22 May

The Buddhists of Tibet use prayer wheels which consist of a wheel, a cylinder, or vertical drum containing written prayers. Each revolution of the wheel represents one repetition of a prayer. The mechanical action seems to replace the need for mental attention being given to the prayer. Christian prayer is not to be one of rote or mechanical. The minimum requirement for a Christian is attention to the words because the purpose of praying is for a deeper relationship with God. There can be a growth in this relationship if we pursue it diligently. God is leading us and teaching us and uniting Himself with us....

20 May

The first time I ever got up to sing in public my heart was in my throat. I had left the quiet beauty of my home in Rothesay, New Brunswick for the uncertain excitement of full-time musical studies. Destined soon after, I was sure, for a life on the stage. The comfort and protection of family, friends, life by the river in Rothesay--I was eager to trade them all in for a career in the cosmopolitan halls of Montreal and beyond. The exacting judgements of directors and critics, the rigors of auditions, performances, and reviews: I thought I was ready for them. Bid good-bye to training in anonymity, I told myself. It was time to become a professional. Maybe even star....

15 May

What is wisdom? And are there different kinds of wisdom? When the Queen of Sheba visits King Solomon (1Kings 10:1-10), she is entertained by his answers to all her questions: this is proverbial wisdom, for which Solomon was justly famous. The Book of Proverbs gives us a taste of this kind of wisdom, which teaches shrewdness to the simple, knowledge and prudence to the young, and understanding of the words of the wise and their riddles. The fear of the Lord, however, is the beginning of wisdom (Proverbs, 1:1- 7)....

14 May

Mature adults don't just decide things, they discern. That is, if one desires to learn and grow from life's challenges it is imperative to spend time reflecting on experiences, discerning what is helpful, what is less helpful, and then deciding what action to take. This is nothing new in the Western tradition of decision making which can be traced back to the philosophical adage of Socrates (4th c. BC): "The unexamined life is not worth living."...

07 May

Let's add, "Mary, Star of Evangelization" to our Litany of Our Lady! I love the image of a star leading people to Jesus, just as the star led the Magi to him. These men were lucky to live under clear desert skies, not spoiled with light pollution. They had time to study those starts, name many, and create stories around the patterns the stars make in constellations. The Magi rose to the invitation the stars offered them, and found Jesus....

29 Apr

Last October a good friend pronounced his final vows; a huge step for a Jesuit! We pronounce perpetual vows after the two year noviciate program, but only after long training and successful ministry does the Society of Jesus make its final commitment to its members. That took him twenty years! At his reflections during the vow ceremony Mass, he confessed that he first came north ". . . to see Nepal!" After ten years of schooling at home, he had spent two years in a minor seminary in south India before travelling north to enjoy his visit. After a year in our "pre-noviciate" program, his motives had changed. He accepted our invitation to join the noviciate at Kalimpong, pronounced those first perpetual vows two years later, continued studies and service, was ordained, and finally reached that happy October day....

24 Apr

Someone writing about mental composure for the beginning of prayer compared it to one of those novelties in a souvenir store. A container of water has a scene inside. When the container is shaken, particles like snow fly all around. When the particles settle, the original scene is restored. If we enter into prayer with a flurry of ideas about everything, we can hardly expect to be able to concentrate on the topic chosen for prayer. There has to be a settling down of one's imagination. How to do it requires a strategy....

31 Mar

I don't like being sick. My friends and community members also do not like my little sicknesses, for I can be rather irritable on such occasions. I few times, when I have been more seriously ill, I have been hard to live with at first, but once I have accepted the diagnosis, and know that I am on the mend, I can relax, enjoying good books and rest. Why the change in attitude? I think I finally accepted my state and trusting doctors, medications, nursing care, and of course God, I was able to relax knowing that I would eventually be busy at work, prayer, and play again. That is hope, a virtue that helps us enjoy the present while looking forward to an even more blessed future....

30 Mar

In his Ignatius Knew, American Jesuit Ralph Metz proposes what he calls "an Ignatian pedagogical paradigm" at the core of which is the cycle experience/reflection/action. In my work with highschool students doing the Spiritual Exercises, I have found the hardest part for the retreatants is the "reflection" aspect. Both their own age and the age in which they live promote a "consumerist" attitude towards experience, a fast-food approach where life is gobbled down and one moves on to the next experience, not quite mindlessly but certainly not mindfully....

21 Mar

Writing from Ukraine, David Nazar SJ - a Canadian Jesuit who is the Superior of the Jesuits in Ukraine - gives a first-hand account of the recent events in the country. The media coverage has been littered with misunderstandings, he says, particularly in the reporting of the influence of the oligarchs and the role played by Russia. What is really going on in this 'apocalyptic' confrontation between the people and the government?...

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