Had my faith the same intensity and dedication as go into the marvels of this carnival, I would be a walking firebrand setting the world aflame with the love of God. Had my soul the same depth of desire to make manifest the beauty of creation, I would be moving mountains to glorify the Creator. The lesson is to live fully and thus praise the font of life....
Part 2 of this series about the new Catechism looks at the presentation of Jewish history in a digest form....
In an ongoing new series for igNation, using excerpts from letters written to his parents between 1961 and 1963, Father Frank Obrigewitsch, SJ shares his experience of being a Jesuit novice and scholastic....
Mothers bear extraordinary graces, especially when Garrett Gundlach, SJ forgets that the mother is pregnant. Reposted from The Jesuit Post....
I also share with my students that for me, music is a path away from the stress of the day, for if you're focused on getting the notes just right, you can't be thinking of anything else. Everyone needs to find something like that....
In 1992, Pope John Paul II authorized a new Catechism of the Catholic Church, a 700 page comprehensive explanation of the teachings of the Church. Since then , a smaller version for youth was published. This series will try to explain various teachings of the Catechism in a simple way that hopefully will be easily understood ....
Who would want to settle in what is now Manitoba? I happily grew up in Winnipeg, but my first views of mountains, when I was about fifteen years old, raised this question. Forty-four years of life in the Himalaya is my answer. I thoroughly enjoy periodic visits home, and even put up with the challenges of a Winnipeg winter in early 1977. I taught at St. Paul's High School then. This summer's reading helped answer my question....
In an ongoing new series for igNation, using excerpts from letters written to his parents between 1961 and 1963, Father Frank Obrigewitsch, SJ shares his experience of being a Jesuit novice and scholastic....
Two years ago, at our summer home in Nova Scotia, I came across an old oarlock in a box of random metal items. My late father had collected all sorts of things that might come in handy one day. I had a use for it: as part of a support for a large, battered old sign – the outline of a 25-pound lake trout carved into a broken section of a rowboat. This was my father’s fishing trophy from many years earlier. (His buddies thought the fish ought to be mounted by a taxidermist, but he preferred to eat it.) All I needed was a second oarlock. I looked around. Then I asked around, and was told “Go ask Amos Hagar.” Mr. Hagar had been a fisherman all his life. And his barn was renowned for the vast array of items that he had collected, yes, because they might come in handy one day. Sure enough, he had one spare oarlock and gave it to me. This past summer Amos Hagar died. Although he was in his late 80s, it was still a sad shock. He was one of those hospital-mistrusting people who had been vigorous all his life. Then an odd growth appeared on his arm and he was gone in a month. Mr. Hagar was highly regarded. Like the oarlock, he was not fancy, just dependable and as steady as can be. He responded thoughtfully to anyone who cared to engage with him; never verbose or flowery of speech, what he said was considerate, articulate and kindly, even when opinions differed. My wife and I attended his graveside memorial. The United Church minister, Rev. Beverley Burlock, said that she could not choose between two readings. She first read the story of Jesus telling Peter and his brothers to go fish again. After that, I expected something...
Various artists have depicted the scene of a tired Joseph patiently walking beside a pregnant Mary seated sideways on a donkey. It was an early Advent of waiting for the child to be born. To enter into that time and space, is to walk another "Camino," the destination being Bethlehem. ...
