Reconciliation
Reconciliation. It is an essential ingredient to being a child of God/brother of Jesus– forgiving and accepting forgiveness. To love allows us to be vulnerable to hurt but also open to healing....
08
Jun
Frank Obrigewitsch, SJ, is pastor of St. Ignatius parish in Winnipeg.
157 posts
06
Jun
The Journey Continues: THE JUNIORATE Letters home, 1963 – 65 – Part 5
The Junior's vocation to be a Jesuit is clearly not just his own personal call, but it seems to belong also to all his family , aunts, uncles, cousins, and grandparents who support him with letters and cards....
04
Jun
Canada 150 & Me – “This Land is My Land.”
Canada 150 & Me is igNation's celebration of Canada's 150th birthday. Read what our contributors have to say about being Canadian and what it means to them. In today's post a family's journey from Russia to Saskatchewan....
30
May
The Journey Continues: THE JUNIORATE Letters home, 1963 – 65 – Part 4
These three letters have as their background the centre of the Junior's life: classes, term papers and particularly exams. Yet there is also attention to family matters, i.e., waiting for a baby to be born, the new house being built on the farm, promised family pictures, and birthdays!...
23
May
The Journey Continues: THE JUNIORATE Letters home, 1963 – 65 – Part 3
The Junior is much more immersed in the 'world' in his current life. In the Novitiate there was little or no contact with current events. Two sad events are recorded in these letters....
16
May
The Journey Continues: THE JUNIORATE Letters home, 1963 – 65 – Part 2
The next four letters are rather brief. The Junior only references the family’s visit in the very brief letter of Oct 17 but then quite a number of times in the Oct 27 letter. The November 11th letter shows him clearly entirely immersed in many activities: studies, drama, projects. IGNATIUS COLLEGE Guelph, Ontario Oct 17/63 Dear Lil + Bill, In the excitement of the visit I forgot to wish you both a happy birthday. But I did not forget to offer up prayers for you. By now you should have reached home and I hope you enjoyed the visit as much as I did. Lil, you apologized for weeping. “Old Faithful” gave way on Sunday after you left. The Best to everyone, especially Bill’s mother. Love, Frank ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ IGNATIUS COLLEGE Guelph, Ontario Oct. 27, 1963 Dear Mum, Dad and all; Well, it is about time that I took time. Since your visit, work has been catching up with me. This week I had a mid-term Zoology exam [at the Ontario Agricultural College] and so that put me way behind for the week. Besides that I am trying to finish my sermon that is supposed to be given on the seventeenth of November. As of yet I am not satisfied with anything [I’ve] written. Please pray that an inspiration will hit me soon. Besides that there has been a few heavier assignments in the other classes and I believe tomorrow we will be cast for our yearly drama evening which we are to give to the community at the end of the month. So you see why I had to make time to write. Thank you very much for those post cards [of the places you visit on your return trip] andfor your letter. I just received it yesterday. Remember all those letters I had planned to write. Well the only one finished and mailed was to Jerry. It was good that you had a chance to visit the shrine...
09
May
The Journey Continues: THE JUNIORATE Letters home, 1963 – 65 – Part 1
“The Journey: Letters Home, 1961 - 1963" consisted of edited letters to my parents and family about my experience of the Jesuit NOVITIATE, a two year ‘kind of’ boot camp, for young men aspiring to be Jesuits. (The19 Part IgNatian series ran Thursday’s from October 6, 2016 to February 9, 2017.) The letters began with my departure from the train station in Regina, Saskatchewan, and ended with my pronouncing of my perpetual vows of poverty, chastity, andobedience, in the Society of Jesus (Jesuits). In Part 19, the letters reflected the joy of ‘vow day’,the anticipation of the second visit of my parents, and the enthusiasm of beginning the next phaseof my formation as a Jesuit; the JUNIORATE was a time for academic formation focussingparticularly on the Humanities (Literature, history, languages, etc.) and for integrating ‘studies’ into the young Jesuit’s spiritual life. It began the process for the young Jesuit to acquire a second essential credential for Jesuit ministry, obtaining a liberal arts education and an academic degree. In the first two years of formation, the aspiring Jesuit was termed a ‘novice’; now he is referred to as a “junior”. “THE JUNIORATE Letters home, 1963 - 65" is a 16 Part series beginning where Part 19 of the first series left off! There are many bits to the September 18th staccato letter but the most exciting seems to be about the twenty year old ‘Junior’ being given time simply to‘read’, and, of course, about the plans and hopes for the family visit. The letters in this series are full of references to his siblings (Bernice, Marlene, Myrna, Vivian, Lillian, Rosemary, Mathew) and their spouses (Herman, Ed, Charlie, Alex, Bill) who provide continued support and encouragement by sending letters and photos. Editing note: (A raft of periods indicate where text has been excised; Square brackets [ ]indicate additions to the text.) IGNATIUS COLLEGE Guelph, Ontario September 18, 1963 Dear...
05
Mar
08
Feb
The Journey: Letters Home, 1961 – 1963 Part 19
Today's post is the final one in a series written for igNation .Using excerpts from letters written to his parents between 1961 and 1963, Father Frank Obrigewitsch, SJ shares his experience of being a Jesuit novice and scholastic....
02
Feb
The Journey: Letters Home, 1961 – 1963 Part 18
In an ongoing new series for igNation, using excerpts from letters written to his parents between 1961 and 1963, Father Frank Obrigewitsch, SJ shares his experience of being a Jesuit novice and scholastic. Next week will be the final post in this series...