I recall being struck years ago by these words about gratitude from the late Fr. Brian Massie, S.J. "You can't be grateful and be selfish or mean at the same time; there is no room in your heart. If you are truly grateful for the blessings you have received, then you are not jealous or envious, you're not petty, you're not small."...
It is impossible to look at the history of Canada without considering the life of the Jesuit Martyrs of North America. Today, in Canada, we celebrate their feast (it is celebrated in the United States on October 19). These eight men from France travelled to New France in the seventeenth century and worked mostly with the Huron people (the Ouendat). The most well known are the priests Jean de Brébeuf and Isaac Jogues. The other six who were canonized with them in 1930 are Fathers Gabriel Lalemant, Anthony Daniel, Charles Garnier, Noël Chabanel, and two lay volunteers – René Goupil and Jean de la Lande. All eight are celebrated at Martyrs Shrine in Midland, Ontario....
Today is the 12th anniversary of what we call 9/11. On That day, W. B. Yeat's poem - The Second Coming seemed appropriate. I post it here....
I like beginnings. Maybe it's my inability to follow through on things! I hope not. I remember with delight some of the first days of elementary school. The fall goldenrods and thistles of home always elicited the time to think ahead to the school year. Change was imminent and I had better get ready. Even the air, with the warmth of summer on the wane, spoke of a new season about to set in....
I suspect that most of us associate Labour Day with endings and beginnings. We see this as the unofficial end of summer, the last long weekend before there is a lasting chill in the air. Summer is winding down, so this weekend provides us with the chance for that last barefoot beach walk. It's also about beginnings. So many calendars and program schedules start after Labour Day. This is even true of most television shows and symphony orchestra seasons. This cycle is deeply imbedded in us from our childhood days of heading back to school....
Today is the Feast of Saint Ignatius of Loyola, the founder of the Jesuits. He died on this day in 1556. Ignatius left many gifts to the Church. Today is a day to give thanks for those gifts and for the many ways in which they are evident throughout the world. It is a day to celebrate the continuing influence of his spiritual wisdom in the lives of individuals and communities....
Ignatius boy-soldier hoodlum courtier day-old dreamer smashed up good in war convalescent convert cannonball Christian...
In 1492 Columbus sailed the ocean blue. A rhyme most of us old folks heard often as children. But I have a new one for this occasion: "In 1491 Ignatius became a native son." A son of Spain that this, a Basque though he be. (That mysterious people whose roots are said to be non Indo-European) That same year the Spanish completed the reconquista (the reconquest ) of their home and native land after centuries of off and on warfare with the Muslim rulers. The battle hardened Spanish would then go on to build an Empire of their own in Americas and beyond destroying the Aztec and Incan Empires along the way....
July 1st fireworks glitter in the ground gold, cobalt, diamonds, copper and because native entitlement only goes skin deep wherever our hard firms stretch out their fists from Toronto and Vancouver to scratch a dirty surface they find even more virginal Canada far away and waiting for the taking....
No, this article has nothing to do with Simon and Garfunkel. But I can't help recalling that memorable line from Alanis Morissette's rather edgy 1995 song "What I Really Want." The singer asks tauntingly: "Why are you so petrified of silence. Here can you handle this?" – and follows with a strange few seconds of complete ...
