23 Apr

As I write this reflection with just a few days to go before departing for the 34 day and 800 km walk across northern Spain better known as the Camino de Santiago de Compostella, I realize that I really don't have a strong sense of how it will go or what I will gain. Do I need to know? No, I say; like the 30 Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius, it is better to leave it open ended. That said, following Ignatius, I can express a desire. And so, for the Camino pilgrimage, my desire is to know more deeply God's abiding presence with me as I experience the landscape and history of this ancient pilgrimage route, the people I will encounter - fellow pilgrims and natives, the physical challenge...

21 Apr

Francis J. Devine, S.J., was rotund, very rotund in fact, a kind of chestertonian figure, and in many ways every bit as witty. He was nearly as tall as G. K. Chesterton, who was just shy of 2 metres, and Devine weighed every bit as much, in the neighbourhood of 130 kg....

19 Apr

In the early 1990's, I began going out from time to time to Stony Mountain Correctional Institution for Mass on Saturday evenings. Eleven kilometres north of Winnipeg, Stony is a medium-security federal penitentiary (opened in 1877) which houses more than 500 inmates....

17 Apr

Here I was in the basement of the New Brunswick Museum, surrounded by tall metal cabinets stuffed with all kinds of dried plants, mushrooms and lichens. Down the hallway, jars of lifeless creatures of all kinds adorned the walls from floor to ceiling. Another room was stuffed with massive bones. Wooden crates held their own secret. Mounted birds and mammals watched my every move. The stuffy odour of ages past thickened the air. Aged photos of venerable-looking, bearded men reminded me of the pioneers of New Brunswick natural history....

15 Apr

Q was an eccentric. He was known as "Q" by his fellow Jesuits because his name was Edward Quinton Moriarty. Students at Loyola High School in Montreal called him "Mort". Certainly in every way he was a character, a source of constant amusement to students with his odd accent, loping walk, and strange hand movements. He was easy to mimic....

12 Apr

One year and a half ago I began a new adventure. Not an adventure in far-away places or unknown fields, but right here at home and with very familiar topics. The adventure lies exploring with my new fellow students....

09 Apr

Matatus are privately owned minibuses that serve as the major form of public transportation in Nairobi. The name is a Swahili colloquialism based on the word tatu meaning "three". One explanation is that the name is derived from the original pick-up trucks that were fitted with three rows of wooden benches and a canvas roof. Another is that the original minibuses cost three pennies to ride. The conductor would call out "mapenny matutu" (translated as "three pennies" in Kiswahili) which was then shortened to matatu over time. Whatever the origins of the name, the drive is always an adventure. I have never felt closer to God then when I am experiencing life in a matatu....

04 Apr

It is two years since I experienced the first symptom of the disease. I received the diagnosis of cutaneous anaplastic T-cell lymphoma in late August, 2011. I have been receiving treatment in one form or another since. Presently, after other chemo treatments did not achieve the desired results, I am undergoing a more toxic chemotherapy with some positive effects. I will undergo a stem cell transplant in the near future....

25 Mar

This has been an exciting time to be in Kenya. Since my arrival in Nairobi over 2 months ago, there has been little else discussed other than the election run-up and recent results in the country's media or during work-time coffee breaks (or rather tea breaks as it were – Kenya was British Colony after all!!). Even the resignation of Pope Benedict and the election of Pope Francis caused only brief departures from the intense interest and media coverage....

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