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
Ten years ago a brain tumour left me hearing impaired. After a few years, my hearing loss was deemed severe enough that I qualified for a cochlear implant. Those few years of being more deaf than hearing taught me a great deal about listening and how difficult it is to truly listen to another person, even for those whose physical hearing is perfect....
To come to know the saints of our Church is to discover their strengths, but also their human frailties and limitations. Faith provides these holy men and women with the courage and perseverance to go forward, regardless of their pain and suffering. St. Noël Chabanel is no exception. Despite success in his native France, the man who would become a seventeenth century Jesuit martyr met anything but success in New France. Chabanel struggled with the Native language, felt useless, and experienced great disappointments in the mission activity of New France. It would have been natural to give up and return to France. Chabanel saw this as a temptation and stated, "I must serve God faithfully until death."...
When Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio appeared on the Vatican balcony and was announced as Pope Francis on March 13, most of us had no idea who he was or what kind of pope he would be. Within a few minutes we learned about a few firsts: the first pope from the Americas, the first Jesuit pope, and the first non-European pope in nearly 1300 years. As the first days unfolded, we saw images of him on public transport back in Buenos Aires and other images and words that revealed who the humble man was that the cardinal-electors had chosen to replace Benedict XVI. These first months have shown the stamp he is likely to leave on the papacy and the Church. He continues to surprise us by his simplicity, honesty, transparency, spontaneity, humility and humanity....
It is impossible to look at the history of Canada without considering the life of Saint Jean de Brébeuf, the seventeenth century missionary and pioneer. Brébeuf was born in Normandy, France on 25 March 1593 and entered the Jesuits at the age of 24. In 1625, a few years after being ordained to the priesthood, he sailed for Quebec. It is ironic that his formation was shortened due to poor health, since "the giant of the Huron missions" would be recognized as the most robust of the blackrobes in the region of Huronia....
In a recent conversation, a friend spoke of her latest travels for some work in the Global South. Over the years, Jenny's work with Jesuit Refugee Service and Canadian Jesuits International has taken her to many countries in the world, including the most destitute and war-torn. She mentioned that regardless of how much she has seen around the world, she always returns to Canada and ponders just how fortunate we are in this country. She never ceases to be struck at the incredible gaps in the world. The others of us in the conversation have also experienced global poverty and inequality....
This spring and summer gives me a chance to celebrate four anniversaries. I entered the Jesuits 35 years ago, in late August 1978. Ten years later, I was ordained to the priesthood. That's 25 years on May 28. My final vows were professed 20 years ago, on May 31, 1993. And, in late August, I celebrate the 10th anniversary of successful surgery for a brain tumour....
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....
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."...
Ten years ago, a brain tumour left me severely deaf. Over the years the deafness deteriorated to the point that I was a candidate for a cochlear implant. For an adult whose hearing was perfect until the age of 45, there was no hesitation in my mind about returning to the world of the hearing. I went through with the surgery...
What a winter! I have forgotten how often in the past few months I muttered the line from Shakespeare's Richard III: "Now is the winter of our discontent." I have enough self-knowledge to realize that my discontent would have lessened if I just stopped complaining and learned to appreciate the unique beauty of winter. But no! The path from self-knowledge to action is lengthy....
