25 May

The moment when the meaning of the Ebola outbreak in Guinea (Conakry) and here in Liberia hit home to me was when I received a mobile call from the Director of the Kofi Annan Institute for Conflict Transformation, where I have been teaching for the past 15 months, asking me whether, as a Canadian expatriate, I wanted to be evacuated out of Liberia and away from the danger from this dreadful, infectious and untreatable hemorrhagic fever. I did not have to think about his proposal for long. I said no; I would stay here and face the danger with everyone else....

22 May

The Buddhists of Tibet use prayer wheels which consist of a wheel, a cylinder, or vertical drum containing written prayers. Each revolution of the wheel represents one repetition of a prayer. The mechanical action seems to replace the need for mental attention being given to the prayer. Christian prayer is not to be one of rote or mechanical. The minimum requirement for a Christian is attention to the words because the purpose of praying is for a deeper relationship with God. There can be a growth in this relationship if we pursue it diligently. God is leading us and teaching us and uniting Himself with us....

21 May

If the only Jesuit you ever met was a character in a work of fiction in a library collection, what would this individual tell you about Jesuit life?In this series, IgNation blogger Kevin Burns, who is not a Jesuit, takes a look at some of the works that come up in a large urban public library when he entered the search term "Jesuit" and filtered it through the genre of "Fiction". The novels that popped up include some familiar names and some not so familiar Jesuits.This week: Père Christophe, the creation of Canadian novelist Joseph Boyden, is one of the main characters in his highly acclaimed novel "The Orenda."...

20 May

The first time I ever got up to sing in public my heart was in my throat. I had left the quiet beauty of my home in Rothesay, New Brunswick for the uncertain excitement of full-time musical studies. Destined soon after, I was sure, for a life on the stage. The comfort and protection of family, friends, life by the river in Rothesay--I was eager to trade them all in for a career in the cosmopolitan halls of Montreal and beyond. The exacting judgements of directors and critics, the rigors of auditions, performances, and reviews: I thought I was ready for them. Bid good-bye to training in anonymity, I told myself. It was time to become a professional. Maybe even star....

19 May

For this week's Poetry Tuesday on igNation, here is a poem by Grace Colella who teaches with the Toronto Catholic District School Board and is a part-time student in the MAMS program at Regis College....

18 May

Boni and I were returning from Montreal to Ottawa one March evening. It had snowed the previous day and, as we drove past snow-laden fields, the sinking sun set the sky on fire with a beautiful auburn hue that filled me with such peace. Though I did not want to think about it at the time, I could not help wondering what made the scene so beautiful....

15 May

What is wisdom? And are there different kinds of wisdom? When the Queen of Sheba visits King Solomon (1Kings 10:1-10), she is entertained by his answers to all her questions: this is proverbial wisdom, for which Solomon was justly famous. The Book of Proverbs gives us a taste of this kind of wisdom, which teaches shrewdness to the simple, knowledge and prudence to the young, and understanding of the words of the wise and their riddles. The fear of the Lord, however, is the beginning of wisdom (Proverbs, 1:1- 7)....

14 May

Mature adults don't just decide things, they discern. That is, if one desires to learn and grow from life's challenges it is imperative to spend time reflecting on experiences, discerning what is helpful, what is less helpful, and then deciding what action to take. This is nothing new in the Western tradition of decision making which can be traced back to the philosophical adage of Socrates (4th c. BC): "The unexamined life is not worth living."...

13 May

Recently Winnipeg's Archbishop Richard Gagnon was installed as chancellor of St. Paul's College, the Catholic college in the University of Manitoba. Preaching at the mass prior to his installation, Archbishop Gagnon made an observation which has stuck in my head and my heart. The gospel of the day was the story of the raising of Lazarus. In what was almost a throwaway comment, he observed that, while we might say that Lazarus was returned to the land of the living, it is truer to say that he was returned to the land of the dying....

12 May

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 Philip Chircop, SJ....

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