Fr. Daniel M. Ruff, S.J. entered the MD Province of the Society of Jesus in 1976 and was ordained in 1986. A graduate of the Jesuit School of Theology at Berkeley (now affiliated with Santa Clara U), he holds a Ph.D. in Liturgical Studies from the Catholic University of America with a particular focus on liturgical preaching. He served as pastor at Old St. Joseph’s parish in Old City (Philadelphia) from 2008-2015. Before that (2000-2008), Fr. Dan served as Director of Campus Ministry and Acting Coordinator of Jesuit Mission and Identity at Loyola University MD from 2000-2008. During his years at Loyola, he taught regularly as an affiliate faculty member in the department of Theology; and he also gave frequent presentations and workshops to colleagues and students on Ignatian spirituality and the Jesuit mission of the university. Father also created and led numerous retreats, participated in a men’s support group, and served as chaplain to the Men’s Lacrosse Team. Fr. Ruff is also no stranger to the world of seminary formation. From 1993-2000, he taught Systematic and Liturgical Theology and Homiletics and served as a mentor and spiritual director for seminarians at St. Mary’s Seminary and University (Baltimore), where he attained the rank of Associate Professor. During his tenure at St. Mary’s, Fr. Dan regularly assisted on weekends at St. Dominic’s Parish; and he also gave workshops on liturgy, preaching, and Ignatian spirituality to priests, permanent deacons, seminarians, and laity in parishes and retreat centers throughout the Archdiocese of Baltimore as well as in Gettysburg, Wheeling-Charleston, Palm Springs, New Orleans, upstate New York, and Australia. He is a member of the North American Academy of Liturgy, the Catholic Association of Teachers of Homiletics, and the Jungmann Society of Jesuit Liturgists. In his free time, Fr. Dan enjoys, reading fiction, listening to classical music, and attending theatre and film. He is fascinated by the interface of postmodern Western culture with religion, faith, and spirituality and reads widely on those subject areas. However, he is a pastoral priest at heart rather than a scholar; like St. Ignatius, his first love is “helping souls.” Father Ruff teaches the first two semesters of homiletics in the Theological Seminary. He began teaching at St. Charles in January 2013, while he was serving as pastor at Old St. Joseph’s. He is currently a member of the campus ministry team at St. Joseph’s University, where he coordinates the RCIA program and Hawks for Life, along with attending numerous retreats.