The past number of days have been the most picturesque of the entire Camino. The walk from the medieval city of Léon towards Galicia takes one through fields of wheat and barley, vineyards and orchards, all with a backdrop of snow capped mountains. Eventually, the route climbs up to about 1500 metres, to the famous Cruz de Ferro, where thousands of pilgrims have placed a stone which symbolizes their personal journey, a desire or a petition....
The introduction to the 2013 on-line film series - Redeeming the Time. The film series is a follow up to the award winning series - Finding God in the Dark - Taking the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius to the Movies. The series explores spiritual issues of concern to people today....
How many of us know of ordinary people who overcome their fear and reluctance and do courageous things? Think of the young man who has the courage to go against the pressure he is getting from peers to join in their vandalism. There's also the young woman who has the courage to go through with a pregnancy, even after her doctor tells her that there is a high risk of a genetic disorder in the fetus. Or, there's the older man who has the courage to make a painful decision about sending his frail wife to a nursing home. Think of the parents who have the courage to show tough love to their adolescent son who is addicted to dangerous drugs. They all conquer their fears. These people have fortitude, one of the seven traditional gifts of the Holy Spirit. As we celebrate Pentecost, let's focus on that gift....
You better believe it, brother Now we're cooking with gas Not that we had no fire before The self-starting Spirit clicked us into flames...
It was in the summer of 1963 that I pulled off my novitiate caper. We were in the midst of our summer holiday. The novice master, Fr. Len Fischer--who would later work with me in Northern Ontario--was away for his holiday too. I approached the prison chaplain, Fr. Charlie Carroll, and suggested that we could field a ball team and challenge the inmates to a game--on their turf of course. And so it happened that one evening a paddy wagon arrived at our door and whisked our makeshift team to prison. The stands surrounding the prison ball field were packed with their fellow-prisoners. We had two fans--Fr. Redden a former lawyer, and the prison chaplain....
It seems strange to think that there are just over ten days left, or about 250km, on this journey that was little more than a dream a few short months ago. These are my thoughts as I lie in my dorm bed musing on the fairly lackluster day - soft rain, a few conversations with walking companions, a relaxing afternoon of resting and rinsing clothes, a nice meal prepared with a few fellow pilgrims, and an early night....
At Bethany our big buy-in was his bright bow-out.We craned our necks skyward like condo projects, eager for heaven and high densities....
A favourite picture is one of myself as a child nestled in the arms of my 26-year old mother. My Madonna image. I am pre-occupied with my small peaked cap, while my Mom beams in the direction of the photographer. My Mom was a physical beauty - I'm sure that you've noticed the family resemblance. I'm now twice as old as my mother was in that photo. Where have the years gone?...
You are, he said to me in his well-modulated upper middle class London accent, "a near dibbly dobbly if ever". It was hard enough sorting out the mysteries of cricket without being called something or other that was even more perplexing. Clearly Philip Caramen, among the most prominent of English Jesuit historians of his generation, didn't quite know what to make of my thick-head inability to follow his explanations of cricket, a game he passionately loved....
The Ascension of the Lord commemorates the fortieth day after Easter Sunday. It celebrates the completion of God's work of human salvation (which started with Good Friday), Christ's entry into heaven, and the promise that we will share in eternal life with God. Benedict XVI speaks about this feast: "The meaning of Christ's Ascension expresses our belief that in Christ the humanity we all share has entered into the inner life of God in a new and unheard of way. It means that we have found an everlasting place in God."...
