov. 8; visit the display dedicated to the "Saintly Seven" in Sacred Heart Chapel; and learn about these remarkable individuals.
Inclusive History and Images Project Timeline
History, as a reflective, rigorous practice rooted in Ignatian spirituality, views the past not merely as a sequence of dates, but as a dynamic narrative where God's presence and human choices intersect. In the Marymount and CSJ traditions, critical examination of the past uncovers who was left out of traditional historical accounts and highlights how marginalized groups shaped society. The Inclusive History and Images Project (IHIP) is launching a new interactive timeline highlighting important events, milestones, and challenges that historical oppressed communities at LMU have led and experienced. Each moment of student courage, key milestone, and equity initiative that span several decades mark critical times when our most vulnerable communities rose up to collectively move the university towards inclusion and reconciliation. The timeline also provides motivation for LMU to continually reflect and discern in the way of our religious traditions to become a more equitable community in the years to come.
Explore the timelineFull Schedule of Events
Week One: November 1-7
Mass and Community: All Saints' Day 
Sunday, Nov. 1 | 10:00 am and 8:00 pm | Sacred Heart Chapel
Join the entire LMU community for fellowship and prayer; refreshments and reception follow the 8pm liturgy in the Cave (lower level of Sacred Heart Chapel). Celebrate All Saints’ Day with a remembrance of departed family, friends, and loved ones, or submit the name of a loved one to be included in prayer during the month of November.
Audience: All
Why Global Learning at LMU? And Why You?: Ignatian Pedagogy, Jesuit Education, and Global Citizenship
Monday, Nov. 2 | 12:00 – 1:00 pm | Collins Center
Why does global learning matter at LMU, and how can faculty integrate it into their teaching, scholarship, and creative work? This workshop will explore the connections between global learning, LMU’s Jesuit Marymount mission, Ignatian pedagogy, and global citizenship. The session will also introduce the new Faculty Learning Community on Global Learning and Teaching, launching in January 2027, including its planned immersion experience in South Africa. A panel discussion and audience Q&A will follow. Lunch provided with RSVP.
Audience: Faculty
Us / Here / Now: Wellness Wednesday Edition
Wednesday, Nov. 4 | 11:00 am – 2:00 pm | Alumni Mall
Come through for giveaways, prizes, swag, and more information about the series!
Audience: All
Maxims and Donuts with the Sisters
Wednesdays, Nov. 4, 11, 18 | 11:00 am - 2:00 pm | Wellness Wednesday (Alumni Mall)
Did you know...? LMU is unique in the U.S. by having not one, but three sponsoring religious communities! Come learn about the Sisters of St. Joseph of Orange, their spirituality, and their work for justice and reconciliation on campus and beyond. Swing by the Us / Here / Now table at WW to learn more and grab a sweet treat!
Audience: All
Justice on Tap: Environmental Justice and You
Wednesday, Nov. 4 | 4:30 - 6:30 pm | Hannon Basketball Courts & The Loft
Join The Pam Rector Center for Service and Action, Ignatians Service Organization, and the Office of Cultural Connection and Dialogue for a talk on environmental justice featuring Nicole Bouvier-Brown (ENVS). Food and beverages provided (including a free drink at The Loft for those 21 years of age and up). RSVP here.
Audience: All
Words to Live By: A Little Wisdom for Us, Here, Now
Friday, Nov. 6 | 11:30 am – 1:30 pm | Palm Quad
Spin the wheel and discover one of 100 Maxims, short sayings of everyday wisdom from the CSJ tradition that is part of LMU’s heritage! Take a moment to reflect on what your Maxim means for you, then add your thoughts to our community reflection board. Join Resident Ministry for this Us/Here/Now celebration, and enjoy free Panda Express while you’re here!
