SpiritualitySeptember 16, 2019What Can we Do When Everything is Falling Apart?
"Prayer is one of the greatest antidotes against recurring problems. " Throughout his life, Jesus continually told the people: ”Do not be afraid. Do not be anxious. Do not be worried. I bring you tidings of great joy”. "
SpiritualitySeptember 09, 2019The Pope versus the Sourpuss
"These are intimate affairs where the Pope speaks without the intervention of diplomatic and theological experts. So what comes through is a sense of his genuine, unvarnished thinking and pastoral attitude."
SpiritualitySeptember 04, 2019A Knight and A Bishop
"Bishop LaRocque said that I had some opposition but he believed I was inspired by Our Lady and the Holy Spirit. He encouraged me to remain steadfast and continue with our plans. His confidence helped our committee to forge ahead."
SpiritualityAugust 31, 2019Pilgrims’ Progress: Journal Entries from a 60th Anniversary Pilgrimage – #10
This is the tenth in a series ongoing journal entries.
SpiritualityAugust 30, 2019Pilgrims’ Progress: Journal Entries from a 60th Anniversary Pilgrimage – #9
This is the ninth entry in an orgoing journal. Today - Stockholm
SpiritualityAugust 29, 2019First Love
"I find great consolation in spending time with the Mother of Jesus, who lived a life of love and loss, and her gift of grace provides the strength I need to live on my own."
SpiritualityAugust 26, 2019My Friend Jean Vanier
"Jean’s spirit continues to infuse these communities with his vision that each and every human being whatever their gifts or limitations are a valued precious child of God that can contribute to the well being of our world."
SpiritualityAugust 24, 2019Pilgrims’ Progress: Journal Entries from a 60th Anniversary Pilgrimage – #8
The eighth in an ongoing series of journal entries.
SpiritualityAugust 23, 2019Pilgrims’ Progress: Journal Entries from a 60th Anniversary Pilgrimage – #7
The seventh of an ongoing series of entries - now in Norway.
SpiritualityAugust 21, 2019Following the Leader
" In this sort of environment, who would trust the servant leader who calls upon us to sacrifice, to deny ourselves and to “take up our cross and follow”? Instead, we (increasingly despairingly) follow demagogues, charlatans and snake-oil salespeople." "
SpiritualityAugust 17, 2019Pilgrims’ Progress: Journal Entries from a 60th Anniversary Pilgrimage – #6
The sixth in a series of journal entries.
SpiritualityAugust 16, 2019Pilgrims’ Progress: Journal Entries from a 60th Anniversary Pilgrimage – #5
The fifth in a series of ongoing journal entries.
SpiritualityAugust 15, 2019The Assumption and Papal Infallibility
"Is papal infallibility controversial? Why yes! But it’s not used very often. As a matter of fact, a strict notion of infallibility is extremely rare."
SpiritualityAugust 14, 2019The Return of the Prodigal Son: A Story of True Forgiveness
"There is no immediate, or even distant likelihood of my ever personally contemplating Rembrandt’s masterpiece but it comforts me now that I understand and appreciate so much more the true forgiveness of Our Father for all of us."
SpiritualityAugust 12, 2019Projet Nouveau Gesù
"These four areas of focus, what the report calls ‘hubs’, correspond directly to the traditional strengths of the Society of Jesus as well as the history of the Gesù itself."
SpiritualityAugust 10, 2019Pilgrims’ Progress: Journal Entries from a 60th Anniversary Pilgrimage – #4
The fourth in a series of journal entries.
SpiritualityAugust 09, 2019Pilgrims’ Progress: Journal Entries from a 60th Anniversary Pilgrimage – #3
The third in a series of journal entries.
SpiritualityAugust 03, 2019Pilgrims’Progress: Journal Entries from a 60th Anniversary Pilgrimage – #2
The second in a series of journal entries.
SpiritualityAugust 02, 2019Pilgrims’Progress: Journal Entries from a 60th Anniversary Pilgrimage – #1
The first in a series of journal entries from a very special pilgrimage.
SpiritualityJuly 31, 2019Ignatius and the Magis – Ignatius Day 2019
"We have to make choices about how we use our limited time and energy. On this Feast of Saint Ignatius, let us pray for the grace to be discerning and selective in our choices, both the everyday choices, but also the major choices in life."
SpiritualityUncategorisedJuly 30, 2019Grandfather of Loyola
On the feast of Ignatius Loyola, the poet looks back at an ancestor.
SpiritualityJuly 29, 2019Discerning the Signs of the Time
""“God speaks to us all the time and in many ways, but it requires spiritual discernment to hear God’s voice, see what God sees, and read the signs in daily life.” (Henri Nouwen)"
SpiritualityJuly 28, 2019Persistence – Seventeenth Sunday in Ordinary Time 2019
"People in need and with great desires can be persistent. God can also be persistent. Some people use the phrase the hound of heaven to describe the way in which God continues to pursue us"
SpiritualityJuly 26, 2019Saint Anne and Saint Joachim
"Let’s pray in a special way today for all grandparents. We know how often they play a significant role in the formation of their grandchildren."
SpiritualityJuly 25, 2019The Raptors as Spiritual Guides
"Throughout the games, I found myself admiring not only their athletic talent but also the magnanimity of their spirits. The Holy Spirit manifests himself/herself in many ways to assorted people."
SpiritualityJuly 24, 2019The Burden of Baggage
"We should never forget that sin is a burden that need not be carried in our hearts."
SpiritualityJuly 22, 2019Ordaining a Bishop.
"I invite prayers and good wishes for him as expressed by the common ordination greeting: ad multos annos—may you have many happy years serving God’s people."
SpiritualityJuly 19, 2019Pilgrimage on St. Hilda’s Way – CJ Noviceship Experiment
"I knew that we would be fine not on our own strength but because God was with us… to lead us, to test us, and to teach us—and that most certainly is what occurred."
SpiritualityJuly 17, 2019Being For and Being With
"“Jesus was not a man for others. He was one with others. There is a world of difference in that. He didn’t seek the rights of lepers. He touched the leper even before he got around to curing him""
SpiritualityJuly 13, 2019A cry from a deep anxiety.
Our own cries find an echo of Christ's cry from the cross in this final poem of igNation's Poetry Week.
SpiritualityJuly 10, 2019A Child in Need
Inspired by a long ago dream, the poet dedicates these thoughts to a special organization.
SpiritualityJuly 08, 2019Let us also go . . . die with him.
For this first day of igNation's Poetry Week, the poet writes of "Value of the true friendship."
SpiritualityJuly 06, 2019The Fire at Notre Dame
"Our church is not dependent on any structure, physical or organizational. If the structure is an impediment then it just has to change."
SpiritualityJuly 04, 2019“O Beauty Ever Ancient, Ever New” (St. Augustine)
"In these prayers and memories I thanked God for this beauty that reminds us of God’s own goodness."
SpiritualityJuly 03, 2019Mystic versus Saint
"“Mystics encounter and embody the presence of God in profound and life-changing ways""
SpiritualityJune 29, 2019On The Quest to Being Ordinary
"It’s easy to stay inside. It is easy to get comfortable, and not seek what God is actually asking. "
SpiritualityJune 23, 2019Corpus Christi
"We bring our real lives to the Mass. And, we are blessed and dismissed (missioned) to live the Gospel with our lives."
SpiritualityJune 22, 2019Affliction
"Contemplation is the grace of being able to see that God is united to creation and that we are all one. Thus we are not seeking a union with God, but an awareness of at union with God and with one another.."