26 Feb

What's it like being a religious in the 21st century? Not many people ever ask me that question so directly, but you can sort of tell that they want to. Many people really don't get it....

19 Feb

It's been six months since I arrived in Winnipeg and assumed the position of President at St. Paul's High School. To say the least it's been an eventful six months, full of 'firsts' and lots of learning. That will only accelerate in the second term....

04 Feb

Every Monday I enjoy a picnic along the banks of the Nile in a secluded spot that I found away from the bustle of the city. Cairo is not an easy place to find such a place, so I'm rather pleased with myself. I sit on an old wall and look at the cattails and bulrushes, and imagine where the basket of Baby Moses once nestled. As you can probably see, I'm not a Biblical scholar! Rather, I study Arabic and the Quran. These Monday picnics are my break between the challenges of a morning of Quranic grammar and an afternoon of Islamic theology....

28 Jan

Democratic sensibility has a long history in Ukraine, at least since the period of the Cossacks – four to five centuries ago. The desire of having a single strong leader is not a part of Ukrainian political or social sensibility, as it is in Russia. Ukrainians are more community oriented, have strong sense of compassion, and reject regionalism. Even most Russian nationals who were brought to the territory by Catherine the Great or Stalin have adapted to the local sensibility. There are exceptions, but as a general feature this sensibility has endured....

23 Jan

Shortly before Marc Gervais, SJ died in 2012, his former student and later teaching assistant, Adam Leith Gollner met with him at Pickering. Gollner was doing the research for his latest book The Book of Immortality – The Science, Belief, and Magic Behind Living Forever. Having been deeply influence by Gervais he wanted to see what his former teacher and mentor might have to say on the idea of a life force. The sequences with his Pickering encounters with Marc Gervais are some of the most moving sections of Leith Gollner's wide-reaching book. Here, courtesy of Doubleday Canada, are four brief excerpts....

22 Jan

One of the blessings of belonging to a religious order is that when you move, most of the time you are moving into an established community. There is no need to hunt for an apartment, and you find yourself among brothers who know how things work in your new home. In my case, it has also meant that I have gotten a great introduction to British Columbia. I have already had the opportunity to make a few excursions on my days off to see Vancouver and its environs....

19 Jan

But Sinai was calling, and I couldn't say no. This was the mountain of God, the mountain of the 10 Commandments, and Charlton Heston and more. As I oscillated between Yes, I will climb the mountain, and No, I can't do that, came the final call, "Are you coming, or not?"...

12 Jan

Most Jesuit provinces have an infirmary for Jesuit priests and brothers who require nursing care and cannot easily live in our more active communities. The Jesuits in English Canada have our infirmary in Pickering, just east of Toronto. René Goupil House is on the grounds of Manresa, a retreat centre, and the La Storta Jesuit Community. Before my present assignment as Superior of the Pickering Jesuits and Director of René Goupil House, I spent five years as novice director at the Jesuit Novitiate in St. Paul, Minnesota. In St. Paul, I was among the oldest members of the community. The novices were mostly young men in their 20s. Here in Pickering, at 57, I am easily the youngest member of the community....

08 Jan

Dragons' Den is a CBC TV show that extols entrepreneurship and capitalism. Five eminently successful entrepreneurs (the "dragons") hear pitches from budding entrepreneurs who are looking for financial support to develop their business plan, and in most cases they fail to make their case and leave empty-handed. The show of November 13 offered junior entrepreneurs a chance to make their pitch, and the last segment featured a group of youngsters from our neighbourhood in Halifax. They wanted a loan of $10,000 to further develop their business of growing vegetables and herbs to make salad dressings, the profits going to scholarships for disadvantaged youngsters in the area....

01 Jan

For many years I nurtured two travel destination wishes: Tibet, and Upper Mustang in Nepal. Our golden jubilee as Jesuits in 2010 was an excuse for Roger Yaworski, Winston Rye, and I to visit Mike Parent in Tibet. This year, 2013, was the sixtieth birthday of our mobile clinic benefactor, Christopher Fussner and I gladly accepted his invitation to visit Mustang....

Show more
Loading...

Subscribe to igNation

Subscribe to receive our latest articles delivered right to your inbox!