I must be getting old. I recall as a child hearing Vera Lynn on the radio every November 11th, singing popular wartime songs such as We'll Meet Again. My favourite was always The White Cliffs of Dover. "There'll be bluebirds over the white cliffs of Dover, Tomorrow, just you wait and see." She sings of the people "braving those angry skies" and how tomorrow "there'll be love and laughter and peace ever after. Tomorrow when the world is free."...
For over a year now Canadians have witnessed the sad spectacle of people appointed to the "Upper House" tumble into a quagmire of alleged criminal activity in the form of mismanaged expense claims and other unfortunate behaviours. A handful of entitlement-preoccupied prime-ministerial appointments have smeared the reputation of a Canadian institution: the Senate. What's distressing about their shame-filled example is that in the midst of these headline-creating scandals, some of the remarkable work of their fellow Senators, past and present, is easily overshadowed....
Life at St. Paul's can be hectic for students and teachers alike, and the roster of what is offered at the school is full of all kinds of extra-curriculars: from drama to sports, chess to debating. Time spent in these pursuits is looked back on fondly by many alumni. But there is one 'extra,' one 'club' that well over a thousand alumni can look back on with not only warm fondness and memories of laughs and time spent with friends, but reverence and awe for a time spent away, a special time spent with God....
Did you know that the co-operative movement is at work in more than 100 countries, and that it has more than 800 million members? Would you be surprised to hear that four out of every ten Canadians belong to at least one co-op? (In Quebec, co-op membership includes 70% of the population.)...
In this month of November during which we remember our departed brothers and sisters, on this day after the Feast day of All Souls, a poem for this day by Greg Kennedy, SJ...
Saturday was the Commemoration of all the Faithful Departed. Commonly referred to as All Souls' Day, it is an invitation for us to prayerfully remember those who have passed away. One of the possible prayers for the start of today's Mass is: "O God, who willed that your Only Begotten Son, having conquered death, should pass over into the realm of heaven, grant, we pray, to your departed servants, that with the mortality of this life overcome, they may gaze eternally on you, their Creator and Redeemer." We pray that the faithful departed may enter the full beatific vision of union with God, thus seeing God face to face....
On this eve of All Saints, the first day of a month dedicated to remembering those who have gone before us who rest in the sleep of peace, a poem by Greg Kennedy, Sj in honor of all the saints....
Born in Spain in 1533, Alphonsus inherited the family textile business at 23. Within the space of three years, his wife, daughter and mother died. Alphonsus stepped back and reassessed his life. He sold the business and, with his young son, moved into his sisters' home. Years later, at the death of his son, Alphonsus, almost 40 by then, sought to join the Jesuits. He applied twice before being admitted. For 45 years he served as doorkeeper at the Jesuits' college in Majorca. When not at his post, he was almost always at prayer, though he often encountered difficulties and temptations. His holiness and prayerfulness attracted many to him, Alphonsus died in 1617. He is the patron saint of Majorca...
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 post is from Greg Kennedy, SJ...
As I get older, I realize that I know less and less about God. God - a simple three letter word. I can pronounce the word "God" with the same energy and breath as I pronounce the words "cat", "dog" or "mouse." But, that's the heart of the problem. Given our ability to speak of "God" in the same way we speak of any other "thing", we fall into the trap of thinking of God as simply another "thing" or "person." God become a category just like any other category,...