Audience: Students
Week Two: November 8 - 14
Discernment Dinner Series
Nov. 8, 12, and 19 | 6:00 – 9:00 pm | Location shared with RSVP
Calling all students! Each meal in this series features an opening prayer/reflection on vocation, a retreat-talk style discernment story shared by an LMU staff/faculty member, and conversation and reflection prompts to be discussed over a multi-course dinner. Each date showcases a different speaker, different location, and different cuisine. By joining a Discernment Dinner, you are committing to meaningful reflection on your vocational call over a private dinner in Los Angeles, specifically as it relates to your spirituality and your LMU formation. Space is limited; sign up now!
Audience: Students
Mass and Community: Celebrating Black Catholic History Month
Sunday, Nov. 8 | 8:00 pm | Sacred Heart Chapel
As part of National Black Catholic History Month, Mass will be celebrated in the Black Catholic tradition on Sunday, Nov. 8th at 8:00 pm. This mass will feature the soulful music and the compelling preaching found within the Black Catholic tradition. After the liturgy, join us for a reception in the Cave (Chapel lower level) featuring beignets, a cultural dish of fried dough covered in sugar from the city of New Orleans, one of the thriving centers of Black Catholicism.
Audience: All
Faculty & Staff Tour of Sacred Heart Chapel's Stained Glass
Tuesday, Nov. 10 | 12:00 – 12:30 pm | Sacred Heart Chapel
Did you know that the art and architecture of Sacred Heart Chapel is packed full of history, symbols, and more than meets the eye? Randy Roche, SJ will lead a tour of the 30 large stained-glass windows in Sacred Heart Chapel and their connection to LMU and Jesuit educational history; other windows and features of the chapel will also be explained. The tour is conducted with illumination coming only through the windows, allowing their colors to be displayed in their fullness. RSVP here.
Audience: Faculty, staff
An Americanized Jesuit Tradition of Education: LMU’s Place in Jesuit History
Tuesday, Nov. 10 | 3:30 – 5:00 pm | Jesuit Community Library
Join Michael Rizzi (University of Pennsylvania), author of Jesuit Colleges and Universities in the United States: A History, for a presentation and discussion of the history of Jesuit higher education in the United States and the particular role LMU plays in that past, present, and future. All are welcome; refreshments provided. RSVP here.
Audience: All
Maxims at the Labyrinth
Tuesday, Nov. 10 | 4:00 - 5:30 pm | Bluff labyrinth (behind O'Malley)
Join the resident ministers of McCarthy, Rains, O'Malley, Leavey 4, 5, and 6 for this contemplative prayer experience. Choose a prayer card, walk the bluff labyrinth and meditate with the maxims of the Sisters of St. Joseph of Orange. Stay for light refreshments after.
Audience: Students
Us / Here / Now: Wellness Wednesday Edition
Wednesday, Nov. 11 | 11:00 am – 2:00 am | Alumni Mall
Come through for giveaways, prizes, swag, and more information about the series!
Audience: All
Dear Neighbor
Wednesday, Nov. 11 | 7:00 - 9:30 pm | Founders Pavilion
Come live out one of the core tenets of the Sisters of St. Joseph: “serving the dear neighbor without distinction.” The “Dear Neighbor” means our neighbors on and off the bluff, so there will be a variety of ways to engage at this event, from engaging in a service project to connecting with the other residents in the first-year area. Stop by and see your RMs, meet new people and learn a bit more about what it means to serve the dear neighbor without distinction!
Audience: Students
Student Tour of Sacred Heart Chapel's Stained Glass
Thursday, Nov. 12 | 12:00 – 12:30 pm | Sacred Heart Chapel
Did you know that the art and architecture of Sacred Heart Chapel is packed full of history, symbols, and more than meets the eye? Randy Roche, SJ will lead a tour of the 30 large stained-glass windows in Sacred Heart Chapel and their connection to LMU and Jesuit educational history; other windows and features of the chapel will also be explained. The tour is conducted with illumination coming only through the windows, allowing their colors to be displayed in their fullness. RSVP here.
