I recall being struck years ago by these words about gratitude from the late Fr. Brian Massie, S.J. "You can't be grateful and be selfish or mean at the same time; there is no room in your heart. If you are truly grateful for the blessings you have received, then you are not jealous or envious, you're not petty, you're not small."...
When you arrive from Paris at the railway station in Compiégne in Picardy, across from the arrival platform and on the way to the main exit, you pass two old boxcars on a short piece of track, surrounded by a stone pathway on all fours sides. It's a memorial to those members of France's Jewish population whose deportation to the French concentration camp at Drancy - and for many, a final destination in a Nazi extermination camp – began here....
I confess that I have not really suffered in my life, not yet. I have not lived 24 hours in Dr. Donald Low's cancerous body and do not personally know the physical pain that accompanies a brain tumour. Must that lack of physical experience silence me and declare me ignorant about suffering? Doctor Low was a generous and valiant physician who gave himself fully to protecting the world from SARS, from much suffering and death. His record speaks to an unselfish dedication to life, and so he is a credible voice. But could he be missing a whole dimension of what life is and can be?...
All of us have a relationship with food. We need to in order to sustain ourselves, let alone to preserve a measure of longevity. Nothing is more basic than that. It is true that once a child is born his first stage of growing starts with water, liquid milk, later with mashed veggies and fruit, and gradually solid food. It is interesting though that this relationship, like any other, develops in different stages of life. Watching a teen ager hammering his burger or a young lady galloping her dessert while mid-age people prefers a more balanced diet and the elderly takes only what their body can take. But age is not the only factor; sick people versus the healthy active ones relate to food in different strides and reasons. However, let me add another factor – inculturation....
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 Eric Jensen, SJ, who works in the Spiritual Exercises ministry at Loyola House, Guelph....
The recent interview given by Pope Francis has garnered much headlines in both the secular and the Catholic press. The content of the interview is rich and diverse; it is also a lengthy read. Since this interview was originally conducted for Jesuit journals around the world, it is especially rich in Jesuit-related materials and it truly displays his Jesuit character. That being said, controversies often overshadow everything else and this is no different. What drew the attention of the media were his comments on issues such as abortion, contraception and especially homosexuality....
Late in spring of 2006, I had a conversation with a photographer based at Queen's University who wanted to talk to me about a possible book project. He, too, had walked the Camino, carrying a large-format camera with him. His photographs were remarkable, intense, haunting. No less striking was detail that he had walked this famous pilgrimage route with Oliver Schroer, one of Canada's foremost musicians. It happened that I had just heard a preview version of Oliver Schroer's forthcoming CD....
On Sunday nigh, September 22, 2013, after winning an Emmy Award, Tina Fey used her acceptance speech backstage to thank the Pope. She started the speech by thanking her husband and the children of her "30 Rock" staff. Then, she thanked Pope Francis for "being cool about some stuff"....
My first day at prison didn't go so well. According to Google maps, there were two entrances to Springhill Institution. The rear entrance was much closer to where I was living, so it seemed the natural one to use. All the more so given that I was on my bicycle, and to use the front entrance I would have had to go down a big hill and then climb right back up again. Approaching the Institution, I was undeterred by the locked gate across the road, which clearly barred motor vehicles, but which was easy to get around on my bike. There were no signs indicating that use of this entrance was prohibited, so I figured there was no problem....
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 iby Philip Chircop, SJ was originally published on the 7th of September on the author's website: www.philipchircop.com....
