Jesus reminds us in the Gospel to be as wise as serpents and innocent as doves. Men and women who engage fully in their work of serving the Lord benefit from that mixture of innocence and wisdom. Such was the example of Saint Charles Garnier, one of the eight seventeenth-century Jesuit Martyrs of North America....
The superior of the Jesuits in New France wrote to the Jesuit General in Rome, in March 1649. He describes Fr. Anthony Daniel, a Jesuit who had served in New France and was attacked and killed in July 1648: "a man of great courage and endurance, whose gentle kindness was conspicuous among his great virtues." St. Anthony Daniel was the second to be martyred among the eight Jesuit Martyrs of North America, the first of the group to die in Huronia....
Many saints share our human fears, but have an ability to resist fear and remain in challenging situations. Saint Isaac Jogues, one of the Jesuit Martyrs of North America, overcame his natural, and well-founded, fears and hesitation. He knew first-hand the tortures that were possible, but he also knew that his place was with the native peoples of Huronia. Nothing could separate him from the mission he felt he received from the Lord. The story of Jogues is moving and memorable....
Gabriel Lalemant was born on October 31, 1610 in Paris, the third of six children of a gifted French lawyer. Religious commitment ran deep in the family. Five of the children entered religious life. After his mother was left a widow, she brought up her children with a strong sense of dedication. She herself, after her children had grown and after Gabriel died a martyr's death in New France, joined a religious community and devoted her last years to prayer and seclusion....
St. Ignatius was a master of human psychology long before we even knew the term. A favorite spiritual exercise of his is what has come to be known as the Examen. It is a simple, but powerful, daily prayer exercise and goes something like this. At the end of your day, give yourselves about 15 minutes to look over your day with the eyes of faith. Begin with a short prayer of thanksgiving for your life, for the day that has passed. Ask the Holy Spirit to enlighten you with the mystery and grace of the day....
Habemus Papam! These words resounded around the world, and surprised everyone! - Cardinal Jorge Bergoglio of Buenos Aires, who takes the name of "Francis", and he is a Jesuit! I for one was delightfully surprised at the choice of a non-European, and for his choice of the name "Francis" (of Assisi), known for his radical poverty, his love of creation, his desire for peace. But I was stunned when I heard he was also a Jesuit! I didn't even know we had a Jesuit Cardinal at the conclave. And I never imagined that this would be possible – to elect a Cardinal who was a Jesuit to become the successor of Peter, the universal Pastor of the churches in communion with Rome....
It was the last day of a month-long, 800 km walking pilgrimage across Spain known as the Camino de Santiago. Every step hurt on this final approach to the city of St James (Santiago), and I felt so tired, emotionally and physically. I had met this lovely Mexican family along the way and we walked and prayed together, supporting each other. Arriving in the medieval city, we went straight to the cathedral whose 18th century facade dominates the square where pilgrims arrive. We went into the crypt to pray at the tomb of that believed to be the apostle Saint James, a moving moment....
The stone that the builders rejected has become the chief cornerstone. This is the Lord's doing; it is marvellous in our eyes. - Ps 118:22-23 When I read this psalm I thought of my friend Michael. He and I had been members of the youth group in my parish and had been close friends for years, but then we lost touch. In the early 90s the priest who had been close to the youth group let some of us know Michael was dying of AIDS. It was a terrible shock, I had heard about AIDS, but never met anyone suffering from it....
Who is the new Bishop of Rome? The camino or path he followed until now, where does it lead? One of the Jesuit broadcasters at Vatican Radio told me that, while waiting for the white smoke, he had prepared sketches or mini-biographies of the 20 Cardinals he thought most likely to be elected. But the name actually proclaimed, "Jorge Mario Bergoglio", was not among them, and like many other journalists, he found himself scrambling to discover who the 266th successor of St. Peter was, the one who began, "Fratelli e sorelle, buonasera! Brothers and sisters, good evening!"...
Every three weeks or so, I drive to Abbotsford to visit my spiritual director. I enjoy getting out into the valley for a short visit. The 3-hour return trip is well worth it - at least for my soul. My director will usually leave me with a theme or scriptural passage to guide my prayer in the ensuing weeks. This last time he suggested that I focus on the theme of thanksgiving in the context of the Lucan story of the ten lepers. Ten lepers are healed by Jesus, but only one, a Samaritan, we are told, returns to Jesus to give thanks....
