Philip Shano, SJ has many years of rich and varied experience working with Ignatian spirituality: teaching, writing and using it in his ministry. He resides in the Jesuit community in Pickering, Ontario.
581 posts
It was 35 years ago this spring, in April 1980, that Terry Fox set off on his famous Marathon of Hope across the country. Most of us know that he had one leg amputated due to cancer (osteosarcoma) and was running with an early version of a prosthetic leg, one that was unable to be modified for running. Medical science has come a long way!...
On June 18, 2015, Pope Francis released his long awaited encyclical on the environment - Laudato Si - Praise Be To You, My Lord! In today's post, Philip Shano, SJ asks and offers answers to some of the questions that have been raised about the encyclical....
One of the default themes in the repertoire of Pope Francis is an emphasis on God's mercy towards us. The compassion and mercy of God are expressed in many ways. A traditional way in the month of June is devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus.The images that graced the walls of our parents' and grandparents' walls don't always work for younger people. As a matter of fact, they turn off many people. That's why it's great that the Gospel and the Church have such a variety of images of the love and mercy of God....
I used to live in community with a very holy Jesuit Brother. He taught me a great deal about not taking for granted the gift of my daily access to the Eucharist, especially in a world where so many devout Catholics, especially in remote areas, do not have access to a regular celebration of the Eucharist.Br. John Masterson used to regularly share at community meetings that he felt so privileged. All he had to do was walk out of his room and take about twenty paces in order to reach the house chapel, where there was a tabernacle with the Blessed Sacrament and Mass was celebrated at 7:30 a.m. each day. I think of him as we acknowledge the Feast of Corpus Christi....
Immigrants and refugees have always been a part of the experience of humanity. Perhaps it ties in to that internal tension we feel between staying put and wandering. Many of us like to wander. However, even more of us are forced to wander the earth, looking for a place to call home. Thus, it is fitting that the June prayer intention entrusted to the worldwide Apostleship of Prayer by Pope Francis is for a subject very dear to his heart: "that immigrants and refugees may find welcome and respect in the countries to which they come."...
The Church celebrates Trinity Sunday in a few days. Jesus reminds us in the Gospel for Trinity Sunday: I am with you always, to the end of the age." The Trinity is an invitation for us to ask how the Lord is with us. There is an infinite variety of ways of experiencing God with us. We relate to God in ways that make sense to each one of us. God is a mystery to us. We can never claim to fully know God."...
The Church is celebrating Pentecost again. This blog has explored two gifts of the Holy Spirit on our celebrations of the past two years: courage and knowledge. This time, we look at wisdom. Wisdom is traditionally seen as the first of the seven gifts of the Holy Spirit. In scripture, wisdom is seen as an attribute of God, a breath of the power of God ...
Ordinations are beautiful events. I usually leave the church with the feeling that I've just participated in a hope-filled celebration and a wonderful statement about church: the joyful family and friends, the words of the ordination ceremony, the carefully-chosen scripture readings, the music and singing, seeing friends I haven't seen in a while, and so on. I'm sure that there are people attending who are disturbed at yet another statement about a male, hierarchical structure. But that seems to fade away for a day....
Sunday's Feast of the Ascension also marks the 49th annual World Communications Day. This is in fitting with the call in the Gospel to go out as witnesses to the ends of the earth." Mark's Gospel has Jesus say to his followers: "Go into all the world and proclaim the good news to the whole creation.""...
The Universal prayer intention from the Holy Father for the month of May deals with the need to care for the suffering: That, rejecting the culture of indifference, we may care for our neighbors who suffer, especially the sick and the poor." I cannot imagine that there is a person on the face of the earth who doesn't know something about this intention."...
