The Church to which we belong has always lived in a surrounding culture, with which it has no choice but to interact. The Church is essentially the same down through the centuries and in all parts of the world, but often its practices and observances take on different hues and feelings because the culture of the people is different. This applies to Advent and Christmas....
From time to time, over the next few months, as part of the "Our Culture" section, igNation will post poetry written by Jesuits. Poems from Gerard Manley Hopkins and St. Robert Southwell will appear as well as poems by contemporary Jesuits. Today's poem is by Jason Vaz, SJ, a Jesuit scholastic studying in Ottawa....
Women and men around the world find solace in Mary, the Mother of God. Our prayer to her cuts across cultures, lifestyle and age. I know many people who would say they do not practice faith, yet so often when someone close to them gets sick or dies, they grab a rosary and start a simple prayer. There is comfort in the simplicity and rhythmic pattern of the beads. Perhaps it gives them peace at a time when worry comes so naturally. We place great hope in Mary's intercession in our lives or in the lives of those close to us....
The new Catechism of the Catholic Church is now the main guide to our beliefs and practices. There are four parts: the creed (37%; the sacraments (23%); the commandments (27%); and prayer (11%). In the section on prayer, the central emphasis is on the Our Father...
During Advent we are often invited to prepare for the three comings of Christ. Two of the comings are very easily detected in the liturgical texts of this season. Many texts invite us to reenact the long journey of the chosen people as they waited for the coming of the one who would save them. How often we have savoured the beautiful prophecies the Church proposes for us, especially those from Isaiah. They point to the Saviour's coming in majesty and to God's decisive intervention to set things right....
Some years ago, I was presiding at the Wednesday evening Eucharist at Ignatius Farm Community in Guelph, Ontario. It doesn't exist anymore, but the Farm Community was very much in the spirit of L'Arche, the international network of communities for the handicapped. The Farm Community had its roots in a desire to provide a safe environment for men who had come out of prison. It evolved over the years and comprised of two houses for a diversity of women and men who needed a welcoming community....
Tomorrow - December 12 - is the Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe. Greg Kennedy, SJ offers this poem in honor of the feast of Our Lady....
From time to time, as part of the "Our Culture" section, igNation will post poetry written by Jesuits and our collaborators. Poems by Gerard Manley Hopkins and St. Robert Southwell will be posted along with poems from contemporary writers. Today's poem is by Greg Kennedy, SJ, a Jesuit scholastic studying Theology at Regis College, Toronto....
From time to time, as part of the "Our Culture" section, igNation will post poetry written by Jesuits and our collaborators. Poems by Gerard Manley Hopkins and St. Robert Southwell will be posted along with poems from contemporary writers. Today's poem is by Greg Kennedy, SJ, a Jesuit scholastic studying Theology at Regis College, Toronto....