Audience: Students
Jummah Prayer - Us/Here/Now edition
Friday, Nov. 13 | 1:30 - 2:30 pm | Muslim Prayer Room (Malone 202)
Muslim Student Life invites the LMU community to join us for our weekly Friday-Jummah Prayer. This week’s service will feature a special sermon on “Islam and the LMU Mission,” exploring connections between Islamic values and LMU’s mission. Following the prayer, stay for chai, snacks, and time together in community. All are welcome! Click Here to RSVP.
Audience: All
Week Three: November 15 - 21
Mass and Reception: Honoring the UCA Martyrs of El Salvador
Sunday, Nov. 15 | 8:00 pm | Sacred Heart Chapel
Join Jesuit schools, communities, and networks around the world in marking the anniversary of the UCA martyrs’ death and the challenge their witness offers to us in our present context at LMU. Discussion and refreshments to follow in the Cave (Sacred Heart Chapel lower level).
Audience: All
Day of Service at South Central LAMP
Monday, Nov. 16 | 12:00 - 4:00 pm | Meet at Alumni Mall Flagpoles
This November, the Truth, Community Healing, and Transformation Alliance invites faculty, staff, and students to participate in a day of service with South Central LAMP, a community partner co-founded by the Religious of the Sacred Heart of Mary. We’ll assemble meal kits from the collected food and then distribute them to local families facing food insecurity. Donate items at collection bins from Oct. 30 – Nov. 13, help sort items on Nov. 13, or help prepare items at SC LAMP on Nov. 16 (shared transportation available). Click for a list of requested donation items and dropoff locations. Space for Nov. 16 is limited, so be sure to RSVP ahead of time!
Audience: All
Is There an Ignatian AI? And If There Is, What Is It?
Tuesday, Nov. 17 | 12:00 – 1:30 pm | Collins Center
Is there a uniquely Ignatian approach to artificial intelligence? Can we explore the use and development of AI through Jesuit and Marymount lenses? Can we develop a way of engaging with AI that is attentive to and grounded in our Jesuit and Marymount mission? This discussion will highlight recent initiatives within the Association of Jesuit Colleges and Universities (AJCU) and International Association of Jesuit Universities (IAJU) to develop an approach to AI guided by Ignatian values and practices and consider how we can bring this work back to the LMU campus. Facilitators/co-sponsors: Dorian Llywelyn (Center for Ignatian Spirituality), Elizabeth Drummond (Marymount Institute), and Mairead Sullivan (Office of the Associate Provost for Academic Programs and Strategy). RSVP here.
Audience: Faculty
Our International Stories
Tuesday, Nov. 17 | 12:00 - 1:30pm | Drollinger Stage
Join Chicano Latino Student Services, the Office of Cultural Connection and Dialogue, the Office for International Students and Scholars, and Campus Ministry for a celebration of International Restorative Justice Week and International Education Week. Come break bread with friends and meet new LMU community members while engaging in guided conversations about our calling as global citizens.
Audience: All
Where Wonder Leads: A Night of Retreat & Reflection
Tuesday, Nov. 17 | 7:00 – 9:00 pm | The Cave (Chapel lower level)
Join us as we welcome author Eric Clayton to campus. Eric Clayton is an award-winning writer, speaker, storyteller, sought-after retreat leader, and author of the new book Where Wonder Leads: Finding God Through Fairy Tales, Myth, and Contemplative Prayer (2026).
Audience: Students
Us / Here / Now: Wellness Wednesday Edition
Wednesday, Nov. 18 | 11:00 am – 2:00 pm | Alumni Mall
Come through for giveaways, prizes, swag, and more information about the series!
Audience: All
Returning to Our Roots
Wednesday, Nov. 18 | 4:00 - 5:30 pm | McKay Lounge
Grab a passport and journey back through time to discover the roots of LMU, Indigenous interconnectedness, and Restorative Practices. Explore, reflect, and collect stamps, while we rediscover how we’re all interconnected. This event is hosted by your Resident Ministers as part of Us/Here/Now, Restorative Justice Week, and Indigenous Heritage Month. More info and RSVP.
