In asking his contemporaries what they wanted, Jesus points the way to an understanding of human beings as creatures ordered to desire. St. Augustine famously locates the center of our desire in the heart, and the proper object of our desire in God. But how well do we understand our desires, our wants, our longings? Not well enough, and perhaps not at all. In this talk, author and Hope College professor Richard Ray will tell the story of how a sacred journey to a sacred place resulted in a sacred purpose: the reordering of his desires and the reshaping of his heart.

This event is co-sponsored by the Hope College Departments of Kinesiology, Religion, and World Languages and Cultures, as well as the Fried Center for Global Engagement.

Richard Ray has been a member of the Hope faculty since 1982. During that time he also has served as the college’s chief academic officer (2010–2016), dean for the social sciences (2008–2010), and chair of the Department of Kinesiology (2003–2008). He was the college's head athletic trainer, and he developed the academic program in athletic training at Hope. He teaches courses in the athletic training program, First-Year Seminar, and Senior Seminar. In 2016 he completed a 500-mile walking pilgrimage on Spain’s Camino de Santiago. He teaches a Senior Seminar on pilgrimage and presents on this subject to church and community groups. He is the author of two books on his pilgrimage experiences, The Shape of My Heart: A Pilgrimage Remembrance and Walking Gratefully: A Camino Story.