25 Jul

My favorite persecution story takes me to St. Paul's first missionary journey (Acts 14, 19-20). He and Barnabas are in Lystra, now in Turkey, where they have met with initial success, but others object and stir the crowd into such frenzy that the people stone Paul. They think Paul is dead so drag him out of the city, probably out of fear of the Roman Soldiers. The Roman authorities wanted no trouble, and usually settled problems by crucifying trouble makers. Paul regains consciousness and then goes right back to the city to continue his preaching!...

23 Jul

Maria Kelsey from St. John's asks "Who is Mary? "Mark almost seems to see her as an outsider in 3: 31-35. Matthew places her in the Messiah's genealogy, but in the nativity story, the main focus in on Joseph. Luke, on the other hand, portrays Mary as a woman of faith, beginning with the story of the Annunciation and ending with her being with the other disciples at Pentecost. John never actually names her, but John presents her as a faithful disciple, being present at the beginning of Jesus' ministry at Cana and at the end of his ministry at Calvary." But the question remains - who is Mary?...

16 Jul

A youngster can test the frosting on the corner of a deliciously looking cake with his little finger if he thinks no one is watching. A mouse can nibble at a bit of cheese.. So, too some people today want to pick and choose among the truths of the Faith that can be believed only with the help God's grace received at Baptism. These truths are enunciated, for example, in the Apostles' Creed and similar statements issued by the Church....

03 Jul

In Ignatian spirituality, there is an expression about finding God in all things." I would say that this phrase can be taken at least a couple of different ways. It might refer to finding God in one's interior life, through all of one's experiences. All experiences are, or can become, spiritual experiences, as we search for how God is calling us through them. As well, there's another way of interpreting this phrase: that God is actually right in all things."...

02 Jul

Finding God's will' or 'responding to God's call' is central to the Christian journey. It is also central to many of the Bible stories that we know so well. Still, one aspect of 'call' that we don't often speak about is how does God get one's attention in the first place?" That is, God doesn't so much call directly as if to say 'Erik, I want you to become a Jesuit priest' but rather, God takes his time and allows one to wake up to the plans that he has for each of us. "...

21 Jun

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....

18 Jun

On Easter Sunday, 2013, Pope Francis said his first Easter Mass since his election as Pope. Kevin O'Shea recalls his trip to Rome to attend this Mass and shares the thoughts that the Mass brought to mind....

16 Jun

As I was thinking about Pope Francis's upcoming encyclical, I played Bible roulette, letting God lead me to the passage I should pray with. This is the one that my Bible opened to, one I never remember reading before. And it shocked me. fasting and in sackcloth, and with earth on their heads"!!!...

09 Jun

Sacraments are like weather vanes; in the sacraments we make invisible things visible. I held the mic. That's about it. I had been asked to serve as an acolyte for the diaconate ordination of eight Jesuits here in Madrid. During an ordination liturgy the presiding bishop moves around more than usual -- sit, stand, kneel, from one chair to another and back again. It's like a byzantine improv game and mic-stands don't walk. So, that was my job. I was a big bearded mobile mic-stand all dressed in white. I held the mic so that everyone else could hear what the bishop was saying and pray along in a language I still struggle to understand.This article originally appeared in The Jesuit Post (thejesuitpost.org) on March 31, 2015....

05 Jun

The role of deacon is one of service. The deacon is to serve at the altar, and be minister of the word, and serve in the world through acts of charity. We heard about this role of the deacon, from Archbishop Terry Prendergast, SJ, at the ordinations at Our Lady of Lourdes Parish in Toronto. Along with the ordination of one new priest, Greg Kennedy, I and three others had the honour of being ordained deacon that day....

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