Audience: Students
Feed our Neighbor
Thursday, Nov. 19 | 10:45 am - 2:00 pm | The Cave (Chapel lower level)
Join us in making sandwiches and bagged lunches for unhoused youth at Safe Place for Youth (SPY). Sandwich and bag preparation begin at 10:45 and a van will leave to deliver lunches to SPY at 11:30. At SPY folks who are interested will hand out lunches and sit and chat with the youth. This weekly service & accompaniment program is hosted through Campus Ministry and sponsored this week by Us/Here/Now.
Audience: All
Memorial for the Salvadoran Martyrs
Thursday, Nov. 19 | 12:00 - 1:30 pm | Mary Chapel (inside Sacred Heart Chapel)
What does it feel like to pray in many ways, listening to the wisdom of our diverse faith traditions? How do we come together as a campus community to mourn those killed by state violence, then and now? Join the LMU community as we pray and sing, light flames of remembrance, and nourish our desire to work together for peace. Come bear witness to the unifying power of prayer and reimagine a world where what happened at the Universidad Centroamericana (UCA) in El Salvador never happens again. We remember them. All are welcome. No prior registration is necessary; reception to follow. Convened by the LMU Latino Theology and Ministry Initiative.
Audience: All
Retreat and Brunch in Orange: Exploring the CSJ Charism
Friday, Nov. 20 | 9:30 a.m. - 1:30 p.m. | Off-site
The CSJ Center for Reconciliation and Justice invites LMU faculty and staff to a retreat experience in conversation with Jean Pierre Médaille, SJ, St. John Francis Regis, SJ, and St. Francis De Sales. What helps shape the expression of a charism, a mission over the course of centuries (over 375 years in the case of the Sisters of St. Joseph)? Come and explore these phenomena with others from the LMU community while taking time apart at the campus of the Sisters of St. Joseph of Orange. There will be time for input, reflection, conversation, enjoying the gardens and the company of each other. Free to attend but space is limited. More info and registration here.
Audience: Faculty, staff
Together Monthly
Friday, Nov. 20 | 11:30 am - 1:30 pm | Malone 112
Inspired by The Longest Table, "Together, Monthly" is a monthly space to build authentic relationships across difference through a shared meal and facilitated dialogue led by the Intercultural Facilitators. Join this special edition hosted during International Restorative Justice Week by RSVPing here.
Audience: All
LMU's Sponsoring Religious Communities
The Sisters of St. Joseph of Orange
This women's congregation has lived, served, and educated in California since 1912. Learn more about the CSJs and their work on campus and beyond.
The Society of Jesus
Otherwise known as "the Jesuits," this order of Catholic priests, brothers, and scholastics is the largest men's religious order in the world. Learn more about the Jesuits and the work they do across the globe.
Religious of the Sacred Heart of Mary
The founders of Marymount College whose name we still bear today, the Religious of the Sacred Heart of Mary are present in schools and ministries on four continents. Learn more about the RSHM.
The Ignatian tradition seeks to find God in all things and in all people. Learn more about the Ignatian vision of the world and the human person, and the tools this tradition offers for reflection and discernment.
Learn more about Ignatian spirituality
Spiritual and Historical Foundations
At the heart of Loyola Marymount University is a spiritual legacy and ethos represented in the university’s three sponsoring communities: The Religious of the Sacred Heart of Mary (RSHM), the Society of Jesus (SJ), and the Sisters of St. Joseph of Orange / Congregation of St. Joseph (CSJ). Their distinct charisms continue to guide the university's values, culture, and identity: three religious communities, two educational traditions, one Catholic identity.
Explore the full story
Ignatian Pedagogy
The Jesuits are known for excellence in education, and their schools may be found in 55 countries. What is distinctive about a Jesuit education, and what are the characteristics of the Ignatian pedagogical paradigm?
Learn more about Ignatian pedagogy