Boundless Compassion: Creating a Way of Life by Joyce Rupp

Meetings held virtually on 8 Monday
March 3rd – April 28th
No meeting Easter Monday April 21st
7:00 – 8:00 p.m. ET

There is no cost for sessions & written materials.
Registration is required. Registration deadline is 3:00 p.m. on Monday, February 24th 2025.

  • Group Learning & Conversation
  • Open to HMA members of all faith civilizations
  • Allow time and space for expression of spiritual growth
  • Professional group facilitators
  • Bring a HMA friend
  • Invite a friend to join HMA to attend
  • Questions are encouraged
  • No need to be present at every session
  • Safe, non-threatening sharing environment
  • No cost for sessions & written materials
  • Registration Required on HMA website
  • Come and learn more… and enhance your spiritual health

Book Club Details

Boundless Compassion: Creating a Way of Life by Joyce Rupp

In March 2025, the Spiritual Leadership Committee of the Health Ministries Association is hosting a Virtual Spiritual Book Journal Club beginning on Monday, March 3rd from 6:00- 7:00 pm CST via Zoom invitation only. The book is titled “Boundless Compassion: Creating a Way of Life” by well-known author Joyce Rupp. This activity is offered on eight (8) consecutive Mondays in March and April. (No meeting on Easter Monday, April 21st). The four professional group facilitators and faith community nurses are Amy Armanious, Beth Cook, Ann Gornik and Donna Kramer. This gathering provides time for self-reflection, learning, and fellowship opportunities to individuals who are interested in spiritual care and spiritual health. It is intended that each group participant will use the book for daily prayer, spiritual reading, and journaling. Attendees learn from the group facilitators and each other as they enhance their knowledge of self, Creator, and others especially for people in need throughout their communities. We will learn about spiritual listening and how to encourage one another’s spiritual health through presence. Our sharing time is not for life problem-solving, but for promoting whole person health which is balancing body, mind & spirit. . There is no cost for this book discussion for HMA members.

Each participant is encouraged to purchase the book( https://a.co/d/fGtJSyl) and the recommended journal (https://a.co/d/cWUa77I) before the first session. Regular reading and being prepared before each group session are strongly encouraged. Participants do not need to be present for each session, however, it is encouraged that these eight (8) dates be put aside as sacred time and self-care in one’s monthly schedule.

The only item that participants are asked to bring to the first session (March 3rd) is a photo of themselves (any age) at a special occasion or event such as a birthday party, wedding day, Christmas, etc.

Please come and share your spiritual journey with us. For questions, contact Ann Gornik, Director of the HMA Spiritual Leadership at gornik.ann@gmail.com

Schedule

The schedule will be:

  1. Introduction & Welcome – March 3rd
  2. Compassion as a Way of Life – March 10th
  3. Welcoming Ourselves – March 17th
  4. The River of Suffering – March 24th
  5. From Hostility to Hospitality – March 31st
  6. A Thousand Unbreakable Links – April 7th
  7. Becoming a Compassionate Presence – April 14th
  8. No Book Discussion on Easter Monday April 21st
  9. Closing/Wrap-up Session – April 28th

About The Author & Book

Joyce Rupp is a well-known author, conference speaker, spiritual guide, and retreat leader. Over the years, she has become a favorite author for many readers.

Boundless Compassion: Creating a Way of Life is the culmination of Joyce Rupp’s research and work as coordinator for the Servite Institute of Compassionate Presence.

Through the book discussion a personal transformation process for developing and deepening compassion, Joyce Rupp – bestselling and award-winning author and retreat leader, nudges, encourages and inspires you to grow in the kind of love that motivated Jesus’ life and his mission for his disciples.

Joyce Rupp’s Boundless Compassion: Creating a Way of Life is a transformative guide designed to help individuals cultivate compassion in their daily lives. The book is structured as a six-week personal development journey, with daily readings and reflections aimed at deepening one’s understanding and practice of compassion. HMA will take 8 weeks for our book discussion with an Introduction Week 1 and Conclusion Week 8.

Rupp emphasizes three key elements: Awareness, Attitude, and Action. She also highlights four essential spiritual qualities necessary for nurturing compassion: nonjudgment, nonviolence, forgiveness, and mindfulness. Through these principles, Rupp encourages readers to embody the compassionate love exemplified by Jesus.

“Boundless Compassion is unique in that it encompasses different aspects of life from compassion to self, to suffering, to the marginalized and to creation. There is not just one focus for compassion but an integration of all parts into our life and our world. The ultimate depth is living a compassionate life and being attentive and aware of what is happening and needs our compassionate understanding and love.”

Group gatherings enrich the experience of reading Boundless Compassion: Creating a Way of Life by Joyce Rupp, as group members benefit from one another’s insights and share in a common cause. Participants are asked to set aside time to read and reflect on each day’s content.

Named one of the Top 50 Spirituality Books of 2018 by Spirituality & Practice. Winner of a 2019 Catholic Press Association Spirituality/Soft Cover Books (First Place) and a 2019 Association of Catholic Publishers Spirituality Books (Second Place).

— Bobbi Bussan, OSB, Executive Director of Boundless Compassion